Baby Chick Care

You got chicks, now what?

Chicks need five things. They need a safe space to use as a brooder, a way to collect poop, access to heat, chick feed, and water.

The brooder is a space for the chicks that keeps them contained. Chicks grow very fast so keep that in mind when getting a brooder set up. I always recommend using a puppy playpen. They are large and have a mesh top to keep the chicks in when they start to fly. You can also add another playpen by connecting the doors if you end up with a lot of chicks. You know, chicken math!

Chickens poop a lot! So they need some way to collect it and keep their environment dry. I personally use commercial style brooders the first couple weeks with a plastic wire mesh. So the poop falls into a collection tray. Then move them onto pine shavings once they get bigger. For someone raising chicks for pets or hobby, they can go directly on pine shavings. The pine shavings absorb the moisture from the poop, keeping the environment dry and not slippery. I’ve seen people use construction sand, pine pellets, and hemp bedding. I would recommend against newspaper because it’s slippery, and straw because it’s not absorbent.

Heat for chicks is a controversial issue. Some people swear by a heat lamp and others warn about the fire risk of the heat lamps. I always use a heat plate. It’s more similar to how a mother hen heats her chicks and it uses less electricity. The one downside of using a heat plate is the room temperatures need to be 60 degrees or higher to use it for young chicks. Whether using heat heat plate or a heat lamp, the chicks need to be able to get out of the heat. Chicks don’t need as much heat as you might think. The best way to figure out if your chicks are too hot or too cold is to watch them. If they are huddled up in a pile and very loud, they are probably too cold. If they are panting and at the edge of the heat or brooder, they are probably too hot.

Chicks of coarse need to eat to grow. When you go to the feed store there will be many brands but there really only two types, medicated and unmedicated. Medicated chick feed has something called amprolium in it, which is a medication that can help prevent coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is the most common issue in chicks, so it’s something to think about feeding your chicks for the first few weeks. If your chicks are vaccinated to coccidiosis then do not feed medicated chick feed. Chicks should have 24/7 access to their feed. Chick feed is the only thing they need to grow, adding extra things to their diet is unnecessary and can cause issues. I like to keep it simple!

Last chicks need water. Some people will recommend putting all sorts of things in you chicks water. I would only recommend putting some electrolytes in the chicks water for the first day or two to help chicks overcome shipping and/or moving from the feed store to home. Then switch to regular plain water. If the chicks seem lively and healthy you can skip the electrolytes. The next thing I would recommend if using a nipple drinker. Chicks love to dig around flicking shavings and poop into the open waterers. So the chicks end up with constant dirty water. The nipple always provide clean drinking water.

Now one more thing to keep in mind about chicks is they grow VERY fast! Think about your chicken coop yesterday because before you know it they will be ready to go outside.