You just couldn’t resist buying baby chicks, could ya?
Well, good news! I can’t blame ya- not one bit! We order baby chicks multiple times a year- twice for meat (Spring and Fall) and once for eggs (Spring). We like to have a mixed flock of various breeds of chickens and ducks. That way we can reap all the benefits of backyard poultry keeping :). You know- the benefits of having gray, black, green, brown, pink, and white eggs. Yep. Those benefits. ;).
So needless to say- we are constantly raising baby chicks on the homestead- so naturally we are experts, right? Right. And totally kidding.
We are far from experts.
If this is your first time buying and raising baby chicks then you may be wondering what chicken supplies you need, in order to raise these baby chicks into your beautiful backyard flock {or your meat flock}. Whatever the case and reason may be- you obviously need chicken supplies. We are far from being raising baby chick experts, but I remember the very first time we purchased baby chicks. It felt amazing knowing that I was going to be able to supply my family with truly cage-free pastured eggs- right from our little farm– otherwise known as our backyard. But, after purchasing the chicks for the first time, I needed to know what chicken supplies I needed to raise those baby chicks. So, I did what any respectable girl would do and turned to google.
And so it began. I started feeling very overwhelmed reading all the chicken supplies that various google search results said that I needed. I seriously began to think that maybe I had made a mistake. That raising baby chicks into chickens was going to be a complicated process that involved lots of money and many supplies. I guess you can say that it felt like becoming a parent for the first time. You know- when you absolutely HAVE to have every.single.item on that baby registry list {scoff scoff- not like I did that}. 😉 Okay. I did do that. But only for the first. I knew better by the time I had my second and third kiddos. And that’s how it was with our chickens.
Top 5 Chicken Supplies for Raising Baby Chicks
1. Housing (Brooder/Coop)
Babys chicks will need something to live in. There really are a plethora of options out there for this supply- such as: a rubbermaid tote, a plastic kid pool with cardboard (click here to see it-costs under $10 to make), or a pay-alot-of-money type brooder. I prefer a cheaper option since the chicks will only be in the brooder for 2-6 weeks (depending on breed).
What’s awesome about the brooder is that you still have a few weeks to get the coop built (or bought)- if you haven’t done it yet! When we order our baby chicks in the Spring we always use a brooder and keep them in the house the first couple weeks because it is cold outside in March! However, when we order our Fall meat chickens we just put them straight into the coop because it is still on the warmer side outside. Whatever option you decide on will be fine- just make sure you have a brooder/coop for them!
2. Bedding
Your baby chicks will need some bedding in their brooder/coop. Again, there are many different options that you can use. We have used straw, hay, grass clippings, and pine shavings. All have worked well for us. Some people say not to use one or the other, but honestly we haven’t had a problem with any of them. I say find what is the cheapest and use that!
I am sure we will stick with straw because it is so cheap in these parts. You can find straw, hay, and pine shavings at your local feed store, Tractor Supply, or even Ace Hardware. A bag of pine shavings covers roughly 8 cubic feet and is around $5 (make sure you get the flake and not the fine). That big ol’ bale of straw in the picture above was $4.50- and that will cover about a bajillion square feet- so obviously we go with the straw. ;).
3. Heat! Heat! Heat!
Or in other words- a heat lamp.
Baby chicks like to stay warm and they need a heat lamp to do this until their feathers grow in. You will need to purchase a heat lamp with a clamp on it. They also make two different size lamps- we prefer the 10.5 inch lamp over the 8.5 inch. You will also need a heat bulb to use in the heat lamp. They sell red and white bulbs- but the best for baby chicks is a red bulb. Why? Because it is “darker” and lets the chicks get some rest and also keeps them from pecking at each other.
As with anything that heat ups, you must use caution with heat lamps. They can get very hot, so use caution if they will be used in your home around small children or animals.
We Buy/Have:
4. Waterer/Feeder
Baby chicks are NOT clean animals. Heck- grown chickens aren’t either ;). They need a waterer and a feeder. There are many types and sizes available.
You will want to make sure the food and water isn’t just “open” inside the brooder. The baby chicks can drown in open water and they will poop in the food (and water). We usually start with bigger waterers and feeders instead of buying smaller ones because the chickens will outgrow the small ones- why pay for something twice, y’all? Don’t do it! We have and it was a waste of money. We Buy/Have:
- A waterer like this
- Feeders like this one OR this one
5. Food and Water
Baby chicks will need a special kind of food to start out with. It is usually called ‘chick starter’. Chick starter comes in two types: medicated and non-medicated. We always choose the non-medicated because we choose to raise our chicks/chickens ‘au-naturel.’
There are many brands of chicken feed out there. Most of the commercial feeds are chalk full of GMOs and other type of make-me-want-to-cry things. I’ll admit it though, when we started out, we used commercial feed. We try to buy local homemade feed that farmers make in our area, but it isn’t always available. If you are looking for an organic-corn and soy free chicken feed Scratch and Peck Feeds is a great option. Water is obviously a necessity for baby chicks.
When our chicks arrive (we have them shipped)- I make them a double batch of my Homemade Pedialyte to put into their waterers. It’s cheap, easy, and it provides the baby chicks with electrolytes that they desperately need if they were shipped to you in the mail. That’s it folks!
The Prepared Bloggers Network is at it again! We’re glad you’ve found us, because the month of April is all about homesteading.
Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by growing your own food, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may even involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale. Most importantly homesteading is not defined by where someone lives, such as the city or the country, but by the lifestyle choices they make.
The Prepared Bloggers are passionate about what they do and they each have their own way of achieving self-sufficiency. Grab your favorite drink and enjoy reading about the 30 Ways of Homesteading!
Crops on the Homestead
Straw Bale Gardening from PreparednessMama
Crop Rotation for the Backyard Homesteader from Imperfectly Happy
Benefits of Growing Fruit from SchneiderPeeps
Succession Planting: More Food in the Same Space from 104 Homestead
Crops to Grow for Food Storage from Grow A Good Life
Winter Gardening Series from Our Stoney Acres
How To Build a Raised Garden Bed For Under $12 from Frugal Mama and The Sprout
How to Save Carrot Seeds from Food Storage and Survival
Animals on the Homestead
Getting Your Bees Started from Game and Garden
Homesteading How-To: Bees from Tennessee Homestead
How to Get Ready for Chicks from The Homesteading Hippy
Selecting a Goat Breed for Your Homestead from Chickens Are a Gateway Animal
Adding New Poultry and Livestock from Timber Creek Farm
Beekeeping 101: 5 Things To Do Before Your Bees Arrive from Home Ready Home
How to Prepare for Baby Goats from Homestead Lady
How to Prevent and Naturally Treat Mastitis in the Family Milk Cow from North Country Farmer
Tips to Raising Livestock from Melissa K. Norris
Raising Baby Chicks – Top 5 Chicken Supplies from Easy Homestead
Making the Homestead Work for You – Infrastructure
Ways to Homestead in a Deed Restricted Community from Blue Jean Mama
Building a Homestead from the Ground Up from Beyond Off Grid
DIY Rainwater Catchment System from Survival Prepper Joe
Finding Our Homestead Land from Simply Living Simply
I Wish I Was A Real Homesteader by Little Blog on the Homestead
Endless Fencing Projects from Pasture Deficit Disorder
Essential Homesteading Tools: From Kitchen To Field from Trayer Wilderness
Homesteading Legal Issues from The 7 P’s Blog
Why We Love Small Space Homesteading In Suburbia from Lil’ Suburban Homestead
Preserving and Using the Bounty from the Homestead
How to Dehydrate Corn & Frozen Vegetables from Mom With a Prep
How to Make Soap from Blue Yonder Urban Farms
How to Render Pig Fat from Mama Kautz
How to Make Your Own Stew Starter from Homestead Dreamer
Why You Should Grow and Preserve Rhubarb! from Living Life in Rural Iowa
It’s a Matter of Having A Root Cellar…When You Don’t Have One from A Matter of Preparedness
See, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming OR expensive to start raising baby chicks!
Enjoy raising baby chicks!
Shared on: Backyard Farming Connection, From the Farm, Homestead Barn Hop, The HomeAcre Hop
nice job on the post Jen. I agree with you. There is no need to buy everything in site. You hit on the most important items to have ready before bringing home the baby chicks. I do use medicated feed for chicks though. It only contains a coccidiostat to prohibit coccidiosis. Its not an antibiotic as some people believe. After the first couple of weeks I don’t think its a problem to switch to non-medicated feed. I am just leery of what may come along with the chicks from the hatchery. But on the flip side, plenty of people prefer to do it your way and have great success, so I am not telling anyone that they are wrong!
Hi Janet,
We used the medicated feed the first time around. Now, it’s just a personal preference not to use it. I think it’s a 50/50 split in the chicken community. 🙂 When we did use it we only used one bag and then switched to non-medicated. I should’ve mentioned in my post that it isn’t an antibiotic. Thanks for pointing that out! Thanks for stopping by!
Jen
I’m very frustrated because the only “straw” available in my area is pine straw. Regular straw is nowhere to be found in N FL. 🙁
Our local feed store only has straw available during certain times of the year. When there is no straw available we use pine shavings.
Jen
We are not putting hay on the bottom of the brooder. I have newspaper and shelf liner. The liner is washable and newspaper is easy to get.
Great idea! We do it so we can use it as compost!
We got 6 new chicks white leg horns the first week in April of this year, we already have 6 red comets and three different banty chickens one is a rooster. When can I move the new chicks over with the mature hens? Thanks Ellen from Georgia