How to care for baby chicks-chickens
(brooder, feed, water)?
You may be asking yourself if you should get chickens or not. I did the same thing for quite awhile…. Finally, after much thought and research I finally did it and I am very happy with my decision. I have learned so much so far and thought it best to pass along some valuable tips! So, here you go!
There are several things to consider when making this decision as it is quite a commitment. Ask yourself why…. Why do you want chickens? You may want them as pets, to lay eggs, to eat or a combination. I personally am not going to eat my chickens as that isn’t my cup of tea so to speak but I will use their eggs, their poop for fertilizer for my garden-food forest, and care for them as pets.
What kind of chicken to get?
So, now that you have decided to get chickens let’s talk about what kind of chickens you should choose. There are all types of chickens to consider and it is important to look at their inherit qualities before making a choice and not just going by appearance alone. Qualities like are they good Egg Layers? Are they Meat chickens or both?
Are they big, small, hens, roosters, docile, etc.. It is important to know the facts before you start your flock. Some chickens are more tolerant of the heat or cold, some will lay more eggs, some are more docile than others, etc. and the list goes on. Know what you intend to do with your chickens and research about the different breeds that will best fit your lifestyle. Some popular breeds are ISA Brown, Plymouth Rock, Australorp, Orpington, Easter Egger, Sussex, Wyandotte, Brahma, Jersey Giant, Leghorn, and the list goes on. There are quite a few to choose from.
I got some Dominiques, Easter Eggers, and a Barred Rock. These breeds are fairly docile, medium size chickens, as well as lay a good amount eggs both brown eggs as well as colorful blue-green eggs. My Barred Rock is a little bigger than the others just a side note.
Where to get your chickens from?
Getting your chickens locally is a good idea as it allows you to see the baby chicks before buying them as well the environment they are kept in and it avoids additional stress via their travel through the shipping departments. Their environment is important to their health as it should be clean as well as not over crowded. I did not find any chickens locally at the time I made my decision so I decided to go with a highly reputable Hatchery that I found online. I got my chicks from Meyer Hatchery. They have a great reputation and have been around since 1985. I spoke with Kara from the hatchery and she was extremely helpful when my baby chicks arrived as I had tons of questions just wanting to be a good chicken mama.
Receiving your Baby Chicks.
It is important to know when your chicks have left the hatchery as well as when they will arrive at your local Post Office. The hatchery should provide you with a tracking number. Call your post office ahead of time to notify them that you are expecting some baby chickens and that you wish to be notified as soon as they come in.
My post office told me the general time of arrival for livestock and gave me a telephone number to call to check to see if they had arrived. PLEASE DO NOT let your baby chickens just sit at the post office all day.
Keep in mind that the baby chicks need proper warmth, food, and water and the travel time can be a bit stressful for them. The longer they go without the necessities the more at risk you are of having them arrive dehydrated, over heated, too cold, or even worse, dead.
Babies Health.
Once your Brooder is set up one of the first things you need to check for when your chicks arrive is pasty butt. Pasty butt occurs when the baby chick poops and it gets stuck in the fur and it blocks their vent (butt hole) and this can cause some major issues.
Take care of this immediately by taking a damp warm soft paper towel and gently wipe to soften the poop to remove it then dry their butt.
DO NOT PULL the poop out of their fur as it will pull out their fur as well. Be gentle as they are newborns.
BROODER (chick safe-environment)
The Brooder is the place that you will set up to keep your baby chickens safe and warm while they are growing until they are ready and old enough for their chicken coop. The brooder should be predator proof. I cannot stress this enough.
The young chicks are susceptible to all types of predators such as the family cat or dog, rodents, snakes. Be aware that even in your garage critters can get in to come and snatch up your new young baby chicks.
The Brooder- We repurposed a used a plastic tote with a locking lid. We then cut out a couple of large square holes in the lid then covered it (the holes) with hardware cloth. We used the type with small holes then securing the cloth with zip ties. If you wish to purchase a brooder and not make your own please follow the link below.
HEAT LAMP
Since the babies don’t have their feathers yet to regulate their body temperatures and they don’t have their mama to keep them warm they will need an outside source of heat. The babies need to be warmed with a heat lamp. I used a 250 Watt Red Brooder Heat Lamp Bulb for my heat source to keep them warm.
The regulated temperature should be a consistent 100 degrees Fahrenheit. One thing to consider is the temperature and how it will fluctuate which will possibly fluctuate the brooder temperature as well. Keep an eye on the internal brooder temperature to be sure that it doesn’t get too hot or too cold.
Decrease by 5 degrees the brooder temperature weekly until you reach the temperature that they will be held at in their coop (outside temperature). You are basically acclimating them to their new environment by reducing the temperature weekly.
BEDDING
Pine shavings work great for their bedding as it absorbs their urine, poop, odors, and also provides them with a comfy place to sleep. I have read that the pine shavings should be medium size and not actually like sawdust as this could cause respiratory issues with your new flock. Food for thought. Add about 1 inch of pin shavings to the bottom of the brooder.
FOOD
Starter Food for baby chicks, 20%-24% depending on the type of chickens you get. They need food at all times. Egg Layers-20% starter crumble. Meat chickens 22%-24% starter crumble.
WATER
For their first week add Vital-Pack (has vitamins and electrolytes) as well as Probiotics to their fresh cool water (not iced cold). Make this mixture daily and be sure that they always have enough and that it is fresh. Also, keep an eye on their water quality as they can be a bit messy as they scratch and kick pine shavings around. They need water at all times.
WATERER **(Please note! It’s Very Important!!)
To know that your baby chicks will drown if you put a bowl (even a small bowl) of water in their brooder. Please do not make this mistake. You will need to buy a drown-proof watering system for their brooder. I bought a small chick waterer lid that fits a mason jar and it that has a very narrow area for the babies to drink from as well as the sponge inserts for the watering container
VENTILATION
It is important for the health of the chicks to have proper ventilation so they are breathing fresh air as well as not getting over heated from the heat lamp.
BROODER SET UP
Put the heat source at one end of the brooder and their food and water at the other end. The brooder should be a variation of temperatures and not just 100 degrees throughout the entire brooder as they should be able to escape the heat to avoid getting over heated. The overall temperature should be comfortable for them. A happy flock will be active and all over the brooder. Give them plenty of space to move about as the brooder should be large enough so the chicks have space to run around. If the brooder is too small you will find them getting agitated with each other and stressed.
TOYS FOR CURIOUS AND PECKING CHICKS
I found that my baby chicks were pecking at each others beaks trying to get off the white tip also known as the Egg Tooth. I researched what to do as I was concerned they may poke each other in the eye by mistake. I read that if you put black dots with a permanent marker on the walls of the brooder or on some cardboard and place inside they will peck at the dots instead keeping them preoccupied.
Observe your chicks: Keep a close eye on your new arrivals to ensure that they stay healthy.