Which came first, the chicken or the egg? We might never answer that age-old riddle. However, with Chick Days soon approaching, it is time to answer the question that our team has been posed lately: where to buy chickens near me?
Yes, as soon as we enter the new year, it’s time to start planning for a new crop of chicks. Raising and caring for baby chicks is a fun and exciting adventure. However, you must take several key preparation steps before making your most important purchase – new chicks.
Our Backyard Boost® team is comprised of several henthusiasts, who love their backyard chickens dearly. These bird lovers compiled some handy preparation tips for you to consider before you get too excited about seeking out where to buy chickens.
You might be wondering about Backyard Boost. It is a line of products purposefully crafted to support the well-being of birds. We offer two products to give your birds an undeniable impact on their health and overall egg production.
Let’s explore 3 tips to prepare for new chicks. That way, when the time comes to answer the question, “where to buy chickens near me,” you are ready to shop and welcome baby chicks!
How to Prepare for New Chicks
1. Get Your Brooder Box Ready
A brooder box could be the second-best thing to a broody mother hen for a group of fresh-hatched chicks. The brooder box is a small, protective place with all the comforts of a mother hen – warmth, shelter and food.
Brooder boxes can be simple – a cardboard box – or complex – a store-purchased, multi-material housing unit. Basically, a brooder box is a small box that has three primary jobs functions:
- Contains your baby chicks
- Protects them from the elements and predators (never trust a smiling cat)
- Keeps them and their feed and water safe and in one temperature-controlled place
A brooder box should have four walls and a floor. If you are worried about baby chicks flying away, you might want to put a mesh wire or some other breathable material over the top. However, you would typically only keep the chicks in the brooder box until they develop their juvenile feathers, about six weeks old. Follow these simple steps on how to set up your brooder box.
Chicks Dig the Heat
Add a heat light on one side of your box, but make sure it isn’t too close to the box. You don’t want to accidentally melt the box or catch it, or the bedding, on fire. Also, excessive heat can cause the chicks to die of heat stress.
Likewise, if the chicks get too cold, they will cuddle together to keep warm, and the cold can prove fatal as well, particularly in the first week. Put your hand in the box. If it’s comfortable and your hand isn’t uncomfortable, it is likely comfortable for the chicks. While it’s important to keep them warm, it’s equally important not to overheat your baby chicks.
Once you get your chicks settled into their new “home,” ensure their brooder is clean by removing any waste and wet bedding every few days. As the chicks grow, you will need to clean the box more regularly. Also, be sure the chicks’ vent—the place where their waste and eggs come out—stays clean to help them stay healthy. Clean the vent area by gently wiping any feces off with a wet paper towel.
Get your brooder box prepared so it is ready when your chicks arrive. The brooder box will keep them safe and secure and help you know that your chicks are in the best place possible during their first few weeks of life!
2. Home Sweet Coop
If you’re wondering “where to buy chickens near me,” you need to determine where to keep any chicks you purchase. Think long term. You want to have that plan set up well before you pick up any baby birds. Your baby chicks will likely stay in their brooder box for a while, but you will want to have their next home prepared.
Take the time now to prepare their coop so it isn’t a scramble when it is time to transition them. Coops provide shelter from the weather and its extreme elements and protection from chicken predators. There are several considerations to securing a coop for your birds.
Spacious Living
A chicken needs about 4 square feet per bird inside the coop. That means a 10×10 coop would comfortably hold 25 birds.
(10 x 10 = 100 feet / 4 feet = 25 chickens)
Remember, they also need about 10-12 inches per bird to roost on at night. Wood is ideal for roosting, so they have a good grip and don’t slip. Finally, you will want to have enough room to have adequate nesting boxes for laying eggs. You should plan for about 4 hens per box for egg-laying.
Build or Buy?
Your resource bank of time, tools and talent will help you determine if you should build your coop or buy a ready-made or easy-to-assemble coop. However, the first thing you need to do is check with your city ordinances or homeowners’ association for any regulations on structures in your backyard. If there are no regulations, you are set. If there are regulations, be sure to follow them.
Building gives you the satisfaction of making a coop to your specifications and knowing that you put your own sweat equity into your beautiful birds’ home. However, you also need to consider if you have the time and tools needed, the skills required and the financial wherewithal. If you are not sure you have the proper tools or the time to construct your coop, buying a coop is a wise alternative.
Purchasing a Coop
There are multiple outlets where you can purchase a brand-new chicken coop. Most farm stores have several coop options to choose from, and if not readily assembled they can do so for a minimal fee. Some lumberyards also build chicken coops to sell during chick days, as do 4-H and FFA members looking for building and marketing experience.
Although you might find used chicken coops for sale on a local marketplace, be cautious about purchasing a used coop for fear of disease transmission. Unless you trust the seller will clean and disinfect the coop before it is transported to your property, you are likely better off buying a new coop. This helps keep diseases away from your chickens early on.
Keep it Clean
Chickens can be messy but are not as messy as ducks or other birds. The flooring of the coop will determine how often you need to tidy up. If it is a dirt floor, just “picking” any wet or nasty waste should be done weekly; otherwise, it will decompose into the soil. If you have a wooden or plastic floor with shavings, you will want to “pick” waste and shavings and rebed weekly.
Check the roosting bar and knock off any feces from it during your weekly cleaning. Also, make sure the nesting boxes are free from any waste, cracked egg remains or shells. Provide them with fresh bedding as needed.
Many backyard bird enthusiasts recommend a deep cleaning of the coop once or twice a year. It’s best to clean your coop once before you get new chicks during chick days in the spring and once again in the fall. Deep cleanings involve hosing down or power washing, using a safe disinfectant and making sure all boxes, roosting bars, doors and hinges are in proper working order.
3. Stock up on Supplies
Before you further investigate “where to buy chickens near me,” you will want to purchase any supplies you need to ensure they thrive. There are lots of options in the poultry aisle, but when it comes to raising chickens, the essentials include shelter, heat, bedding, feed and water.
Keeping your baby chicks warm is of utmost importance when they are little, as their bodies have not learned how to regulate their body temperatures. Provide a heat lamp or heat bar that is close enough to provide them warmth. Still, keep it far enough away that they won’t try to jump up at it, potentially harming or burning themselves. Only heat one area of the brooder so they have both a place to go for warmth and an area to go to cool off.
Bedding is another important aspect of keeping your chicks warm and healthy. Especially if using a plastic brooder, you will want to provide some bedding, so the chicks don’t slip and slide, causing harm to their legs. Bedding varieties include pine shavings, clean sand, paper towels, shredded newspaper and burlap. You should avoid cedar chips or other aromatic wood chips that can be toxic to chicks.
Feeding Considerations
Feeding your baby chicks is simple—you will need a chick starter feed and a chick feeder. Most chick feeders come with a divided trough to keep chicks from walking or playing in the food or kicking it out into the bedding. Raising the feeder just slightly will help reduce contamination of the feed by the chickens messing in it and leaving behind feathers, dirt or feces.
Water is the most essential nutrient for animals, and your new chicks are no exception. Make sure you are providing your chicks with clean, fresh water each day. Keep the water clean daily to ensure it is free of dirt and waste. The water dish should not be very deep, or your chicks could accidentally drown. If the water dish is deeper, adding a layer of pebbles to the bottom will keep it shallow and weigh the dish down so it doesn’t tip over.
Where to Buy Chickens Near Me
Now that you have prepared for your new chicks, you’re probably still wondering where to buy chickens near me. . .Well, your local family-owned farm store should start carrying baby chicks in early spring. Local farm and feed stores are a great source for baby chickens. They will often have the information you need about caring for your chicks.
If you live in a more urban area, look for chicks at the following:
Many of our authorized BioZyme dealers also carry chicks as chick days approach.
Keep Baby Chicks Healthy
Now that we’ve answered, “where to buy chickens near me,” you are ready to get your new feathered friends. It’s important to keep them healthy and thriving. Provide them with Backyard Boost, a line of products purposefully crafted to support the well-being of birds. Stock up on the two products before you get your baby chicks.
Backyard Boost® Defense is a liquid supplement for poultry designed to support digestion and a healthy immune response. Backyard Boost Defense contains AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, a prebiotic research-proven to enhance digestibility and provide nutrients needed in times of stress. By adding this green liquid to their fresh water daily, you will promote water intake and hydration.
Once your birds start to grow and transition to bigger food, offer them Backyard Boost® Daily Essentials, a pelleted protein supplement for poultry designed to maximize digestibility and egg production. Daily Essentials also contains Amaferm and AO-Biotics® EQE, a postbiotic research-proven to enhance egg quality. This supplement also provides nutrients needed for overall well-being.
Get your Backyard Boost Today!
You know “where to buy chickens near me,” and you know how to provide boosted eco-friendly nutrition with Backyard Boost!
Ordering Backyard Boost is simple: purchase via our online store or from one of our online retail partners.
Perhaps you prefer to shop in person. You can discover where to buy from the BioZyme dealer closest to you.
Stay In the Know
Do you want to know more about taking care of your backyard birds? Use our Chicken Care Cycle as your guide to all knowledge of backyard chickens. Or you can sign up for our monthly e-newsletter to stay current on our blogs and other education.
