Chicks that arrive in the store are just hatched, and are only 3 or 4 days old when they land on Friday mornings. They spend a few hours in the store getting warmed up, drinking water, and getting a few bites of their first food. While we tend to worry a lot about them getting enough food and water, freshly hatched chicks are most susceptible to a chill. If a chick gets too cold, sometimes they cannot recover. This is why it’s so important to get your brooder set up and warmed up before you bring your chicks home.
Items you’ll need for chicks:
- Brooder: Metal tanks work best (like the ones in the store’s chickroom) because there is less fire hazard from the heat lamp constantly shining on the tank. Make sure it’s secure from predators: household puppies are the biggest culprits of chick disasters.
- Heat Lamp: Make sure the base is ceramic. Heat-bulbs can melt plastic parts.
- Heat Bulb: All chicks need heat: they are most comfortable living in a temperature of about 90o for their first week of life.
- Feeders: Make sure there’s room for all of your chicks to have access to the feeder. About two chicks per feeder hole is a good rule to follow.
- Waterers: If the water is too deep some chicks can drown, especially bantams and game birds. We carry foam inserts for waterers to keep give chicks a boost if they get into the waterers.
- Bedding: Pelleted bedding works the best for chicks. It’s absorbent of spilled water, and easy to clean. Straw should not be used: it is difficult for chicks to navigate over large strands, it doesn’t absorb moister very well, and mold grows in it easily. Shavings work, but spilled water tends to pool under shavings, making it more difficult to clean.
- Feed: Most feeds have switched over to a starter/grower formula. This is the feed to provide for the first several months of the chick’s life. Grower formulas have higher protein content to support rapid growth, and does not have the calcium supplement of a layer ration. Feed a grower ration until the chicken starts laying eggs. Never feed a layer ration to growing chicks: the extra calcium can cause kidney damage.
- Grit: Birds don’t have teeth. They require grit (small pieces of limestone) to grind up feed, and other fibrous plant material. It’s best to have grit available throughout your chicken’s life. Grit is available in different sizes to suit growing birds.
- Electrolytes/Probiotic: It is difficult for birds, especially chicks, to absorb all of the trace nutrients they require from feed alone. Chicks are especially vulnerable, because they start out with a blank gut. We recommend mixing powdered electrolytes and probiotics into the chick’s water for at least their first few weeks of life. It’s also nice to have on hand to help the natura immune system of an injured bird recover, or for a boost during hot summer days when it’s easy to get dehydrated.
- Grubs/Mealworms: Grubs are locally source dried larvae that birds can’t get enough of. They’re a great protein supplement for chicks, and for molting birds. Don’t overfeed to chicks, use them as a treat or candy. You can whistle, or give a call when you bring the dried bugs to your little flock, this way they’ll associate your sound with the reward of a special treat. It’s a great way to hand-train birds also: patiently offer grubs out of your hand. This way reaching down to chicks is a happy moment, rather than a scary one.
- Chaffhaye: Chaffhaye is fermented, chopped alfalfa with molasses. It’s very delicious, and nutritious for birds. The fermentation provides probiotics to support a chick’s natural immune system. The alfalfa provides fiber to help with the digestive tract. Chicks who eat chaffhaye from day 1 are less likely to develop “pasty butt”, which occurs when their poop is too soft to fall off and can cake over their vent. In extreme cases, the vent can become blocked to the point that it causes internal damage.
