Raising Baby Chicks

Raising baby chicks is a low cost and enjoyable way to build up your backyard or homestead flock.

You can purchase day old chicks from hatcheries or you can hatch your own chicks.

The chicks need to be kept safe and warm and they must have access to clean food and water at all times.

Brooder Box

If you don’t have a broody hen around then a brooder box is an essential piece of equipment for raising baby chicks.

A simple brooder can be made from a cardboard box. Put some pine shavings on the floor and hang a 250w infra red heat lamp (with a guard)over the box. Rabbit and guinea pig cages also work well and are easy to clean.

Keep the box clean. Chicks are prone to a number of diseases, many of which can be prevented with good sanitation.

When the chicks are 4 weeks old, place a stick or dowell 4 inches off the floor for the chicks to jump on to.

The chicks can leave the brooder and settle into their coop when they are around 6 weeks old and have their feathers.

Feed

Feed them chick starter
from a chick feeder

Starter comes in two kinds – medicated and non medicated. The medicated feed will prevent coccidiosis.

If you use non medicated, pay special attention to cleanliness. Raising baby chicks is messy and you need to keep on top of housekeeping for them. Make sure that their litter is changed regularly and that the food and water is fresh.

Leave feed with the chicks so that they can eat whenever they need to.

Throw some grit into the box – make sure that it is chick grit, they’ll find it as they scratch around.

Water

Use a proper waterer so the chicks don’t tip over the water bowl or fall in and drown.

Ensure the water is clean – chicks poop everywhere and that includes in their feed and water supply.

Temperature

When raising baby chicks it is essential to keep them at the right temperature. The chicks will die if they get too hot or too cold.

For the first week or two, the temperature should be between 90 – 100 degrees.

Lower the temperature by 5 degrees per week until the chicks have their feathers at around 6 – 8 weeks old.

A thermometer
in the brooder makes it easy to keep an eye on the temperature but the chicks behaviour will also indicate if they are comfortable. If they are panting and trying to get as far away from the heat lamp light as they can, then they are too hot. If they are hudled together under the lamp and chirping loudly, then they are too cold.

Keep an eye on the temperature in the brooder and monitor the chicks behaviour, if they are too hot, raise the heat lamp a little, if they are too cold lower it down a bit.

Chicks are like any other babies – they sleep a lot at first. So don’t be alarmed if they aren’t hustling and bustling around straight away!

Handling

Raising baby chicks is a lot of fun and part of that fun is picking the babies up and giving them a cuddle. But leave them be for the first day or two. They need to unwind and get settled in their new environment. Plus the chicks can get injured very easily in the first few days – even if you are very careful.

After a few days you can pick them up so that they get used to you and aren’t fearful of people.

Hold a chick by placing one hand under it’s belly and place your other hand over the chick. Hold them gently but firmly or they’ll be out of your grasp before you know it.

When your chicks fisrt arrive especially if they have come by mail, they will be fairly stressed. Get them into their warm brooder box and keep an eye on them. Help them to drink some water if they don’t go to it right away.

Gently dip their beaks into the water and they should start to drink.

If you poke at the feed with your finger that will encourage them to start to peck at the food.

Common Problems

Raising baby chicks is not always straight forward. Sometimes problems do occur. Knowing what to look out for will ensure that you can spot a problem quickly and take action at th earliest opportunity.

Pasting Up

This is also known as pasty butt. Young chicks, especially ones who arrive in the mail, are often pretty stressed and this can leaad to pasting up. The chicks being too hot or too cold can also cause pasting up.

What happens is the poop builds up around and over the vent and hardens. Next time the chick poops, the poop can’t get out and it forms a plug.

You must clean this plug away or the chick will die.

Moisten the plug with a cloth soaked in warm water and gently ease the plug away from the vent. This could take a while depending on how much poop you need to soften and clear away.

Dry the area and apply a touch of vaseline to prevent the skin becoming sore.

Keep a close eye on all of the chicks to make sure that you spot pasty butts as soon as possible.

Spradle Leg

This is where the chicks hips dislocate and legs splay out from it’s body instead of going straight down. It’s casued by slippery bedding that the chicks can’t get traction on.

Avoid this situation by using the correct bedding. Never use shredded newspaper it is far too slippery once it is soiled.

If detected early enough spraddles can be corrected by placing a hobble on the chick.

Cut a 3/4 inch band aid in half along it’s length. And fasten it on the chicks legs like this.

Curled Toes

One of our birds has curled toes, (she came to us that way as a point of lay bird), she isn’t affected by them too much but it’s still better to try and fix the problem in young chicks.

To correct curled toes, cut pieces of pipe cleaner to the same length as the chicks toes. Place a piece of pipe cleaner next to each toe to act as a splint. Secure the pipe cleaner to the toe with a strip of medical tape.

It will also help if you give the chick a drink fortified with Riboflavin, since it is a riboflavin deficiency which casues the condition.

Hopefully your experience of raising baby chicks will be a problem free and enjoyable one.

For more information about raising baby chicks, please refer to this guide from the University of Minnesota Extension.

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