Thinkin’ about raising baby chicks?
We love chickens here on our farm, and really, they’re kind of a staple on any farm. Fresh eggs every day? Yes, please! And let’s face it, your child hasn’t lived until they’ve walked around with a full-grown chicken on their shoulder as they pretend to be a pirate. Chicken pirate, that is.
I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write a full guide on chickens! It must have slipped my mind while I was blogging about raising goats. Them goats sure do take over your brain.
The best thing about chickens is that they are low maintenance. Raising baby chicks take a little more time and involvement than older chickens, but once they hit 3-4 months, it’s smooth sailing from there!
Where to buy baby chicks
You can order baby chicks online. It’s true! They actually will ship them to your local post office for you and then your post office will give you a quick call telling you to come down and get your little furballs. Most people will go to the local feed store to purchase baby chicks. Feed stores don’t usually carry them year-round, because their are time of the year when baby chicks are “in stock”, and times when they aren’t. This is true for ordering online as well. Gotta get ’em while their available during the Spring & Fall, when baby chicks are in surplus.
I have yet to find an online source for chicks that grow up to be egg layers that have feed organic and have holistic practices. I do love these Freedom Ranger Chicks from JM Hatchery, but those are broiler chickens — meant to be raised for meat)
Should you get females or males?
Should you get hens, roosters, or a combination of the two. My advice is to stick with hens. Chickens don’t need a rooster to lay eggs, they only need a rooster to fertilize their eggs. So, unless you want to hatch baby chicks on your own, opt out of the rooster choice.
One thing I should note is that baby chicks should be “sexed”, meaning, they were determined by the hatchery to be either male or female. This is important because it’s really difficult (almost impossible) to tell if they are male or female until one starts crowin’ and one starts layin’. Let the experts at the hatchery determine this for you!
Supplies for raising baby chicks
Everybody thinks of coops when they think of chickens, and rightly so. Chicken coops are a must when owning chickens, but one thing to remember is that they won’t be living in their coop until about 6-8 weeks of age, so you still have some time to plan & build for that chicken mansion you’re dreaming up. In the beginning, we transformed our old crib into a chicken coop, but as our chicken flock grew, we later made our own huge chicken mansion. Check out all the chicken designs on my Pinterest board here.
Supplies for baby chicks:
- Big cardboard or plastic box – depending on how many baby chicks you purchase. (we use a large plastic storage container)
- Wood shavings – We use pine shavings from our feed store.
- A chicken feeder – this is a special feeder designed to keep them from pooping in their food.
- A chicken waterer – this is is a special water container designed to keep them from pooping in their water.
- Heat lamp
- Baby chick food
Food & Water for baby chicks
There are three kinds of food for chickens – food for baby chicks, food for chickens laying eggs and food for chickens being raised for meat. Obviously, because you’re starting with baby chicks, you need to purchase baby chick food, which will have a higher protein content (20-22%) to help them grow.
We strive to raise our animals holistically and try to feed organic feed when possible. If you buy “regular” chicken feed, it will only cost you about $11.00 for a 50 lb. bag. Pretty good deal, huh? Well, not really. “Regular” feed is chock full of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) which are KNOWN for making chickens sick. Genetically modified organisms are also called Roundup Ready. GMO’s require massive amounts of pesticides, herbicides & fungicides. Yum. “Regular” feed is also usually pre-packaged with anti-biotics. Manufacturers do this to pre-treat for things like coccidia. The problem is, anit-biotics should never be given as a treatment, unless your animal is sick. Feeding your chickens a regular feed will come out to costing you about 82 cents per dozen of eggs.
Organic, Non-GMO feed is about $24.00 for a 50 lb. bag but the benefits are amazing. Our feed is full of clean grains, as they should be, with no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones, or anti-biotics in them. We also supplement their diet with dinner table scraps. It costs us about $1.75 a dozen. At the store, you can expect to pay $5.99 a dozen for ORGANIC, FREE-RANGE eggs.
Whatever you decide, both food & water should be kept out “free-choice”, meaning it should be available to them 24-7. As they eat and drink, just keep filling ’em up!
Shelter when raising baby chicks
Like I said before, your baby chicks won’t be able to live in a coop until they are at least 6-8 weeks old. Baby chicks can’t regulate their temperature until they are this age, so they need a controlled environment (aka a laundry room or bathroom)
A box (plastic or cardboard) is the best way to go when raising baby chicks, but it will need to be cleaned out everyday. Because your new baby chicks have just come from somewhere across the country, it’s important to wear gloves when cleaning up their droppings until their systems are cleaned out and free from the stuff they picked up at the hatchery & feed store.
Baby chicks & body temperature
Like I said before, baby chicks aren’t that fabulous at maintaining their body temperature. Once they’re adults, they’ll be hardy and able to handle cold temps and hot temps, but for now they need some extra care.
A heat lamp will give them just what they need until they’re old enough to maintain their body temperature on their own. They need 95 degrees for the first week, 90 the second week, 85 the next and so on. Once they reach the age where they can handle the temperature in your location, you are free to place them outside (with maybe a heat lamp on at night).
TIP: Watch your baby chicks. If they are huddled in a corner they are cold. If they are walking around they are nice and warm.
What about diseases or sicknesses when raising baby chicks?
When baby chicks come from the hatchery & feed store, they are carrying with them a higher amount of intestinal bacteria than normal. Combine this with the stress of transportation, and you’ve got a baby chick who’s going to be more sensitive to sickness. Now, the answer with most farmers is to feed an anti-biotic feed, but we aren’t most farmers and here’s what we do to take our baby chicks through this phase.
- We feed organic, NON-GMO feed.
- We add Molly’s Herbal Dewormer to their feed (this is a blend that helps rid the intestines of parasites and other harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract. I couldn’t recommend this more. It works!)
- For the first 2 weeks of the baby chicks stay, we make sure to wash our hands after each time we handle them. After that, we don’t worry as much. We still encourage our kids to wash their hands, but we’re not as worried about our kids becoming sick from anything. We encourage a good exposure to bacteria here on the farm, and it’s helps our kid’s immunity become strong!
Raising baby chicks is an adventure!
I think every child should get the chance to raise baby chicks. It’s so fun for kids to get involved with the feeding and caring for them! And be sure to take a picture of that chicken pirate of yours. Because it will happen:)
Hi Barb-
DaNelle gives it to everybody about once a week. So, when she fills the feeders, she’ll put in a couple of tablespoons. She usually waits until about 2 weeks of age to do this.
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Hi Danelle. I have a question on Molly’s herbal dewormer. We have baby chicks coming tomorrow. When should I start the dewormer and how much should I give? I purchased both formulas #1 and #2 I believe.
My local feed store and online chick places offer vaccinated or non vaccinated chicks. What is your recommendation?
Hi Megan Jo-
Vaccinated chicks are preferred, just because it’s not always clear exactly where they are from or where they have traveled.
Good luck with your chicks!
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
HI Molly, I am a part time mail carrier in NYS and I just wanted to share this information: Please tell your followers!! Do not order chicks in the summer time to be delivered via USPS. Some distributors will mail them anyway – I had the horrible (and smelly task) of delivering deceased chicks to a customer one hot summer day – shame on the the company that sent them! Please tell all your subscribers to be aware of this and only order them when the weather is conducive to transporting the chicks!
PS, first time chicken mom here – we just got 6 baby FEMALE Rhode Island Reds and can’t wait to get them in their new coop when they are old enough!!
Wonderful website you have!
Hi Kim-
Great advice! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! This is good and much needed information to let folks know about.
Best of luck with your chicks! 🙂
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Hi there! Thanks for all this helpful information. Just curious what your thoughts on vaccinating chicks are. Is it necessary? I’m getting close to purchasing my first flock. I am beyond excited! Also, I haven’t found an organic feed that doesn’t contain soy! Do you have a brand that doesn’t have soy listed in the ingredients? Thank you so much!
Hi Misty-
That’s so great you are getting chicks! When DaNelle purchases chicks they are already vaccinated and that seems to work the best for her. DaNelle suggests the chicken feed that is linked on her Resources Page under “Raising Animals”:https://www.weedemandreap.com/resources/
I hope that helps!
Thank you! -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Hi Danielle, I have a few questions, I am looking into buying a few chicks for my property ( around 4) as egg-laying hens, what breeds would you recommend? Could I use the hens for meat when they stop laying eggs? And is there any specific food you would recommend to buy?
Hi Gabriella-
For an all around good layer, Rhode Island Reds are a good chicken and can be used for dual purpose as a meat chicken. Other good layers are White Leghorns, Plymouth Rocks, and Laced Wyandottes.
You can use hens for meat, but know after they reach adulthood they get pretty tough.
This article talks about what you can do with them after they stop laying: https://www.weedemandreap.com/tell-chicken-stopped-laying-eggs/
DaNelle’s “Resources” page has a link to a feed she likes: https://www.weedemandreap.com/resources/
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
We are moving to Tennesse in a few months to a tiny house on 3 acres. Gardening is our first step with chickens right behind and goats thereafter. It is just me,my husband and our two dogs. We would like to do egg layers and meat chickens. What breeds do you suggest? Chicken alements and remedies you have experience with would be great!
Hi Sandy-
Sounds like you are embarking on quite the adventure!
As for chickens that are a dual purpose breed (both eggs and meat), Rhode Island Reds are a great choice. Plus they have a nice demeanor and can withstand both heat and cold.
Here are a few links to articles/papers on diseases/problems that the University of Tennessee Extension has on their website:
This is their main page for family flocks (scroll to about mid-page): https://extension.tennessee.edu/Bedford/Pages/Poultry.aspx
These 2 are on their site, but are from the University of Florida, but are applicable to your area:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm015
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm021
If you have questions about what diseases and parasites are specific to the area you are moving it’s best to contact your local extension office. In general allow your chickens proper nutrition and adequate space and they will stay disease free. I hope that helps! Best of luck and Happy Farming! Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Danelle,
Thanks for your info here! We just got our first chickens this year. My question is about the non-GMO feed. Do you have sources or research to share about the effects of GMO feed in animals? I try to avoid GMOs in food that my family eats, but am curious how it translates to raising animals. Since this is my first time, I’m still learning everything. When you get new layers from a hatchery, do you just switch them to non-GMO feed? Or are there other concerns/questions you have about practices that take place between hatching and being sold as day-old chicks?
Great question, Emily! I’ve always stayed on the “feed them organic, non-GMO” side of the fence, but I have heard that eating a gmo-fed chicken is better than eating a gmo plant because the chicken has kidneys & liver to clean out toxins. When they’re new from the hatchery, they haven’t been fed food yet, usually. When a chick is born, they eat the yolk and that sustains them for 2-3 days. 🙂
Oh that’s a good point about the organs filtering out toxins. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for this article! We’re getting chick’s today and it really helped. A friend recommended Buff Orpingtons because we have children and want them to be pets as well as for laying. If we’re only getting 4, would you recommend a lot the same or mix? We’re in a subdivision so I don’t want to get more than that.
Thank you!
Stephanie
Yes, that’s a perfect breed! I’d definitely get 4 of those!
Hi! We are looking at getting a few chicks soon (for egg laying). My husband has already built this big chicken coop for them. While they are still in the box; is it okay to leave them unattended all day while at work? Also, when they are old enough to be outside is there anyway the coop could be to big? We only plan on getting maybe 4 chicks but my husband has built an 8’x8’x8′ coop… Will they be able to find everything okay with the coop being so big? Also, would you recommend enclosing the floor or just leaving it open for dirt and grass?
Thanks!!
Yes, they’ll be just fine:) Sounds fun!
Thanks for this post. We are getting our first chickens this year and I’m learning all I can. Do you have a favorite breed?
Yes, I LOVE barred rocks!
Hi DaNelle! Do you use the Molly’s herbal dewormer on chicks? If not, when do you start and how do you administer it?
Thanks so much!
Mike
Hi Mike, I give it to everybody about once a week. So, when I fill their feeders, I’ll put a couple tablespoons, though I usually wait till about 2 weeks of age to do this:)
Thank you SO much for all your information!! Because of your blog we have some baby chicks arriving mid-July!! So excited… and I’m working on the goat.. that’s going to take a bit more convincing for my husband. We live in Nova Scotia, Canada so our climate is quite a bit different but all your tips are so helpful. Thanks so much 🙂
Oh, how fun! Congrats!!
I am wanting to get chickens for both eggs and meat. My grandmother always butchered her own chickens and the meat was really tough. Has this been your experience as well?
It really is best to raise both meat chickens and laying chickens. A hen that is 2 years or older will always be tough, while a 3 month old meat chicken will be tender. I’ve found it’s best to raise my laying hens until they are too old, then make a broth out of them:)
SO EXCITED i found your site. We are just starting to look at a move to the country. I want goats and chickens and possibly a pig or two. Any info on pigs?
I don’t have any info on pigs, I haven’t raised them myself yet:)
Thanks for the great article! Can you give the sources where you get all of your supplies?? And where in AZ you get your chicks ? Thanks so much!!
I get all my supplies from the local feed store — I get my baby chicks from there too! I like Aden’s on Power & Williamsfield:)
We just got our first chicks a couple months ago. You’re right, it is so much fun! We have guineas too. Guineas aren’t nearly as friendly as the chickens, but they are here to eat ticks and guard the homestead. Chicks and keets in the dining room made life interesting!
Thanks!