Raising Chicks: Is It Complicated?

Getting Them From Day 1 to Six Months

Raising chicks can be complicated, but not nearly as complicated as some beginner resources would have you believe. Many things that people like to give their chicks simply aren't required. Some things that people suggest aren't really recommended. They don't need vinegar. They don't need electrolytes. They don't need treats. They don't need grit. They shouldn't be on small pine shavings—and I'm sorry, but there are small pine shavings in all the pine shavings I've seen available, so I don't use them myself.

Just a note about purchasing chicks. If you buy straight-run chicks, the odds are that you will get 50% males and 50% females. Sexing chicks is a complicated issue and the only 100% reliable methods are dependent upon the breed. For example, most sex-linked chicks are reliably sorted by color. If you don't want to deal with roosters, don't buy straight-run chicks. Even with vent-sexed chicks you can get some males, so be prepared to live with them, give them away, or kill them. Whatever you do, don't start killing chicks based on some ridiculous method like holding them by the neck to see how much they struggle.

Assuming you purchase chicks from a reputable company like Cackle Hatchery, you will receive chicks that are from 1 to 3 days old depending on how far you are from the hatchery. Please be prepared to pick up your chicks as soon as the post office calls you and have their new home ready for them. Follow the care instructions from the place where you get your chicks. Here is what the instructions should say:

Days 1-2:

• The Brooder: Have a brooder area set up with heat source on and ready to receive chicks. The chicks need to be draft free with at least ½ square feet of space each. For 4 chicks, you need a space at least 2' x 2', for 24 chicks you need a space at least 4' x 3', keeping extra space in mind for the waterer and feeder. The sides should be at least 1' tall. You can find plenty of examples of purchased or homemade brooders online. In the picture above you see a 4' x 4' room in my coop containing 29 chicks. I ordered 24, but received 5 extra as happens with the good hatcheries to account for any chick deaths during transport. Thankfully, none of my chicks arrived dead. Also, 20 of these chicks are bantams or guinea keets, so need less room. When chicks get scared or cold, they cram into a corner where they feel safe and some may suffocate, so I've stapled cardboard across the corners to eliminate this possibility.
• The Heat Source: I use a hanging heat lamp giving them plenty of room to move under it or away from it to adjust their own heat needs. You need one heat lamp per 25 to 30 chicks. A red light bulb is preferable as they tend to peck each other when using a white bulb. The floor level temperature needs to be 100° to 101° directly below the heat source for the first few hours, then the heat lamp can be raised to lower the temperature to 98°, unless you have guinea keets which require 99° to 100° for the first week. Bantams may also need warmer temperatures. While a thermometer at floor level is great to start with, the best indicator of how high to hang the heat source will be the behavior of the chicks. Chicks huddled under the heat lamp indicates the heat lamp is too high making the floor temperature too low. Chicks never staying under the heat lamp indicates the heat lamp is too low making the floor temperature too high. Chicks milling about throughout the brooder area, spending some time under the heat lamp, sleeping at the edges of the direct heat, is an indicator of perfect temperature. If chicks are piled up in a corner away from the heat lamp, they've done so to stay warm and this can indicate too hot, too cold or space too large to keep track of the heat source. Or something scared them.
• The Bedding: I start out with newspaper covered by paper towels. It's easy for them to walk on, the feeders and waterers stay flat and stable, and you don't get any bedding in the food or water. Sprinkle some of their first food on it and they'll find it easily. Newspaper alone is apparently too slippery and chicks can develop spraddle legs from slipping on it. If you use paper towels, you will need to clean them up at least once a day, maybe more.
• Water: Start with two quarts for each group of 25 chicks or one gallon for each group of 50 chicks. Use water that is 98 degrees. Water must be available at all times. Refresh the water several times a day. Due to their small size, if you get bantams or small game chicks/keets like guineas, use drown-proof waterers which have a very narrow water trough. You can also add marbles, stones or clean gravel to a regular water trough. As you're putting each new chick into the brooder, teach it to drink by gently holding it and with a finger behind the head, quickly dip the chick's beak into the water and then let it go. This isn't absolutely necessary to do with all of them as they will copy each other, but it is recommended. They should all start immediately drinking and eating, unless they are chilly. If they are chilly, they will need to warm up first so make sure they are finding the heat source. I had a very small silkie bantam in a batch of 29 birds that didn't look so good on arrival, so after I dipped its beak in the warm water I put it under the heat lamp. It sat there for a few minutes then was out and about drinking and eating with the rest.
• Food: Use one foot of feeder for every 25 chicks. That will likely be two chick-sized feeders. You can use any shallow container for the food. I used one round type and one trough type chick feeder. I prefer the round. They can get on top of the trough type and poop in it and knock it over. Provide a commercial chick starter. Food must be available at all times. Using the paper towels as bedding the first day works great for putting small piles of food around that they find more quickly and easily than the feeders.
• Health: Refrain from handling chicks the first 24 hours, except to put them into their brooding area and dip their beaks in the water. Watch for rear end pasting up. The stress of shipping and handling can result in pasty manure that sticks to the downy feathers outside the chick's anal vent. If this builds up it prevents evacuation of waste and results in death of the chick. Pull it off gently using a warm wash cloth. It should disappear in a day or so. This is where the recommendation to use apple cider vinegar might be useful. Cackle Hatchery recommends putting 2 tablespoons of well-mixed organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar in a quart of the chick's water for 5-7 days. You should also have Amprol medication on hand. If the chicks appear weak, droopy, have diarrhea or continue to have pasty bottoms, you can treat them with Amprol, but only after the first 8 hours.

Days 3 to 4 Weeks:

• Temperature: At this stage, the temperature at floor level should be 95°, again, unless you have bantams or guinea keets. I just left my heat lamp where it started for the first week and let the chicks regulate their own needs. Thereafter, adjust the heat source to lower the temperature 5 degrees per week until it is 70° to 75°.
• Water: By the third day, the water can be room temperature. But, what is room temperature? Because my birds were outside, I continued to make sure the water was 70° to 75° when I put it out for the chicks.
• Bedding: At this point, I started using hay for bedding. You can use large pine shavings, rice hulls, or straw. Lay down 1 to 2 inches thick. On concrete floors, use 3-5 inches of bedding. Do not use small shavings, sawdust, or sand as the chicks will likely eat it and die. Do not use cedar or cypress shavings as these are highly toxic to poultry.
• By day 10 your chicks are flying up to roost on feeders and waterers. If you don't already have high sides, you may have to put a cover over your brooder area to prevent escapees.

After 4 Weeks:

• Increase floor area to at least 3-4 square feet per bird. This is just a guideline. If they seem crowded, increase their space sooner. I actually let mine out of the brooder a week earlier because I felt the smaller birds were getting too crowded by the bigger ones. They can range outside on warm, sunny days if a clean range is available. Clean range is what you think it is, space that isn't contaminated by refuse, pesticides, or other things you wouldn't want in your own food.
• Increase feeder space to 2½ to 3 inches per bird and waterers to 5 gallons per 100 birds.
• Install roosts. Start roost poles low and gradually raise. Provide 4 inches of roost space per bird with roosts being at least 6 inches apart.
• Open windows during the day. Leave party open at night.
• Prevent water puddles around waterers. Move them periodically to new locations to keep area dry and prevent bacteria from forming.

At Around 6 Weeks:

• If you received straight-run chicks, and depending on your experience and breeds, you should start to distinguish between roosters and hens. Keep in mind that some breeds cannot be distinguished until they are quite a bit older.
• I moved the heat lamp into the main coop and continued to plug it in at night because the birds crowded into corners if I didn't, meaning they were still getting chilly at night.

At Around 6 Months:

• Depending on the breed, your hens should start laying eggs.

Updated: 4/1/20 KAO