OK, you’ve ordered your chicks - now what?

There are a few basic necessities that you will need in order to prepare for the arrival of your chicks. First, you will need to make them a brooder - a warm cozy place to live while they are babies.

To set up your brooder you will need:

-a tub, box, or crate to serve as the brooder space. This should have sides that are high enough to keep out any drafts and hold heat in. A large Tupperware bin or kiddie pool work well, but even a large cardboard box will do the trick in a pinch!

-a heat lamp or brooder plate (you can generally find these at your local feed store or online)

-a chick feeder

-a chick waterer

-chick starter crumble (you can choose to feed medicated or non-medicated feed, it is entirely up to you. Medicated feed would protect the chicks against Coccidiosis as they are not vaccinated for it)

-paper towel

-shavings or straw for bedding

-a thermometer to monitor the temperature

Setting up your brooder:

Your brooder needs to serve as a place where your chicks can eat, drink, sleep, and stay warm and safe from predators (this means your house cat!).

Line the bottom of your container with bedding (shavings or straw) and then evenly cover the bedding with a layer of paper towel. The paper towel is only used for the first 24 hours or so - this is because brand new chicks don’t know the difference between bedding and feed, and we don’t want them ingesting bedding! Once they’ve gotten the hang of things, you can remove the paper towel layer and they will live happily on their bedding.

Next, fill your feeder and put it in the brooder (not directly under your heat source). Then sprinkle a bit of starter crumble on top of the paper towel - this is to make it easy for them to find food.

Then fill your waterer and place it in the brooder (not directly under your heat source)

Next, hang your heat source. The temperature directly under the lamp or plate should be at about 95 degrees for the first week. Reduce this temperature by 5 degrees per week as they get older and begin to develop their feathers.

Bringing Your Chicks Home:

-As you unpack your chicks from the box and put them into your brooder, place them near the waterer so that they are encouraged to drink.

-Once they are all in the brooder, monitor their activity to make sure everyone is eating and drinking. This is the fun part - it’s better than TV!

-Keep an eye on the temperature in your brooder - if they’re huddling under your heat source, it’s too cold - if they’re spreading out in a circle away from your heat source, it’s too hot. Adjust your heat source accordingly.

-Kids love to handle baby chicks - they’re so cute! Try to minimize kids handling the chicks for the first few days as it does stress them quite a bit and they need time to recover from their long trip to get to your home. A good alternative to picking them up is letting the kids put their hand in the brooder - the brave chicks will climb all over them!

-Lastly, let them sleep!

Over the Next Few Days:

-After 24 hours, remove the paper towel - they are now ready to live on their bedding.

-Clean and refill the waterer often - chicks are messy and need clean water to drink.

-As soon as your brooder begins to smell, clean it! The key to raising healthy chicks is to keep their environment clean and dry. If water spills, replace the bedding.

-Keep an eye out for a condition called “Pasty Butt”. It’s a common condition in baby chicks and it is easily remedied. Pasty Butt is when excrement sticks to their vent and creates a blockage. If you notice poop sticking to a chick’s backside, gently clean it away with warm water and paper towel. Be gentle! This condition usually clears up after the first week, and not all chicks develop it.

-Finally, remember that Mother Nature is not always kind. Sometimes a chick doesn’t make it, and there’s nothing that you could have or should have done differently.

-Your chicks are ready to move outdoors into your coop when they have fully developed their feathers - usually by about 4 weeks of age. This is depending on what the weather is doing of course - use your judgement.