Welcome Baby Chicks

On March 17th we welcomed home 6 one day old baby chicks.  We got 3 Americanas and 3 Red Rangers.

They are nice and cozy under their warm light!

Not big fans of the flash but you can get a better idea of their colors!





They are now a little over 2 weeks old and they aren't near as cute and cuddly!  They are all getting along really well.  They get daily visits and holdings from my 4 year old!  It will still be a few weeks before I will introduce them to the new flock.  Then the real fun begins.

Raising Backyard Chickens-Care and Maintenance

Chickens are surprisingly easy to take care of.  There are some daily chores that will need to be done as well as some maintenance each month in order to maintain a happy, healthy flock.

Daily.  Make sure you supply your chickens with fresh clean water daily.  This is essential.  Chickens do not like dirty water  It's  important to always have clean water available so your chickens do not get dehydrated. .Make sure food is readily available as well.  Laying hen pellets or crumbles should be the bulk of your chickens diet and should be available at all times.  There are many different brands of chicken feed out there.  It's all about your preference.

Along with pellets you should offer your chickens oyster shells.  This provides them with the added calcium for egg production.  Grit should also be available.  Grit, which are tiny rocks, help the chickens gizzard grind up food.  Both of these should be offered to your chickens.  You can either mix them in with the feed or you can offer in separate feeders.

Ideally chickens should be allowed to free range daily to add variety to their diet.  They will find plenty of things to eat while wondering around the yard.  However, free ranging isn't always an option for people.  Chickens will eat just about anything.  You can toss out your kitchen scraps.  Chickens will pick through and eat what they want.  You can put the remainder in a compost pile so that the run doesn't become a smelly mess.

It's important to take a few minutes each day to look over your birds and make sure everyone is healthy.  It's pretty easy to tell if a bird is not well.  She usually will be away from the flock, not eating, her comb could become pale in color.  Separate any bird that is ill immediately as to not infect the rest of the flock.  If she is ill, chances are some of the other birds will know and they could start picking on her.

One last thing to do each day is to collect the eggs.  This is the best part!  We check for eggs twice a day.  Usually early afternoon (most of ours tend to lay in the morning) and then again at dusk when we put them away for the night.

Monthly or as needed.  Cleaning your coop is important to maintain healthy chickens.  I use the deep litter method.  I add a bale of straw to the house and then add pine shavings on top.  Every couple weeks I add more pine shavings.  About 3 times a year I completely clean the house, removing everything and starting the process over.  I add clean pine shavings to the nesting box every few weeks.  Once a week or so I use a shovel to clean out any clumps and fluff up the bedding that is in there.  I have 11 chickens currently.  This schedule works well for me.  You may need to clean more or less often depending on the side of your chicken house and the amount of birds you have.

Raising Backyard Chickens-A Guide to Housing

You can be as simple or as fancy as you want to be when it comes to housing your chickens.  As for myself I ended up Googling lots of different chicken coop images and came up with a plan (ok my father in law did) with all the things I wanted for my house.  I went with a shed style chicken house.

Here is one site that offers plans for purchase.  Craigslist is another place you can look.If you feel like you can't come up with your own plans, there are ready made houses out there for sale.  Build your own chicken coop plans are also available for purchase.

A few "must haves" for your chicken house are listed below.

The most important thing you want to make sure your housing is predator proof.  Raccoon, fox, minx, and hawks are the main predators in our area.  Make sure you have secure walls as well as a roof over their heads.

Allow one nest box for every 4 to 5 hens.  Nesting boxes should be up off the ground and over to the side away from traffic.  Hens like to lay eggs in a safe, quiet area.

Allow at least 4-6 square feet per bird inside the house.  More if the birds are unable to free roam outside.

Provide your chickens with roosting polls.  They will prefer these when they sleep.  Round poles arranged in a staircase work best.

Allow a window or open area so that the house does not get too damp.  You will want a little airflow to prevent any respiratory disease.  Not too much though, you don't want it to be too drafty during the winter months.

If you decide to add a run to your chicken coop, its best to dig down 12 inches or so, and bury chicken wire all the way around to prevent vermin and predators from digging their way underneath.

Raising Backyard Chickens - Bringing Chicks Home

How exciting!  You've decided to purchase chickens!  Before bringing your chickens home you need to make sure you have everything you need. You need to set up their first home. A brooder is where you keep newly hatched chicks until they have enough feathers and are big enough to move outside.
The brooder needs to be warm and dry. You also need to supply clean water and adequate food.

Choosing a brooder. You can choose from many different options for your brooder. You can use a large cardboard box, plastic tub, a ready made brooder from the store or build your own. You want to make sure that your chicks have enough space. It is recommended for chicks 0-4 weeks old you give them 1/2 square foot per bird. For our new little ones, I use a large rubber maid tote.

Bedding. You will want to line the bottom of the brooder with some sort of bedding. I use pine bedding. I have heard of people using pine bedding, shredded paper or both. For now I am sticking with just pine bedding. You don't need very much to cover the bottom.

Food and Water. Keep food and water available at all times. You can purchase a water bottle for chicks from your local farm store for a couple bucks. You will want to purchase chick starter food in either medicated or non-medicated formula. This is designed for chicks 0-6 weeks old. You can purchase a chick feeder that is specially designed to discourage chicks from soiling in their food.

Heat. Chicks need to be kept warm. When you bring them home the brooder should be a toasty 95 degrees. Place a thermometer in the brooder to keep track of the temperature. Another way to tell if your chicks are getting appropriate heating is to watch their behavior. If they are huddled under the lamp they are too cold. If they are along the outer edges, chances are they are too hot. As the chicks develop more feathers they will need less heat.

I was able to set up my first brooder for around $50. This year when I brought home our new baby chicks I spent about $20. I only had to purchase chick food and a bag of pine shavings. I had all the other items from the previous years.