‘Tis the season for acquiring baby chicks! They are hard to resist when you see them at the feed or hardware store. Here is everything you need to consider if you are raising chicks for the first time.
Set Up the Brooder Ahead of Time
Chicks can be very fragile in the first couple days of their life. If you are getting chicks in the mail, it’s even more important to set up the brooder ahead of time so that you can focus on getting them to eat and drink immediately when they arrive.
Brooder Set Up
Container
First things first, you need a container for your chicks, which is called a brooder. This can be anything from a cardboard box or a tote, to something you build specially for raising chicks. It really depends on how many chicks you are getting and how often you will have chicks to decide how much money and effort you want to spend on your container.
You will also need to consider how sturdy it needs to be if you have other pets – cats and dogs will be curious and maybe even want to harm your new chicks so keep that in mind. Chicks need to be indoors and have supplemental heat until they are fully feathered, around 5-6 weeks.
Bedding
If you are getting less than 15 chicks and have a relatively small brooder, I recommend using paper towel as the bedding for the first few days. This allows the chicks to gain an understanding of what is food and what is bedding.
Alternatively, if you want to use shavings or hemp for bedding right away, you can place the food container on some paper towel on top of the bedding and sprinkle some food on it so they can learn what the food is and where to get it.
Whatever you choose, just make sure to have something that isn’t slippery like newspaper as they can slip and injure their legs.
Heat
Since baby chicks don’t have their mother to regulate their temperature, they need to have an environment that is 95*. This can be achieved with either a lamp clip with a heat light or a chick brooder plate.
The brooder plate is a safer option as it is not as big of a fire hazard. Because we raise so many chicks at once, I have always used a combination of both. There are a variety of sizes of brooder plates, so make sure the one you choose will accommodate all your chicks.
If you are raising meat chickens and are doing a large number of chicks at a time, it’s smart to have a number of heat sources so they don’t pile up and trample each other. You may notice the chicks are crowding and pushing each other around, which means there is not enough heat. Conversely, if the chicks are avoiding the heat source, it may be too close to the floor. You will need to monitor their behavior often to get things just right.
Heat can be reduced by 5* every week, you can achieve this by moving the heat up. Chicks cannot regulate their own body temperature until they are fully feathered. This usually takes 5 to 6 weeks.
Food and Water
Of course these baby birds need access to food and water! If your chicks traveled to get to you, it’s really important to get them to drink when they arrive. Many people recommend that you dip a few chicks beaks into water and the rest will follow suit. However, I like to dip all their beaks just so I can ensure that they have all had an opportunity for water. I suspect that one year I had chicks find the heat and die because they didn’t find the food and water before they took a nap.
The chicks I get are 24 hours old and have flown from the lower 48 to get to Alaska, so I know they’ve had a big day. I like to use an electrolyte mix in their water for the first day or two to make sure they are getting some nutrition right away. You can purchase these packets or make a homemade version. Be careful of some of the brands you see at the pet store as they can contain food dye, which I prefer to avoid.
Chicks of course need access to food as well. You will want to choose a chick starter formula. I choose to use an unmediated organic feed. Chicks should not have layer feed until they start laying eggs as the additional calcium can be damaging if they aren’t actively laying eggs.
These are my favorite food and water containers. If you already have masons jars, use this link. I also like this wide feeder for when we have a lot of chicks in the brooder.
Grit
Chick grit is not necessary if chicks are only eating a chick feed that is a crumble or pellets. If they are eating anything larger or treats, greens, bugs, etc. They need to be offered grit. I usually wait until they are 2 weeks old before offering treats or grit.
Handle Your Chicks
After your chicks have eaten, drank, and rested, enjoy your cute new chicks! Preferably after the first day. Handling your chicks while they are young will help them to not be afraid as they grow up. Place your hand flat on the bottom of the brooder and allow them to come to you. In the early days, don’t keep them away from the heat for too long.
Check Chicks Often
As I mentioned earlier, you will always want to monitor their behavior regarding the heat. They will also kick shavings in their food and water. Make sure to clean this up so they always have access to food and clean water.
It is also important to check for ‘pasty butt’ this is where poop collects on their fluffy bum. If left unchecked it can seal off their vent so they can’t poop anymore. To remedy this, hold a warm wet washcloth to them until you can remove the matted material. If it’s not coming off, don’t pull too hard. Soak with a warm wet washcloth until it can be removed.
Happy chick raising!
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