Baby Chicks: The Complete Guide – Country Green Living

Raising baby chicks is a rewarding and fun experience for the whole family. While baby chicks are time consuming, especially during the first month after hatching, raising them is really quite simple. You can fashion most of the necessary equipment from common household items, treat common problems with garden herbs and garlic and mix your own baby chick starter feed out of ingredients that are already in your pantry.

Starting with baby chicks will give you a personal connection to the flock of hens that will produce eggs for your family. Many people order chicks each year to raise as broilers as an organic or free range source of meat for the family. Whatever your goals, raising baby chicks is an experience every chicken owner should have.

This guide will discuss all aspects of raising baby chicks, from purchasing chicks or eggs to preparing the brooder to introducing the young birds to an existing flock.

Making the Decision to Raise Chicks

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If you are considering raising baby chicks you are probably either starting a new flock of chickens or adding to an existing flock. Each comes with its own special considerations:

Starting a Flock

If your baby chicks are the beginning of your first ever flock of chickens, you are in for an exciting adventure. Keep in mind that raising chickens is a commitment. While chickens are amongst the easiest farm animals to raise, and the most rewarding as they provide you with amazing fresh eggs in abundance, they do demand attention, especially when they are young. Before you purchase baby chicks, you should consider whether you have the time and resources to do so. Here are a few things to consider before you begin:

• Time
  Any animal that joins your family or farm requires a time commitment. If you’ll be starting your flock with baby chicks, the amount of time they require will change considerably over the first six months.
  • The First Four Weeks
    The first month with baby chicks is time consuming. They need to a warm, safe brooder, to be fed several times a day and have their water changed constantly. Expect to check in at least 5 times a day during this period.
  • The Second and Third Month
    From 4-12 weeks your baby chicks will be rapidly turning into full grow chickens. During this time they will need to be gradually introduced to the outdoors and eventually into the coop full time. They require fewer visits each day, but they do start getting adventurous at this stage, so you might find yourself wrangling baby chicks around the house.
  • In the Coop
    Once your baby chicks have grown into adult chickens and are settled in the coop they will require daily feeding, watering and egg collection. The coop should be thoroughly cleaned on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on its design and whether or not the chickens are free to roam outside the coop. The more your birds are able to forage on their own and spend time outdoors the healthier they will be and the less time they will require.
• Legality
  Check with the city, county and home owner’s association before ordering baby chicks. Many places prohibit keeping roosters (some don’t even allow chickens at all). Since sexing baby chicks is impossible to do with 100% accuracy, you could easily end up with a rooster or two. Make sure you have a plan for him, especially if you aren’t allowed to keep him when he starts crowing at 2-6 months of age.
• Keep at Least 3 Chickens
  Chickens are social animals and don’t do well alone or in pairs. When you order baby chicks, three is the minimum, six is better. If you are raising hens for eggs, keep in mind that most hens lay 5-6 eggs each week. That means that five hens will easily provide two dozen eggs a week.
• Space
  Your baby chicks can be kept nearly anywhere with a little insulation and a good heat light for the first few weeks. As they grow older they will need more space. Chickens can be raised in confinement, though you can reduce feed costs, keep them healthier and get more nutritious eggs if they have some room to range. Make sure you are ready for the adult birds, as baby chicks grow into big hens in a surprisingly short time.

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Adding to a New Flock

You may find yourself with baby chicks when you already have an established flock of chickens. Maybe you had a broody hen who hatched out her own eggs, or perhaps you chose to increase the ranks of egg layers by purchasing day old chicks from a chicken hatchery or by hatching baby chicks using an egg incubator.

If you had a broody hen that hatched her own chicks she will take care of nearly everything for you. She’ll teach them to eat and drink, and protect them from aggressive birds in the rest of the flock until they are old enough to integrate. You can help her by providing her with private quarters for the first month or so. This is especially important if she is not one of the dominant hens. Make sure she has plenty of food and water available at all times. If at all possible, sequester her with chicken wire within the coop so she can still see the other chickens.

If the baby chicks only have you for a mother, you need to be cautious about introducing them to the flock. Chickens develop a clear pecking order within the flock, and they can be downright cruel to new additions. Many people suggest keeping two separate flocks rather than risk introductions, but this is often impractical and, I believe, unnecessary.

Here are 5 things you can do to successfully introduce baby chicks to the flock:

1. Be Patient
   Your baby chicks will have an easier time integrating into the flock if they are big and strong. Do not even consider an introduction until they are fully feathered, usually around 6 weeks of age. If you have the space to keep them separated from the rest of the flock until they are 8-10 weeks old the transition will be even smoother.
2. Introduce Baby Chicks to the Flock at Night
   Whenever you need to put one over on a chicken, do at night. Sleepy chickens are not observant and you can get away with a lot. For instance, if you have a broody hen you can trick her into taking extra eggs if you slip them under her at night. You can even fool a hen with chicks to take a baby chick that isn’t hers this way. In this case, wait till the coop is quiet and dark, and then place the baby chicks on a lower roost in the coop. In the morning the other chickens might be fooled into thinking that they were always there.
3. Give them Enough Space
   Chickens with lots of room to roam, feed and roost rarely have trouble, even when it comes to accepting new additions to the flock. Give them plenty of room to minimize jostling. Don’t be alarmed if you see some literal “hen pecking” going on. This is how chickens establish their order of dominance in the flock. Incidentally, it is also the origin of the term “pecking order”. Just make sure it doesn’t go so far as to cause physical injury to any of the birds.
4. Provide Plenty of Roost Space
   Dominant chickens roost on the highest branch. If your coop design allows it, try to provide multiple coops at the same height to discourage fighting. Provide at least 12″ of roost space per chicken when introducing your baby chicks to the flock.
5. Beware of Roosters
   If you have a rooster, he can help you sex your chicks before their secondary sex characteristics show up. He knows if another rooster has joined the flock, and he won’t like it. In most cases, hens are the ones to pick on younger birds. If one or more of the baby chicks is segregated from the flock or subject to abuse from the rooster, you can be reasonably certain you have a young cockerel on your hands.

Related: Sexing Chicks: Hens or Roosters?

There is no reason that you cannot introduce baby chicks to your flock successfully. Go slow, follow the tips above and keep a close eye on the coop for the first few days. Remember, if any chicken, adult or youth, is injured you must separate it from the flock immediately. Chickens have some cannibalistic tendencies that come out when they smell blood. They can literally peck a bloodied bird to death.

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How to Start Raising Chicks

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Once you’ve considered all the factors involved in raising chickens from baby chicks, it is time to find your birds. You may choose to purchase eggs to incubate yourself, or buy day-old chicks from a chicken hatchery.

Choosing a Breed

There are literally hundreds of breeds of chickens to choose from. The Cackle Hatchery alone offers well over 150 different breeds of day old baby chicks. To begin narrowing down the choices, consider what type of chicken you want to raise:

1. Laying Breeds
   These breeds of chickens are professional egg layers. Some, like the famous White Leghorn, can lay upwards of 300 eggs per year.
2. Meat Breeds
   Meat chickens grow quickly, develop large breasts and are typically slaughtered for meat at 8-16 weeks of age. The classic American meat chicken is the Cornish Cross, though many people prefer slower maturing heritage meat breeds like Delaware chickens because they suffer fewer problems related to rapid growth.
3. Dual Purpose Breeds
   Many breeds of chickens are respectable egg layers that also produce a substantial amount of meat. These breeds are ideal for the self-sufficient farm. You can raise your own baby chicks, save the hens as layers and butcher the roosters for meat. A good example of a dual purpose breed is the Aruacana, which also happens to lay beautiful pastel colored eggs.
4. Heritage Breeds
   Heritage breeds are protected. Many of these breeds are hardy, resilient birds which are likely to raise their own baby chicks. Some like the Chantecler lay eggs during the winter months when other hens take a break.

For more information, check out The Top Chicken Breeds for Egg Production, and Best Backyard Chickens: Choosing the Right Breed

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Fertilized Eggs for Sale

Will you start with the chicken or the egg? Raising baby chicks from the egg though to adulthood is an exciting and educational experience. It is a great way to teach your children about the miracles of life, along with a little responsibility. In fact, many elementary school classrooms hatch out a batch of baby chicks each year.

The internet is can lead you to great sources of chicken eggs, or take you astray to eggs with low hatching rates and unethical breeders. Follow these tips to using the internet in a smart way when looking for fertilized chicken eggs:

1. Don’t Buy Eggs on Craigslist or Ebay – There is no guarantee where the eggs came from or how old they are. Old or mistreated eggs won’t hatch into healthy baby chicks. The only exception to this rule is if you find a local farmer through one of these sites and you are able to visit their farm before purchasing the eggs.
2. Search for Your Area – Run a google search that looks something like this: “fertilized chicken eggs in XXXX (your town/county/state)”.
3. Search for Local Free Range Poultry Providers – A web search can lead you to local poultry farmers providing eggs or meat. They will be able to refer to reputable breeders, or perhaps furnish you with fertilized eggs or baby chicks themselves.

Here are some good resources to help you find fertilized chicken eggs for sale:

• Backyard Chickens Buy/Sell/Trade Forum – A great place to connect with other poultry lovers. You can find people with fertilized eggs, baby chicks and adult birds for sale or trade in your area.
• Murray McMurray Hatchery – This well-respected hatchery offers day old baby chicks and fertilized hatching eggs. They ship anywhere in the US.
• Blue Star Ranch – Uses natural herbal treatments and probiotics to keep their cage free flock healthy.

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Image courtesy of onegreenplanet.com

Day Old Chicks for Sale

There are many options when it comes to purchasing baby chicks. You may find a local breeder or fellow backyard chicken enthusiast who will sell you chicks. Most local feed stores have baby chicks in the spring and can order them at other times of the year. You can also order from a chick hatchery.

Unfortunately many baby chicks come from large factory style hatcheries with questionable practices. These baby chicks are not as healthy as they should be, and there are moral problems as well. Most backyard chicken keepers are trying to take a step back from factory farming by producing some of their own eggs or meat at home. So don’t support industrial hatcheries. Learn all you can about the farm before purchasing chicks, and be prepared to pay more for healthy, ethically raised birds.

For a full overview check out our page on Chicken Hatcheries.

The article above provides links to several well-run, large hatcheries. Here is a list of smaller farms which focus on ethical production of baby chicks:

• Miller Poultry – Most of the chickens owned by Miller Poultry in Indiana are raised on small farms by local Amish families. They are dedicated to ethical breeding and stress free lives for their birds.
• Local Hens – This is a great resource for finding small poultry farmers in your area. Many of these family owned farms have baby chicks or fertilized eggs available for sale at various times throughout the year.
• JM Farms – They have a very specialized hatchery selling bantam Silkie chicks. Every backyard flock should include a few of these beautiful and friendly birds.

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Life Cycle of a Baby Chick

Understanding the life cycle of baby chicks will help you prepare your home and coop to properly care for them. I find that it helps to go all the way back to the beginning, when the rooster first meets the hen, to properly understand what life is like for a baby chick from the egg onward.

Step One: The Egg

It all starts with a proud mother hen laying an egg. Anyone who has heard a chicken lay an egg can attest to the fact that she truly is proud. She announces her egg in a loud cackling voice. A good rooster stands nearby and makes nearly as much of a fuss as she does. This behavior is a bit puzzling, as it does announce the presence of the egg to predators as well. Some say that the hen putting on a display actually frightens potential predators, while others think it helps her claim her place in the flock’s pecking order. Typically the dominant hens make the most noise.

Once she begins laying at around six months of age, a hen will lay anywhere from 80-300 eggs per year. She lays the most eggs her first year of laying, though in the second year the eggs are typically larger. Hens can continue laying for ten years or more, though their production begins to fall sharply after the third year of laying. Many heritage breeds continue laying strongly for six or seven years.

The Parts of an Egg
Not every egg has the potential to become a baby chick. For an embryo to develop, a rooster must be present to fertilize the egg. But a hen can lay unfertilized eggs her entire life. In fact, any chicken eggs you purchase at the grocery store are unfertilized and will never develop into a baby chick.

You probably know that the egg white is full of protein, while the tasty yolk is high in saturated fats and cholesterol. A brightly colored farm fresh egg yolk is also a rich source of vitamins. But each part of the egg has a more important purpose than providing part of a balanced breakfast:

• The Yolk
  This is the part of the egg that nourishes the baby chick while it is still an embryo. For the 21 days it spends in the egg it will consume nutrients from the yolk in order to grow. In the last day before hatching the baby chick will pull what is left of the yolk into its abdomen via its umbilical cord. This provides a food source that sustains the chick for the first 48-72 hours of life after hatching. Never rush a hatching baby chick! You can prematurely sever its umbilical cord and cause it to bleed to death.
• The Egg White
  The egg white is a protective cushion that supports and shelters the embryo. The egg white is located between the developing embryo and the shell so it can absorb the shock if the egg is bumped or moved.
• The Shell
  The shell protects all the layers from damage. You may be surprised to learn that an egg shell is not solid. It is full of tiny holes through which oxygen enters the egg. At the larger end of the egg is a large air pocket which will sustain the chick during the long hours after it breaks its protective membrane but before it fully hatches.

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Step Two: Incubation

The best way to learn about incubating eggs is to watch a broody hen care for hers.

Keeping the Eggs Warm
A hen uses her body to warm the eggs. She’ll sit on her nest for nearly 24 hours a day, leaving just once to eat, drink and defecate. This period of broodiness is rough on a hen’s body. It is important that broody hen be allowed to hatch fertile eggs, as it is very hard to break her of her broodiness until she does. If she is allowed to sit on unfertilized eggs she can work herself into such a weakened state that her life could be in danger.

In an incubator a plain light bulb or heat lamp is used to maintain a constant temperature of 95°F throughout the entire three weeks.

Turning the Eggs
A mother hen will turn her eggs frequently with her beak. She does this because the yolk tends to float upwards towards the shell. If an egg isn’t turned the white can separate and the yolk will pass through, forcing the developing embryo against the shell. Without the protective cushion of the egg white the baby chick will die.

If you are incubating eggs on your own, you will either have to turn them by hand or use an automatic egg turner. If you turn eggs by hand make a light mark on one side so that you don’t accidentally miss one or neglect to turn it fully. It is important to stop turning the eggs about 3 days before they are due to hatch. This allows the embryo to position itself for hatching.

Check out this article for useful advice on hatching eggs using an incubator.

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Step Three: Hatching Baby Chicks

The actual process of hatching can be as lengthy and difficult an endeavor as a woman’s labor. The difference in this case is that all of the work is up to the baby chick. The average time for hatching is 5-7 hours, though some baby chicks need a full 24. The chick must position itself at the broad end of the egg. A baby chick that has grown to large may not be able to do so and can become trapped in the egg. Remember that large air pocket at the broad end of the egg? Once the egg tooth breaks through the membrane the baby chick’s lungs are fully functional and it relies on the air in that pocket to survive till it’s first pip.

Every baby chick has a hard, curved point on its beak, called an egg tooth. It uses this tooth to peck the shell open from the inside.

The Pip
The first visible sign of a baby chick hatching will be a tiny crack, or pip, in the surface of the egg. You’ll see the pip, sometimes even on day 20, and then you may not see any more activity for hours. Sometimes a chick waits a full 18 hours or more before gathering the strength to open the shell in earnest.

Image courtesy of injohnnaskitchen.com

Do not help a baby chick out of its shell.

No matter what happens, you must be patient. The chick knows what it is doing. If you rush it, you may separate it from the egg before the yolk is absorbed, which can kill the chick. Opening the egg for a baby chick also robs them of an important developmental stage. Chicks that receive help at this point often fail to thrive and develop weakly, if at all. The kindest thing you can do is wait, and don’t open the egg incubator.

Freshly Hatched Chicks
Baby chicks leave the egg exhausted. Leave them in the warm incubator for 24 hours or so to rest and recover. Remember that they are nourished by the yolk so they don’t need food at this stage. After the first day, move the chicks into the brooder you’ve prepared for them. Hard as it may be not to interfere, there is no reason to open the incubator at all from day 20 till 24 hours after the chicks have hatched.

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Step Four: Moving to the Brooder

Well before the baby chicks hatch you should have a brooder prepared for them. This will be their home for the next 4-6 weeks. A brooder can be anything from a cardboard box to an old cooler or plastic tub. Whatever home you choose for the early life of your baby chicks, it should include these essentials:

• No Slip Floor
  Many people are tempted to raise baby chicks in a bathtub. But the slippery surface of the tub is rough on baby chicks just learning to walk. Chicks raised on slick surfaces are likely to develop a condition called “spraddle leg” which makes it difficult if not impossible for them to stand. Line the brooder with cardboard or a mat and don’t put down slick shavings or straw until the chicks are two weeks old.
• Heat Source
  For the first week the brooder needs to stay a consistent 90-95°F. You’ll reduce the temperature by about 5°F each week. The safest option is to purchase a heat lamp, though a simple 25-60 Watt light bulb makes a good impromptu heat source for baby chicks. There are two important considerations when placing a heat lamp or light bulb in the brooder:
  1. Safety – Make sure the lamp cannot touch anything in the brooder. If you use a light bulb make sure it is well secured. Check it often and stay nearby to avoid any danger of fire.
  2. Create Climate Pockets – Position the lamp at one end of the brooder so the chicks can choose to move closer to it or further away. Baby chicks will tell you if the temperature is right. Cold chicks will huddle together near the light, while over heated chicks will sprawl out as far from it as they can get.

  Don’t worry about the light keeping the baby chicks awake. For the first few weeks you’ll need to leave it on 24 hours a day to keep them warm. They’ll sleep just fine.

• Food
  Feeding baby chicks is really quite simple. They don’t need much, but they do need food available at all times. You can mix a simple chick starter out of whole grain flours, milk or yogurt and scrambled eggs. For a full baby chick menu, check out the article What do Baby Chicks Eat?
• Grit
  Baby chicks and grown chickens don’t have teeth. They use their gizzard, an organ located just above their stomach, to grind food into small pieces. They need small rocks, or grit, in the gizzard to help. A chick doesn’t require grit until about 7 days after hatching. After that fine sand offered free choice works well.
• Clean Water
  Clean water is essential for the health of baby chicks, and it is the most challenging component in a brooder. Chickens of all ages are messy. Your baby chicks will walk in their water bowl, poop in it and dribble food in it. Then they won’t want to drink. A dehydrated baby chick can become chilled and grow sick very quickly. You can change the water in a shallow bowl (so the chicks don’t drown) several times a day, or purchase a baby chick waterer.

  Here are some of our favorite chick waterers. If you choose to make your own, let these designs inspire you:

• A Lid
  By the time they reach three weeks of age, your baby chicks will be adventurous. At this stage they often escape from the brooder. Having a lid available will save you lots of time chasing down baby chicks around the house.

Image courtesy of oldworldgardenfarms.com

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Step Five: The Transition Outdoors

Starting around four weeks of age your baby chicks can start spending time outdoors on warm days. They love to peck at grass and grubs. Early exposure to the outdoors is a good way to teach them to forage, an important skill if they are to be free ranging. Many baby chicks will take advantage of outdoor time to begin taking dust baths. This is an activity that should be encouraged. Dust baths help adult birds keep mites and other external parasites at bay. And its really fun to watch.

When the baby chicks are fully feathered, generally between six and ten weeks, you can move them out to their permanent coop. If the weather takes a particularly cold turn be prepared to place the heat lamp in the coop for them at night for an additional week or two.

For more details about what to expect at each step of the way, check out The Timeline for Raising Baby Chicks Week by Week.

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Troubleshooting: Problems Raising Baby Chicks

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Despite your best efforts, sometimes things don’t go as smoothly as you hope. This is an unfortunate reality of farm life. When it comes to raising baby chicks, there are several common problems that may arise. Here are the five issues you are most likely to encounter and how to resolve them:

1. The Issue: Pasty Butt
   Very young chicks are susceptible to this condition. The anus becomes clogged with feces, and the baby chick cannot defecate. If the plug is not cleared the chick will die.

   The Fix: Soaking in Warm Water
   You can hold the chick’s lower half in a bowl of warm water, or use a rag soaked in warm water as a compress. Be gentle, and never try to pull the plug out of the chicks anus. Doing so can pull the entire lower part of the digestive tract out, a fatal error.

2. The Issue: Spraddle Leg
   Baby chicks raised on slippery surfaces are more prone to this condition, though it can happen to any baby chick. In fact, some hatch with this common deformity. A spraddle legged chick has its feet pointing to the sides instead of straight ahead. In serious cases the chick cannot stand up.

   The Fix: A Baby Chick Hobble
   Gently tie the chick’s legs together with soft cloth, leaving about an inch between the legs. Something stretchy, like Vet Wrap, is ideal, although you can also use a thin hair tie. This supports the chick as she learns to walk. After a week or so she will be strong enough to run around without the hobble.

3. The Issue: Coccidiosis
   This parasitic infection is the most common cause of death in baby chicks. It causes diarrhea which rapidly dehydrates and kills the young birds.

   The Fix: Prevention
   Keep the brooder clean and make sure your chicks are fortified. You can purchase medicated feed, or go the natural route. Support the baby chicks’ immune systems by adding raw cider vinegar to their water, feeding a probiotic powder or yogurt, adding small amounts of garlic to their feed and sprinkling oregano and cinnamon on top. Quarantine any baby chick with diarrhea and feed her yogurt, probiotics and plenty of water.

4. The Issue: Marek’s Disease
   Marek’s is the name given to a collection of viruses that infect baby chicks. They cause tumors and paralysis and spread through dust and dander.

   The Fix: Strong Immune Systems
   While many chicken hatcheries offer a vaccine, it is not 100% effective. Your best bet is to prevent Marek’s by supporting strong immune systems in your chicks. The same measures that fight Coccidiosis will help protect the chicks from Marek’s.

5. The Issue: Respiratory Ailments Baby chicks are highly susceptible to all forms of respiratory problems. Look for runny eyes, coughing, sneezing and runny nostrils.

   
   The Fix: Naturally Clean Coop

   Use large wood shavings (but never cedar) for bedding instead of sawdust. Clean the coop with vinegar, water and baking soda in place of bleach. Treat a chick with runny or bubbly eyes by squirting a little saline in the eyes three times a day. Feed small amounts of fresh dill, thyme and chopped basil to support respiratory health.

Cleanliness and taking measures to support a strong immune system will go a long way to keeping your baby chicks healthy. Don’t forget to apply those same principles to adult birds. The same herbs and remedies that work well on baby chicks can keep adult birds healthy too. Use basil, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, dill, rosemary and the Mexican herb epazote to encourage healthy production and reduce the parasite load in adult birds. Garlic and raw fruit vinegar added to water or feed will also promote health and help fend off external parasites like mites.

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For a fun and educational depiction of the life cycle of a baby chick, check out this entertaining video: