I have chicks!

I am now the proud owner of five chicks. Love them already and I have only had them a day!
I have 2 Light Sussex, 1 White Leghorn, 1 Rhode Rock and 1 adorable little Bluebell.

As I have baby chicks on the brain, I thought today I could go over what you do when your chicks arrive.

Now, your brooder should be perfect temperature, switched on well before the arrival of chicks to ensure they are at the right warmth as soon as possible.

Gently remove the chicks from the box and dip their beaks into the water dish. I know this seems a bit cruel dipping stressed chicks into water, but they will be dehydrated from the journey and need to know where to get a drink.

To begin with have your chicks on paper towels, this ensures they wont eat the bedding as they are learning that chick crumbs are what they should be eating. After a few days, change bedding to pine shaving or whatever you have decided to use.

As they adjust to their new home, watch them closely - they are your thermometer!
If they huddle together under the heat lamp, then the brooder is not warm enough. This is dangerous as when the huddle together in a corner and climb on top of each other, they run the risk of smothering the chicks underneath.
If they are spread out away from the lamp and panting, it's too hot. Don't let them overheat, raise the heat lamp or lower the bulb wattage. Keep a close watch on this throughout the whole first week, especially during possible heat fluctuations at night or during hot days.

Watch out for pasting up. "Pasting up" is a condition where feces builds up on the chicks' vents, blocking exit of more feces. This can kill young chicks. Causes include stress from shipping and getting chilled. Check for this at least once a day. Younger kids can have a tendency to over handle chicks, watch out for this as handling new chicks stresses them out and leads to pasting up.

Keep changing the water as soon as it gets dirty, if you feel it's too dirty, too fast, consider using a nipple feeder. They are very simple to use and prevents accidental drowning, wet bedding and dirty water.

Each week, lower the temperature by 5 degrees until the temperature reaches outdoor temperatures. So for the first week, keep them at 95 degrees F. The second week: 90 degrees F. Third week: 85 degrees F. Adjust this as necessary so that they are comfortable - not huddling under the lamp (too cold) or scattering to the edges (too hot).


Starting at around 2-3 weeks of age, if the temperatures are warm (over 65 degrees F), you can bring them outside for short periods of sun and foraging. Make sure to add grit to their feed if they will be eating anything other than chicken feed. Grit is small stones that chickens keep in their crop to help them grind up bugs, grass and other food.

By 4-5 weeks of age the chicks are ready to move to their main coop full-time, or if the brooder is in the main coop, for the heat lamp and brooder to be removed. When you move them, keep them closed in the coop for a day or two (rather than letting them free-range) so that they learn that the coop is "home." Once there, follow basic chicken care to keep them growing strong! They will start laying eggs at around four to six months of age.

Well, i'm off to fix the garden , not long till these guys will be too big to stay indoors!