Chick days are coming. With the price of eggs, you’ve decided to invest in some of these cute little protein-producing fuzz balls. But you will need more than just a few baby chicks to start your new backyard farming venture. Like any animal-raising operation, you will need shelter, nutrition, health and love. That’s why the Backyard Boost® team compiled this guide for how to prepare for chick days.
At BioZyme®, makers of Backyard Boost supplements, we have our own henthusiasts on the team. We love our feathered friends. One thing we are most excited about is bringing home baby chicks to our flock each spring. That’s why we created a blog to share our favorite tips and tricks on how to prepare for chick days.
We cover not just what you need in advance but how to care for your new chicks and prep them for the coop. So, what’s the deal with how to prepare for chick days? Let’s strut right into it.
How To Prepare for Chick Days
There’s a lot that goes into not just caring for chicks but preparing for them, too. If you’re a seasoned expert, you likely have some idea of what comes next. For new chicken purchasers, though, it can be overwhelming.
Here’s our step-by-step guide to how to prepare for chick days.
Step 1: Plan for Right Chicks
Selecting the right chicks during chick days is crucial to building a healthy and productive flock. Before visiting your local farm store, research the chicken breeds that suit your goals. Do you want eggs, meat, dual-purpose birds or simply companionship? Consider the climate and choose breeds that thrive in your area, especially if you face extreme weather.
Often, if you are looking for a more exotic breed like an Easter Egger or Silkie, the store might be able to order them. You might consider buying mail-order chicks, too. Either way, expect to purchase a pre-specified amount, though.
At the store, look for active, alert chicks with bright eyes, clean feathers and healthy, well-formed legs. Avoid chicks that seem lethargic, have drooping heads, or show signs of illness like pasted vents or labored breathing. Observe their behavior: healthy chicks move energetically and interact with their surroundings.
It’s also essential to consider the source. Reputable suppliers focus on quality and maintain biosecurity measures to reduce disease risks. Check for vaccination status, especially for common diseases like Marek’s disease, which ensures your flock has a strong start.
Finally, plan your purchase according to your space and resources. Overcrowding leads to stress, health problems, and slower growth, so you only have to buy the number of chicks you can properly house and care for. With the right preparation and careful selection, you’ll raise a thriving flock that meets your needs.
Once you have decided on a breed or breeds, you might ask, “where to buy chickens near me.” Most farm or feed stores carry them in the spring. If you are ordering from a hatchery, consider that most hatcheries will only ship females or hens. However, if you see a group of chicks labeled “straight run,” the hens and roosters are not separated, and there is a mixture in that group.
Step 2: Stock up on Supplies
You’ve made the list of the chicks you want. Maybe you’ve even already ordered them. So, what’s the next step for how to prepare for chick days? Get the essentials.
Before—or while—getting your chicks, you will want to get any supplies you need to make their lives comfortable and ensure they thrive. There are many options in the poultry aisle for your birds, but when raising chickens, the essentials include shelter, heat, bedding, feed and water. Be sure you have these set up and ready before bringing any chicks home.
Brooder
One of the most important components of how to prepare for chick days is setting up an environment for them to flourish early. Baby chicks initially need a small area to live in that will keep them contained and safe from chicken predators, called a brooder.
For those not in the know: a brooder is a confined area ranging from a galvanized metal tank, wooden box, plastic tote or kiddie swimming pool. A DIY brooder box is always viable, but you can likely also purchase one from the farm store where you pick up your chicks.
At first, your chicks will need about a half-square foot of space. As they grow and mature, that will increase to about one square foot of space. Once they have outgrown their brooder and the weather is consistently warmer, you will want to move them to a coop with an outside pen.
Heat Lamps
Keeping your baby chicks warm is critical when they are little, as their bodies have not yet learned how to regulate their body temperatures.
Provide a heat lamp or heat bar that is close enough to provide them warmth yet far enough away that they won’t try to jump up at it. If they do, they could potentially burn or injure themselves. Only heat one area of the brooder so they have a place to go for warmth and space to cool off.
Bedding Material
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.
Feed
Feeding your baby chicks is simple, as you will need a chick starter feed and a chick feeder. Most chick feeders come with a divided trough to keep chicks from walking, playing in the food or kicking it out into the bedding.
Raising the feeder slightly will help reduce contamination of the feed by the chickens messing in it and leaving behind feathers, dirt or feces. Once your birds are starting to grow and transition to a bigger size food, offer them Backyard Boost® Daily Essentials. Daily Essentials is a pelleted, natural protein supplement for all classes of poultry.
Not only rich with protein but Daily Essentials is also fortified with a prebiotic, vitamins, minerals and organic trace minerals. It also contains AO-Biotics® EQE, a postbiotic proven to enhance egg quality and production. Overall, the product helps maximize growth and egg production and supports overall flock health.
Water
Water is the most essential nutrient for animals and a key consideration concerning how to prepare for chick days. After all, your new chicks are no exception. Ensure you provide your chicks with clean, fresh water each day. And clean the waterer each day to ensure it is free of dirt and waste.
The water dish should be shallow, or your chicks could accidentally drown. If the water dish is deeper, add a layer of pebbles to the bottom to keep it shallow enough to be safe. It will also weigh the dish down, so it does not easily move or tip.
Step 3: Selection Process
Take time to observe the chicks before making your selection. Yes, chicks do take naps; they are babies, after all, but you want to choose a bird that shows some aggressiveness, is walking around, chirping and is active.
Once you have selected your chicks and the store employee has picked them up, closely inspect them. Make sure their eyes are clear and bright. The chick should look you in the eye if you catch its attention.
Make sure the nostrils are clean and the beak is straight. Additionally, when the bird stands up, look to see if its feet and legs are straight so it won’t have problems walking.
Finally, check its bottom or vent to ensure no fecal matter is caked on—a sign of an unhealthy bird.
Step 4: Head Home
All that’s left, chicks acquired and ready to be cared for, is to bring your new additions to the flock home!
Planning Ahead: Making the Transition
Transitioning from brooder to coop can be like sending your firstborn to college. It is quite a change for you and your chicks. If your chicks are all in one group and you don’t have older chickens, the transition becomes easier. With one contemporary group, you don’t have to worry about the older chickens bullying the younger chicks. Like anything, a gradual transition is best.
When you first get your chicks, the brooder should be a cozy 95 degrees. Each week, lower the temperature by 5 degrees, so when it is about 70 degrees, the chicks acclimate to that temperature.
Baby (Chick) Proof Your Coop
Making your chicken coop accessible to baby chicks involves modifications to ensure their safety, comfort and ability to navigate the space.
Provide Easy Access to the Coop
Install a gentle ramp with a non-slip surface for chicks to enter and exit the coop easily. Most coops have larger doors. If this is the case for your coop, consider adding a smaller, chick-sized opening to prevent drafts and make access easier.
Modify Roosting Areas
Add low roosting bars close to the ground for chicks to practice perching. As the chicks grow, you can adjust the height of the perches to encourage their natural roosting behavior.
Secure the Coop
As with the brooder box, ensure the coop is secure against predators, especially since chicks are more vulnerable. Use fine mesh wire to cover gaps. Additionally, close any gaps or spaces where chicks could escape or get stuck.
Minimize Hazards
Inspect the coop for nails, splinters or sharp edges that could harm baby chicks. If using heat lamps or other electrical equipment, ensure cords are out of reach.
Encourage Exploration
Provide a secure outdoor run where chicks can explore under supervision. Use a temporary fence or netting to keep them safe. As you transition your chicks, let them outside for a little while each day—an hour to start with and work up to 5 or 6 hours each day in an enclosed run that will keep them safe.
Once they are used to being outside for most of the day, they will be ready to overnight in their coop. You may still need to provide a safe heat source, depending on how cool the nights get in your specific area.
How To Prepare for Chick Days? Turn to Backyard Boost!
One way to help make the transition smoother from the store to the brooder and brooder to the coop is to supplement your birds with Backyard Boost® Defense. This liquid supplement promotes feed and water intake during times of stress and recovery to help support digestive health and a healthy inflammatory response. Add it to their water daily for best results.
Backyard Boost Defense is a liquid supplement for poultry designed to support digestion and healthy immune response. Backyard Boost Defense contains Amaferm, a prebiotic research-proven to enhance digestibility, and provides nutrients needed in times of stress. By adding this green liquid to their fresh water daily, you 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. It also contains AO-Biotics® EQE, a postbiotic research-proven to enhance egg quality and production. This supplement also provides nutrients needed for overall well-being.
Get your Backyard Boost Today!
We hope this resource has helped you discover how to prepare for chick days. We know getting baby chicks is exciting. It is also exciting to see them grow and thrive. That’s why we suggest providing your flock with eco-friendly nutrition from Backyard Boost today. Get your hands on industry-leading backyard chicken supplements now!
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. Our Where to Buy tool can help you find the BioZyme retailer closest to you.
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