The Chick Life
When Aaron first came to me about possibly owning chickens, I thought he was crazy. They aren't cute or cuddly and I was sure they would smell like poop (literally). We started buying our produce and eggs at a local farm and the difference in taste of the farm-fresh eggs was amazing. I started researching chicken ownership, mostly on Backyard Chickens, and found out lots of positive things that made me think it might be a good idea for my family. First, bug control. People said that they help control the fire ant population. SOLD! Second, education and life lessons for the kids. Third, EGGS. My family eats a ton. Fourth, quality of life for the chicken.
***Stop here if you don't like reading sad animal stories***
I have always turned a blind eye on how the animals we use for food are treated because it made me too sad. One of my friends told me that even many "free-range" chickens live in a very confined space with limited ability to go outside. Even worse, some factory chickens have their beaks filed down so they are unable to peck at eggs around them, which makes them have pain for the rest of their lives. This breaks my heart! I will say that I did not research this myself because I can't handle animal abuse videos/stories, so I'm no expert! But that was enough for me.
***No more sad animals stories after this point***
Anyway, I was sold. There are lots of things that go into chicken ownership, but one of the first decisions you need to make is if you want to get chicks or hens. There are some perks to buying them as adults. Your overall startup cost generally isn't as much (no brooder to start, not having to feed them from the start, etc). You don't have to monitor them constantly to make sure their heat lamp is working properly. You don't have the constant concern that they could be roosters (more on this in a future post). And most importantly, they are laying eggs. Aaron initially wanted to start with hens but I really wanted them as chicks. I thought it would be fun for the kids to watch them grow and I thought they might be better with us if we could hold them every day.
Chicks it is! We got our first girls at a local hatchery (which I think was the better choice) and our new babies from a local farm supply store. The owner of the hatchery was very knowledgable about his breeds, while the worker at the store picked out a completely different breed than what I had requested. Research your breeds before you pick them up so you know what they are supposed to look like. Don't be like me and rely on the knowledge of someone else. But no matter where you get your girls, you'll need a few supplies to bring them home.
Supply List
1. Brooder with breathable lid. Depending on how many chicks you get will determine the size of the brooder that you need. Please don't get just one chick; they need company! Anyway, I've read that people tape big cardboard boxes together, but that seems like a huge fire hazard to me. Not to mention, I would say the bottom of the box would be hard to keep from getting wet and gross. We used one of those large storage totes when we first brought our (originally 5) girls home. It was a good size when they were tiny, but they quickly outgrew it. So we upgraded to a 2x4 foot galvanized tub. It was plenty of room for them until they were ready to move outside. You will also need to put some sort of breathable lid on top of it, because they will eventually try (and succeed) to fly out. Aaron made ours, and he agreed to write up how he made it, which I will include in a later post.
2. Heat lamp. Your chicks will need to have their heat monitored until they are fully feathered, which is around 8 weeks old. You'll need to get a heat lamp with a red heat bulb. Apparently it's easier for the girls to sleep with the red bulb, versus a white. Their temperature needs change weekly by about 5 degrees. Our girls had to start out at 95 degrees when we brought them home at 1 day old. Then we lowered it to 90 degrees when they were 1 week old, etc. You'll be able to tell if your chicks are too hot or too cold depending on their actions. If it's too hot they will open their mouth as if they are panting. If they are too cold they will be huddled up together, usually making lots of noise at the same time to let you know something's wrong. Most people seem to just raise their heat lamp away from their brooder a little to make the change in temperature, but Aaron ended up making the heat lamp temperature controlled, which was amazing. He also wrote up instructions on making one, which I will post later.
3. Chick Feeder. The size of chick feeder you need depends on how many chicks you have. We have one similar to this and it has been great while they are babies.
4. Waterer. This base and top has been fine for our chicks. You will have to check it often, because they are constantly kicking shavings or pooping in it. They've also knocked it over a few times, so I've had to replace their shavings before I had planned to on a few occasions.
5. Chick food. Chicks need a special kind of food until they are at a laying age, and you have the choice of medicated or unmedicated feed. We decided to give them medicated as an extra precaution. They go through food pretty fast, but it's cheap compared to other animals' feed.
6. Pine shavings - People use various bedding material, but make sure that you're not using cedar shavings as this will cause respiratory problems for your girls. Pine shavings have been everywhere we have shopped which is why we use them. I clean out the brooder about once a week, or more often if they spill their water. We go through a ton of pine shavings, but they are only about $5 for a big bag.
7. Roost. Aaron built ours with a couple of pieces of wood. This is something they need for sleeping as they grow. At first they will just plop over wherever they want, but they will eventually sleep on these.
I know I wrote a ton of information, and I hope you find it helpful! Once again, I'm not a chicken expert by any means, but I'm just documenting what has worked for us so far. I hope you found it helpful!
-Morgan
***Stop here if you don't like reading sad animal stories***
I have always turned a blind eye on how the animals we use for food are treated because it made me too sad. One of my friends told me that even many "free-range" chickens live in a very confined space with limited ability to go outside. Even worse, some factory chickens have their beaks filed down so they are unable to peck at eggs around them, which makes them have pain for the rest of their lives. This breaks my heart! I will say that I did not research this myself because I can't handle animal abuse videos/stories, so I'm no expert! But that was enough for me.
***No more sad animals stories after this point***
Anyway, I was sold. There are lots of things that go into chicken ownership, but one of the first decisions you need to make is if you want to get chicks or hens. There are some perks to buying them as adults. Your overall startup cost generally isn't as much (no brooder to start, not having to feed them from the start, etc). You don't have to monitor them constantly to make sure their heat lamp is working properly. You don't have the constant concern that they could be roosters (more on this in a future post). And most importantly, they are laying eggs. Aaron initially wanted to start with hens but I really wanted them as chicks. I thought it would be fun for the kids to watch them grow and I thought they might be better with us if we could hold them every day.
Chicks it is! We got our first girls at a local hatchery (which I think was the better choice) and our new babies from a local farm supply store. The owner of the hatchery was very knowledgable about his breeds, while the worker at the store picked out a completely different breed than what I had requested. Research your breeds before you pick them up so you know what they are supposed to look like. Don't be like me and rely on the knowledge of someone else. But no matter where you get your girls, you'll need a few supplies to bring them home.
Supply List
1. Brooder with breathable lid. Depending on how many chicks you get will determine the size of the brooder that you need. Please don't get just one chick; they need company! Anyway, I've read that people tape big cardboard boxes together, but that seems like a huge fire hazard to me. Not to mention, I would say the bottom of the box would be hard to keep from getting wet and gross. We used one of those large storage totes when we first brought our (originally 5) girls home. It was a good size when they were tiny, but they quickly outgrew it. So we upgraded to a 2x4 foot galvanized tub. It was plenty of room for them until they were ready to move outside. You will also need to put some sort of breathable lid on top of it, because they will eventually try (and succeed) to fly out. Aaron made ours, and he agreed to write up how he made it, which I will include in a later post.
2. Heat lamp. Your chicks will need to have their heat monitored until they are fully feathered, which is around 8 weeks old. You'll need to get a heat lamp with a red heat bulb. Apparently it's easier for the girls to sleep with the red bulb, versus a white. Their temperature needs change weekly by about 5 degrees. Our girls had to start out at 95 degrees when we brought them home at 1 day old. Then we lowered it to 90 degrees when they were 1 week old, etc. You'll be able to tell if your chicks are too hot or too cold depending on their actions. If it's too hot they will open their mouth as if they are panting. If they are too cold they will be huddled up together, usually making lots of noise at the same time to let you know something's wrong. Most people seem to just raise their heat lamp away from their brooder a little to make the change in temperature, but Aaron ended up making the heat lamp temperature controlled, which was amazing. He also wrote up instructions on making one, which I will post later.
3. Chick Feeder. The size of chick feeder you need depends on how many chicks you have. We have one similar to this and it has been great while they are babies.
4. Waterer. This base and top has been fine for our chicks. You will have to check it often, because they are constantly kicking shavings or pooping in it. They've also knocked it over a few times, so I've had to replace their shavings before I had planned to on a few occasions.
5. Chick food. Chicks need a special kind of food until they are at a laying age, and you have the choice of medicated or unmedicated feed. We decided to give them medicated as an extra precaution. They go through food pretty fast, but it's cheap compared to other animals' feed.
6. Pine shavings - People use various bedding material, but make sure that you're not using cedar shavings as this will cause respiratory problems for your girls. Pine shavings have been everywhere we have shopped which is why we use them. I clean out the brooder about once a week, or more often if they spill their water. We go through a ton of pine shavings, but they are only about $5 for a big bag.
7. Roost. Aaron built ours with a couple of pieces of wood. This is something they need for sleeping as they grow. At first they will just plop over wherever they want, but they will eventually sleep on these.
Here's our brooder! You can see the lid and temperature control Aaron made, the heat lamp (we had 2 to start since the brooder was so large), the pine shavings, & chick food.
Closer look at the brooder lid and temperature control.
Here's the inside of the brooder after the temperature control turned off the heat lamp. The food and waterer are as far away from the heat lamp as possible to help prevent bacterial growth. You can also see Florence on the roost. The paver is in there just for extra entertainment, haha. Just FYI, it's actually brooder cleaning day here! This is what it looks like with about a week's worth of poop in it.
We keep our food in the big trash can, which will be moved into the garage eventually. Then there's the big bag of pine shavings and an unopened bag of chick feed, which I'll add to the trash can once the other is out.
I know I wrote a ton of information, and I hope you find it helpful! Once again, I'm not a chicken expert by any means, but I'm just documenting what has worked for us so far. I hope you found it helpful!
-Morgan
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