We’ve had backyard chickens for four years and started with raising baby chicks. Back then I wondered what we needed to get started and couldn’t find a good list that was specific but also not so loaded with incidentals that we might never be able to afford it.
Here is what you need to get started raising baby chicks:
- A sturdy place for baby chicks to live temporarily. I use a metal wheelbarrow or wagon. My first preference is something that can be used in other ways. A big storage tote also works. Wheels will make it easier to clean out but not mandatory. You can also buy a brooding station.
- A brooder light. This is a small heat lamp that the baby chicks will huddle around to stay warm.
- Brooder light bulbs. These are red and screw into the light. I like a two-pack of brooder bulbs because if one breaks you have another ready to go without putting the chicks in danger while you try to buy another one.
- Pine shavings. I put a thick layer of fine pine shavings in the bottom of the wheelbarrow and clean out every week or so.
- Water and food feeders. Baby chicks walk all over everything so it’s safest for them if you restrict the food and water to the small openings in the specially designed feed containers for chicks. If you need something to store any of the food then consider using 5 gallon food safe buckets.
- Chick feed. I always get medicated chick feed to help keep the chicks healthy and am happy to report that we’ve never lost one.
Where Do Baby Chicks Live?
PHASE 1: I put the wheelbarrow in our garage. There’s an outlet for the lamp, it’s very secure from predators and I can check on them often and easily.
PHASE 2: I move the chicks to a trailer in the shed. They still have the brooder light but need more space. I also put chicken wire over the top of the trailer because they start to get more mobile. I don’t want them to escape and dehydrate or hurt themselves otherwise.
PHASE 3: Teenage chicks with all their feathers get to move outside. They don’t need a brooder light anymore. If this is your first flock, you can put them in their coop! Since I already have adult chickens, who will need time to get to know new birds, I move my teens to a dog kennel. The kennel goes inside our chicken run so they can get to know each other for a few weeks, until my new chickens are full size AND acclimated to the rest of the flock.
Great resources for raising backyard chickens from chicks
For more information on getting started with baby chicks, I trust these resources:
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