So you’ve always wanted to raise chickens. Check your municipality’s regulations, and go for it! Now for the down and dirty.
Obtaining the chicks
There are several ways to obtain chicks. You can order them through a hatchery such as www.mypetchicken.com, which I have used successfully a number of times. The chicks come in the mail, and the post office calls to let you know to come pick up your birds. Yes! Funny story: many years ago, when I received the call to pick up the birds, the call came while I was at work. I could hear the chicks peeping away in the background. I explained I couldn’t come right then, and the postal worker said, loudly, “Would you PLEASE come pick up your birds!” You can also buy chicks at local feed stores, and you can hatch your own with an incubator. The best way to obtain chicks, of course, is to have a rooster and several hens producing fertile eggs, and a Mama hen raises the chicks herself, but that can only happen once you’ve gotten started.
Caring for the newborns
Be prepared, though, to be caring for tiny, newborn babies. Tiny. Loud. Messy. You will want to have the chicks in a location that can stand to get dusty, like an unfinished basement. Here’s what I do.
First, I get a large container to put them in, such as a big cardboard box with a sheet of plastic under it or a large plastic tote. They grow quickly, so plan ahead for the room you’re going to need. The bottom of the container is covered with three or so inches of litter; I purchase a bale of pine shavings from a feed store. In the corner, I hang a heat lamp and adjust it as needed. If it gets too warm for the chicks because the lamp is too close, they will crowd to the corners, too cold because the lamp is not close enough, and they will be bunched together right under the lamp.
Then I place sheets of newspaper on top of the shavings and sprinkle chick feed over the newspaper. I don’t want the chicks eating the shavings. Once they know what their feed is, I will put in a chick-size feeder and take out the newspaper. I purchase non-medicated chick feed and have never had a problem, and I include a small amount of chick grit. The grit is for them to break down their food. Chickens are one of many birds that “eat” tiny pebbles that go to their crop, which is part of the their digestive system. The crop, or gizzard, is a muscular organ that uses the grit or pebbles to grind the food, like our teeth do for us.
As soon as they are in their little home, I put water in a chick-size waterer and take each chick in turn and gently dip its beak in the water so it gets the idea. The waterer goes in a corner, but be prepared. The chicks will make a mess, and the litter under the waterer WILL get wet and need to be changed regularly. If the chicks seem to be doing poorly, I will mix a little sugar into the water to give them a little boost to get them started.
Timing for the next step
The chicks will get their feathers in a very specific pattern, starting with the primary flight feathers. Once they are almost fully feathered, they can go into the barn or chicken coop, although you will need to monitor the night time temps since you don’t want them to get a chill. I keep the heat lamp on in the barn until the night time temps are over 60 degrees or so.
Once the babies aren’t babies anymore, they will need different care. More on that next time.
