If you’re going to try raising baby chicks, then you’re going to need a brooder. Brooders are a warm, safe place for your Baby Chicks to live until they’re fully feathered (about 6 weeks), can regulate their own body temperature, and can live outside in a coop.
Brooder Set-up
We’ve always used an extra-large carboard box for brooding chicks, but some people also use plastic totes, dog kennels, or some even build a special brooder box for a more permanent situation of raising baby chicks.
We keep our brooder inside our house. Our family really loves seeing the baby chicks every day. We use newspapers in the bottom which keeps dust away. It’s easy and cheap to change every 2 – 3 days so there’s no smell. Obviously, the more chicks you have the more often you need to clean your brooder. I’ve also found the newspaper keeps down the chances of Pasty Butt. This is a condition where the Baby chicks poop builds up blocking their vent. It can be fatal if it’s not removed quickly. We’ve never had a chick get pasty butt using newspapers.
If you keep your brooder in a garage or shed, be sure there’s no draft and it’s safe from predators.
Bring on the Heat
Brooders need a heat source. Either a 250-watt Red Heat bulb in a clamp style lamp, or a heat plate make the best sources of heat for baby chicks. You want to make sure your heat source is at one corner of the box. This allows the chicks freedom to roam the brooder, adjusting their own temperature as they move in and out of the heated area. If you notice your chicks are all huddling as far away from the heat as they can, they’re too hot and you’ll need to turn down your heat. With a clamp lamp, you can just tilt it up higher, or change the bulb to a 125-watt heat bulb. The clamp also ensures the lamp is secure.
No matter what your brooder set-up is, you’ll need to follow this heat schedule for your chicks (Fahrenheit)….
Slow Wean Method
We live in Southern California where our average annual temperature is 75° F so when our chicks are around 3½ – 4 weeks old, I turn off the heat lamp during the day. By then their bodies are usually fully feathered and just their heads have chick down. I turn the heat lamp on at night when it gets a little cooler. This slow wean method helps them slowly acclimate to living outside without a heat source. By 5 weeks I turn off the heat lamp completely.
Feeding Chicks
Baby chicks eat a food mixture called “Chick Starter”. It has all the nutrients they need, in a fine, crumbly feed to help them grow healthy and strong. Some breeders choose to feed their chicks medicated chick starter. This is a choice you will need to make for yourself. I prefer to forgo the added elements of medicated starter and use an organic approach.
Raising baby chicks requires a little diligence on your part in the beginning. Be sure to offer them plenty of water, but remember, they aren’t like ducklings. Baby chicks need to stay dry and safe from drowning so make sure you use a waterer that will protect them from getting wet. Change their water often. If you can see poop in the drinking well, or the water appears to be cloudy, it needs to be changed.
Organic Beginnings
There are a lot of different products to help with raising baby chicks. We prefer to stick with the organic options.
When our baby chicks arrive, we put 1 tsp of organic honey into 1 quart of water that first day. This is a great, natural way to add electrolytes they’ll need after their journey to you. I like to do this about once a week for our chicks while they’re in the brooder, and for our hens if they’re recovering from any treatment such as deworming or Corid (I’ll talk more about that later).
Alternatively, once a week, I also put 1 Tbs of organic Apple Cider Vinegar per gallon of water for both our chicks and hens to increase their natural probiotics.
Pullets & Cockerels
Once the chicks are fully feathered, around 6 weeks old, they can be moved outside to the chicken coop. Your little Pullets & Cockerels (hens under 1 year of age are called pullets, and roosters under 1 year of age are called cockerels) will seem exceedingly small in such a giant space. Make sure your coop has all the necessary features they will need as they grow. Roosts, nesting boxes, feeders, and waterers are very important. Don’t forget safety from predators both large and small. You’d be surprised what small spaces predators can squeeze into.
You can read my post Building a Better Chicken Coop about chicken coops and my own design. I’ve made the plans for my coop, The Fluffy Butt Hut free to download. For more information on chicken coops and to see additional pictures of my coop, check out my post Our New Chicken Coop.
At this stage, your Pullets can be switched to a feed mixture called “Grow”. This will ensure they are getting all the nutrients they need to grow healthy and you’ll be amazed at how quickly they will double in size! Soon you will have a full-grown healthy flock on your hands. There’s no need to switch them immediately. If you have some Chick Starter left, go ahead, and finish it out before switching over, unless you’ll be using it for subsequent chicks.
Laying Hens
The last stage of food for your flock is called “Layer Feed”. When your hens begin laying eggs around 16 – 20 weeks (depending on the breed), you’ll need to switch them to a good layer feed. This feed is formulated to provide more protein they need for egg production. Laying hen breeds can lay 250 – 300 eggs a year on average. The breed you chose will determine the laying frequency.
Grit & Oyster Shells
It’s a good idea to also offer your flock both grit and Oyster Shells. You may have noticed that chickens don’t have teeth. In order to digest their food, it passes into their gizzard where they use small pebbles or grit to crush up their food. Chickens who aren’t getting enough grit can have digestion problems. Most chickens will pick up grit on their own by foraging but just in case, it’s always a good idea to have some available if they need it. Just put a small feeder of each inside your coop. Your hens will take what they need.
Oyster shells are another thing your laying hens may need. These crushed shells are a natural source of calcium which hens need for making strong eggshells. You may not need the added calcium for your hens, but it’s a good idea to always have a small feeder with some for them just in case. They’ll take it if they need it. I use it in my garden, so I always have it readily available. You can read more about that in my Deterring Pesky Garden Pests post.
Broiler Hens
All chickens lay eggs, but some breeds are specifically bred for meat production. These breeds are call Broiler chickens. If you decide to raise Broiler Hens for meat, they will need a different type of food. Broiler Hens do lay eggs – obviously, that’s how you get more Broiler Hens – but their egg production will be less than a hen bred specifically for egg production. These breeds typically only lay around 140 eggs per year. Their nutrition needs are a little different. Make sure you’re feeding your flock the appropriate food for their desired needs.
Broiler Hens are slaughtered between 4 – 14 weeks age, depending on the breed. This is well before laying age. Cornish cross and Jersey Giants are the most common breeds to be raised as Broiler Hens.
Why Raise Baby Chicks?
Raising baby chicks has a lot of advantages. Familiarizing your chicks with your family at a young age makes your chickens more friendly, they provide a lot of entertainment, and you will know your getting healthy eggs. Teaching children to care for chicks is a fun way for them to connect with where their food comes from. It’s like Easter morning when they go out and collect eggs.
In my upcoming Diary of A Chicken Mama posts, I’ll be sharing information about caring for the health of your flock, as well as some fun chicken products. Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss it!