Are you thinking about adding chicks to your backyard? Below I share how to care for baby chicks and the supplies need.

In my opinion chicks are the gateway to homesteading. We’ve all tried things like growing our own herbs, making soap soap or learning the art of bread making, but I believe there’s something about raising baby chicks and collecting your own eggs, that gets the homestead going.

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Step #1 Plan Ahead

The best thing you can do is plan ahead. How safe will they be in your yard? We have had our dog, coyotes and other predators attack our whole flock. It’s best to choose a location that is gated in, from personal experience I recommend the backyard. Consider building a gated area for them away from your dog and other predators, even if they are in a locked cage. Work on all fencing repairs before purchasing your chicks.

Step #2 Housing

Where will your flock live? Will they be free range or will you set up a cage and chicken run? We started out small and grew as our flock did. This is the cheapest way to start out. If you have the extra funds and know you would like to have a large flock down the road, it’s better to invest in a larger coop right off the bat. We have 3 coops linked together through a chicken run and this works great for us.

Step #3 Purchasing Your Chicks

When we first started out, I purchased our chicks at Tractor Supply. I have purchased from our local feed store and online. I like to purchase different breeds for a more colorful carton of eggs. There are a lot of websites to order from and you may even want to consider purchasing hatching eggs to incubate yourself.

Step #4 Brooding Box

For the first few days we left them in a large cardboard box. I quickly realized that wasn’t going to work long term. They soaked the pine shavings and box in a few hours. The feed was also tipping and being wasted. I decided to try using a large dog cage we had on hand. The bottom removable tray made it easy for clean up and I could place a small box of pine shavings away from there food and water reducing waste.

Step #5 The Supplies

• Housing: A cardboard box, storage container or dog cage.
• A heat lamp
• Food and water containers
• Pine shavings
• Chick starter (feed)

Step #6 Clean Up

Baby chicks are pretty easy to care for. Keeping there housing clean is very important for happy healthy chicks. Place your chicks temporarily in a small box, make sure they can’t get out. Empty their food, water and all the old pine shavings. Rinse everything with a hose. Spray simple green then rinse again for a cleaner smelling cage. Dry and refill with pine shavings. Tip: I like to place the pine shavings in a small box inside there cage to prevent them from making a large mess.

That’s it really. A clean heated environment along with food and water is all they need for the first few weeks. Make sure to only feed them starter feed. It’s easy to get excited and want to feed them special treats but their little bodies can only handle starter feed at the moment. Watch for any signs of “pasty butt” and treat it immediately to prevent loosing any baby chicks.

Once they start to get there feathers and look like teenagers, I call them. I move them to the garage. They tend to be too messy to keep indoors. When cleaning out their cage, let them run around to stretch their legs and get familiar with their new home. After about 8 weeks and depending on the weather, your chicks are ready to be placed in there back yard coop.

PIN IT FOR LATER!!!

I hope you found this post helpful! Be sure to tag me in all your baby chick photo’s on Instagram! I love seeing these sweet little babies.