Baby Chicks 101
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Well…I finally went through with it! JC & I got ourselves 6 baby chicks last weekend! They are Rhode Island Reds and are from a local farm. I’m calling them the flower field bunch, and their names are Lily, Poppy, Daisy, Lilac, Tulip, and Rose! When I was growing up my mom had chickens she hatched from eggs and I have really fond memories of helping take care of and hanging out with the chickens! Ever since, I’ve wanted to have some backyard chickens of my own as “pets” and as a side benefit, the fresh eggs!
Starting out, I knew I wanted to start with day old chicks. Trying to hatch eggs was a little intimidating to me to start with, but I may try it in the future! So we found a local farm nearby and she met up with us to drop off the chicks. I was able to find everything I needed from our local Tractor Supply Company. I am by no means a chicken expert yet, but I do have a few tips to that should help start you off! Here’s what we got to prepare for our new babies!
- Brooder – A brooder is a heated home for chicks. We got a 2 foot high metal trough from Tractor Supply so the chicks wouldn’t pick at the container, and the height is helpful for when they start to jump and “fly”. You also need a container with rounded edges (no square corners) as the chick can get stuck in the corner and potentially suffocate.
- Heat Lamp or Heater Plate – Chicks have to be kept in 90-95 degrees heat for at least the first couple of weeks, then the temperature can drop a couple degrees every week after. We got a heat lamp to save space in the actual brooder. The heater plate sits on the ground.
- Thermometer – To measure said heat requirement.
- Bedding – You’ll need bedding to lay on the floor of the brooder. I went with pine shavings because it is extra absorbent. Don’t use cedar shavings – chickens can have respiratory issues with it.
- Waterer – You want something the chicks won’t drown in, and preferably something that will refill itself. Chicks drink a lot of water, and they tend to splash around in it and get it everywhere!
- Feeder – You’ll want something the chicks won’t crowd around – they need enough space for all of them to eat without fighting over it.
- Chick Starter Food – You can go with medicated or non-medicated. The main difference is that the medicated helps to prevent coccidia if they were not vaccinated. The lady with the farm we got them from said not to feed medicated for longer than 10 days because it does everything it needs to within the 10 days, but I can’t vouch as to whether or not that’s true. I would recommend doing your own research on medicated versus non-medicated!
- Chick Grit – If you plan on feeding your chicks anything other than their store bought feed, you’ll need to add grit to their diets! It helps to digest any fruits, veggies, or otherwise you may give them as treats.
- Play Pen – You don’t need this, but I really wanted one to be able to take them outside with me and not worry about chasing them around. I got a 30″ height play pen that’s made for a dog, but it should work for your chicks too! You shouldn’t leave your chicks unattended outside until they are at least 8 weeks old and have a safe coop to return to.
Once the babies are about 8 weeks old AND it’s 65 or above outside (at night too), we will transfer them to the great outdoors! In the safety of their coop of course (: Keep following along in the next few weeks for our Chicken Coop Tutorial – we are hoping to build our own!
