Last year was our first spring here on the farm. We both wanted egg laying chickens and couldn’t wait until spring time to start shopping for baby chicks. We really didn’t know what breed of chickens we wanted and we were overwhelmed with all the possibilities. I did, however, have one rule to choosing our chickens. They had to be black and/or white. Haha! We have a black and white theme going on in our backyard and it just seemed like a fun idea to have black and white chickens too! I mean, they are right in our backyard! Why not have them go with the décor? I know, I know…that’s really silly. But Isaac was not surprised at all by my one rule and he just went with it.
I declared a Saturday in March last year as “Chicken Day!” We all four went to the store to pick out our chickens and we ate Chick-Fil-A on the way home. Brutal, right? Anyway, we set aside the whole day to choose the chicks, buy the supplies and have time once we were home to get the chicks settled into their brooder. We had so much fun. The twins were two at the time and they loved looking at all the chicks and listening to them chirp on the drive home. It was a fun and successful day!
Fast forward one year later and we have seven of the eight chicks we purchased last year. One was a rooster, unfortunately, and he ended up being very mean no matter what we did. So, long story short, he’s gone. But our seven hens are doing great and still hanging out in our backyard! Isaac built the most beautiful chicken coop and run for them and I’ll be sharing it soon.
Our chickens have had a few battles to work through though. One white chicken, Murphelleta, got very ill last fall and I finally figured out she had worms. She had to be de-wormed and quarantined for two weeks on our back porch while she slowly got her strength back. A black chicken, who we now call Miracle, was recently attacked by our Giant Schnauzer, Murphy. He basically thinks the chickens are his treat and he constantly tries to figure out how to escape the house, when they are free ranging, so he can eat them. Thankfully I was nearby when a twin opened the house door and was able to tackle Murhpy down like Superwoman. The chicken did have a huge puncture wound and lost a TON of feathers, but she is doing great now and back to laying eggs like a pro! We had a few other similar incidents with Murphy last summer before we realized he just had to be banned from being outside when the chickens are free ranging.
Doesn’t all that sound like fun? The stories we could already tell from our first year with chickens. We’ve enjoyed them so much that we decided to get more chicks this spring! Well, sort of. I spontaneously went to Tractor Supply Co. with the twins and called Isaac to ask what breed of chicks he wanted. Without hesitating he told me what he wanted and how many to get. We had not had a discussion about getting new chicks until that phone call. The chicks are just so cute and little at the store and I couldn’t resist. We already had the supplies and I just thought, why not? So now we have six four-week old chicks that are growing great in their brooder.
Thinking about purchasing egg layers for your backyard? Below you’ll find a simple guide on everything you need to get started!
*Please use this as a guide. I am not a professional, I’m simply telling you what we’re doing that works for us.
Before you purchase the chicks I highly recommend doing three things.
I’m going to focus on the brooder for this post. Your brooder can be made out of almost anything. People use storage totes, feeding troughs, plastic kiddie pools, etc. We actually use a large dog kennel because we had it on hand. It’s perfect for a brooder because the chicks cannot fly out, it has two doors for easy access and there are lots of options for hanging things, like a heat lamp. I purchased a chick yard from TSC this year to use on the inside of the kennel to help keep bedding in, as well as the chicks. They’re fluffy, but they can definitely fit through the slats in a kennel for a long while.
Remember your chicks are going to grow extremely fast. Your brooder will need to be able to accommodate your chickens for about eight weeks. Having a brooder that’s too big to begin with is a good thing, as long as you set it up correctly.
Also, I always keep the chicks in the house for the first few weeks. You are buying babies and they need to be checked on frequently. Once the chicks are about three weeks old I move them to the garage. Keep in mind you’ll need to adjust your heat lamp again since the temperature will be drastically different in the garage from the house. I’m actually using our baby monitor to keep an eye on our chicks now that they’re in the garage. Overkill? Yes. It just gives me peace of mind.
Let’s go through what you need in a brooder.
In the first couple of weeks you are going to need to change the water every other day for your chicks. We purchase electrolytes and keep the mixture in the fridge. Every other day I toss out any old water, clean the drinker and replenish it. Your chicks need to stay hydrated and there’s nothing worse than tainted water. I buy a three pack of electrolytes, which makes three gallons, and when we run out of it I start using fresh water. It’s worked for us so far.
Your drinker will need to be moved up every week or so. As the chicks grow, so should the height of the drinker. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is to keep the drinker just below the height of the chicks head. This way the water will stay much cleaner which will keep you from having to clean it out multiple times a day.
I had the drinker elevated on two boards for the first two weeks. It’s now hanging from the top of the kennel.
You will need to purchase starter feed for chicks, we buy a medicated version. Go ahead and buy the big bag because you are going to use it! Use the same rule of thumb for the food as I mentioned with the water. Try to keep it right below head height. The first couple of weeks the chicks are going to throw the food everywhere. As they get older it makes it easier on you to raise it so they’re not wasting as much food.
A source of heat is a must, we use a red light heat lamp. You’ll start with the heat lamp pretty close to the chicks and raise it as needed. You really have to use common sense here. If the chicks are huddled under the light most of the time, they’re cold. If they are trying to stay away from the light, they’re too hot. If they are relaxed with their legs sprawled out everywhere under the light, it’s just right. Another important tip is to place the light to one side of the brooder. If the light begins to get too hot allow room for the chicks to get away from it.
Some people use heating pads in their brooders. I actually had to do this a bit ago because I was messing with the heat lamp and broke the bulb. It was 11 o’clock at night and all we had was a heating pad. The chicks took to it for a while but ended up just huddling up in the corner together to stay warm. I’ve seen great success with using a heating pad from others but I’m just going to stick to the heat lamp for now.
You want your brooder to stay dry. I use pine shavings from the store and up until now I’ve been able to add in some pine shavings as needed. As the chicks get older I’ll have to clean the brooder out more often but adding in pine shavings on top of what’s in there is working for now.
Activities are totally optional. Many people like to spoil their baby chicks and I’m definitely one of them. Once the chicks get acclimated with their brooder they can get bored. Bored chicks can misbehave and begin to pick on each other, literally. I added some items in their brooder to allow them to explore and peek their curiosity. For a few dollars you can hit up the pet bird section at the store and get some fun things for your chicks.
I purchased a bell toy, two ladders, and an ostrich feather duster this year. The chicks ring the bell constantly and it’s so cute to see them using the ladders too. I also placed some old shelf risers in the brooder this year. Some type of pole for them to use as a roost is a must! At a very young age chicks will want to begin perching. There’s nothing cuter than seeing them all lined up on the perch resting!
I also had a hand mirror that I put in the brooder. For a while the chicks constantly look at themselves and it’s very cute to watch.
I hope it goes without saying, whatever you add to your brooder remember how fragile your chicks are! I used pipe cleaners to secure all of the add-ins to our brooder. Be sure those things aren’t going anywhere!
Like I mentioned above, you are buying babies. They need lots of TLC and you are their caretaker. Yes, they are animals, but they need you, especially the first few weeks. Keep your chickens within earshot of you the first couple of weeks. If anything happens to them, you’ll know about it sooner rather than later.
Pasty Butt is a common problem with new chicks. Basically their droppings build up on their backside and if it’s not cleaned they can die. I checked my chicks every night. If they had poop build up on their backside I simply ran warm water over the poop and slowly cleaned it off. DO NOT just pull the poop off. You will more than likely tear their skin which can lead to infection. Just be patient with the whole process. Be sure to dry them off as much as you can before putting them back in the brooder. We just held them in a towel until they were almost dry.
Monitor your chicks! In the beginning we would just sit and watch the chicks for a bit. It’s not only fun to watch them while they’re so little, but once you get to know your chicks you’ll be more likely to know when something is wrong.
Wash your hands! Chicks are cute but they’re very dirty. Be sure to wash your hands any time after you touch the chicks or anything that’s been in the brooder.
That’s my simple guide to having baby chicks! It’s a very simple thing that can be so much fun. The twins love watching them and holding them, supervised of course. I’m going to leave you with a few photos of our chicks and a few more views of our brooder. I just moved the brooder out to the garage this week. Those cute chicks grow fast therefore they get messy fast! I’ll update you again on our chicks when we begin to integrate them in to the flock!
