You may have been down at the farm store and noticed they have some new chicks for sale. They sure are cute, but what do you do with them when you get home? Making a chick brooder that works doesn't have to cost a lot of money, and you may already have most of what you need to put one together.
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Raising your own chicks is really fun, especially for the kids. Here's a few things to consider if you are starting for your first time:
- If you buy your chicks early you'll have to plan to keep them warm quite a while. This may start inside, but in about 3 weeks they will be too big, noisy and stinky to keep inside. You'll need an outside pen that keeps them safe and warm.
- It doesn't take very many chicks to make quite a mess. I put newspaper in the bottom of the brooder with wood chips on top.
- Plan to change the bedding daily. If you make a cheap brooder out of a plastic tub, you can have two tubs to move them to for cleaning and use the same lid.
- Chicks are noisy – even when they are little. They will need a place where their noise won't keep you up all night.
- Cats and other pets LOVE chicks. Plan to keep them safe from your other pets.
- Using medicated chick feed and medicated drops in their drinking water can help you raise a batch with no losses. All this is available at your farm store.
- You can buy banded chicks that are all pullets (female). This way you won't have to get rid of any noisy roosters when they grow up. If you want roosters you can buy “straight run” chicks and cull out the ones you don't want later.
There are lot's of fun kinds of chickens. If you want something specific, let the farm store owners know. They can probably special order any kind you want.
Starting your own flock from babies is lots of fun, and kids learn things that video games can't provide. They even have different personalities – some will keep their distance and others will try to follow you into the house. If your neighborhood allows you will really love tending your own chicks.
