Raising Chicks

Congratulations, you have new members of your flock! Whether it is your first time raising chicks or if it's your 20^th, it's still exciting. Now that you have them, how do you care for them? This article is going to cover the basics of chick care to help you succeed with your new fluffy family members. This is for chicken chicks, however, some of the methods can be applied to other types of fowl.

1)     Brooder set up

A warm, dry, and spacious brooder is crucial. The size very much depends on how many chicks you are raising. Someone raising 10 chicks is going to need much less space than someone raising 100. The brooder needs to be big enough for the chicks to move around comfortably, food and water need to be in separate areas away from their heat source. A brooder may be a child's small plastic pool, plastic tub, a galvanized water tank, or a homemade brooder. It is really dependent on you own personal preference and needs.

There are many options for bedding inside the brooder. Let’s go over the pros and cons to each:

A)    Shavings: Pine shavings are probably the most popular bedding. This is what we use for our chicks. Please make sure they are PINE shavings and not cedar. Cedar releases toxic fumes that will kill your chicks.

a.     Pros: Easy to get at local stores, fairly cost efficient, keeps the brooder fairly tidy and odor free. They are also compostable and easy to dispose of.

b.     Cons: Dusty when cleaning, if your brooder is in your house, it can be messy to replace them and store them, messy to clean out. On rare occasion can cause leg issues in newly hatched chicks if they are slightly splayed, they won’t get a good grip to stand causing the legs to not correct whereas they normally would.

B)     Puppy Pads: Yes, puppy pads! They are super absorbent and provide great traction for newly hatched chicks. It allows them to get their leg strength up. We usually use them for the initial holding brooder after we take them out of the incubator. It really allows them to become fully mobile.

a.     Pros: Very good traction for freshly hatched chicks, absorbent, and easy to clean up/disposable.

b.     Cons: Need replaced multiple times a day! Chicks can get ammonia burns on their feet if the brooder is dirty. The pads will accumulate waste on them, resulting in them needing to be changed multiple times a day depending on how many chicks are using them. They also are not compostable; they have to be disposed of in the trash. Definitely not a long-term substrate. 4

C)     Coffee grounds: This is a new substrate that has been popping up in stores. Let’s talk about the good and bad of it.

a.     Pros: Smells very good, initially. The chicks waste seemed to be easy to clean out with a cat litter scoop. Overall, pretty decent. It could also be composted.

b.     Cons: While it smelled good initially, it did not last. The ammonia smell became very strong despite cleaning regularly. While it was easy to clean some of the droppings out, it lacked absorption and was very hard to get fully clean (liquid waste) out. It was very expensive also, and since to fully clean the entire thing had to be dumped it wasn’t very cost effective.

2)     Heat source

Chicks absolutely need a reliable heat source. Since a mother hen is not raising them, artificial heat must be provided. There are a couple of ways to provide this, either a heat lamp or a heat plate. Each has their benefits. Heat lamps are a very immediate and strong source of heat. Chicks that are shipped should have access to a heat lamp initially to get their body temps up after their long journey. The warm side of the brooder should be about 93-95 degrees for new chicks. The temperature should decrease as the chicks get older. I will include a chart for age and temperature. The other source of heat that is being using recently are heat plates. Heat plates are great at decreasing the risk of fire hazards and are also easy to set up and use. However, they seem to not offer as much variation of heat as a bulb does. We have used heat bulbs and transitioned chicks onto a plate once they begin to get feathers. Heat bulbs are the best for new chicks, just please use caution as they can be a fire/burn risk.

3)     Food and water containers

If chicks were raised by a mother hen, she would show them how to, and where to get water and food. Start off with a shallow water dish, small stones or marbles can be added to make sure the chicks won’t drown. Dip their beaks gently into the water dish to show them where it is and what it is. This will need done for freshly hatched chicks, shipped chicks, and even chicks you buy at the farm stores. Make sure to dip every chick’s beak. Some will catch on when they see the others drinking, but it is crucial each learns. Observe them and make sure they know how. Feed can be put in a small container also; however, chicks are very messy with their feed. Food covers and feeders are designed so they cannot get their feet inside and scratch the feed out. These types of feeders are recommended. Gently tap on the feeder to attract the chicks to the feeder. This will mimic what the mother hen would do the show her chicks where to get food. When the feeder is tapped you will notice the chicks will run over and check it out. Others will catch on fast once they see others scratching and pecking away.

Raising chicks is a blast! Observation is key to make sure they are happy and healthy. Chicks grow fast. They go through molts (loosing chick feathers and getting new ones) and sometimes look rough, this is normal! Adding chicks to your flock is very rewarding and a great way to add new breeds and bloodlines. It is also a way to know the exact age of the birds in your flock.

On a side note, chick fatalities can happen. Sometimes it's nothing that you did wrong, they just do not thrive. It happens to everyone who raises chicks, and do not be hard on yourself if it happens! For the most part it is a joy to have them, they are fun to watch and soon enough they will be full sized birds.