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Raising Chicks
Spring is here, and it's the time that we start thinking of ordering some new chicks and raising them up. For those who don't have much experience at this, here's a general overview of the process.
First, you need to have a light to keep them warm and a secure place. Many predators will try to get your baby chicks-cats,dogs,snakes,raccoons,hawks, etc... I used a rabbit cage on legs with small wire 1/2 by 1/2 inch and then covered with a fine mesh. This works very well. On one side we hung a light with a reflector. You really do need this! It is not expensive and you can get them from the feed store.
Poultry Questions?
John W. Dodge is available to make house calls for all your poultry questions!
The Beginning
The first few days are critical. Please do not let your children play with them. Remember that these are babies, under a week old. This is a wonderful opportunity to teach about life and respect for life.
Make sure that your feeders are kept clean. The waterers must be washed daily! Be sure to rinse well. Make sure that the feeders do not get wet. Wet food invites disease. Provide plenty of clean food and water at all times.
Getting Started
"Before the chicks arrive, be sure you have all needed equipment ready. For Feed, I recommend buying a 100-pound bag of medicated chick starter. This will cost $12 or more, and you will have to get a steel trash can with a tight lid ti store it safe from mice or rats. This starter contains all the young birds need to live on, plus medication against the most serious disease of young chickens, and infection of the guy called coccidiosis. Since the little birds eat very little, a 100-pound bag will last a long time if you keep it free of varmints and in a cool, dry place to avoid mold."
Excerpt taken from Eggs and Chickens by John Vivian.
Henhouse Furniture
Once the chicks are fully feathered - in six weeks to two months - you can put them in the henhouse. First I like to cover the house floor with several inches of leaves. Shavings are also good, being dry, absorbant, and clean. So are pine needles, and other free organic material. The small birds will scrabble around in the covering for a while, and in time the covering will pack down, making a good base for the more permanent litter. The run outside will be sod until the birds get large enough to pick it clean. Then, any time the soil appears muddy, or there is a trace of odor, on goes a six-inch layer of leaves. With a small flock, this treatment is needed on our place only during spring thaw and rains, and the November pre-snow precipitation.
The furniture itself consists of roosts plus feed, water, and supplement containers. Roosts are recommended for laying flocks, not for meat birds. The roosts should be rough boards an inch or two in width, placed about a foot apart. Have at least six inches of roost space for each bird if yours are small, eight inches to a foot for the larger breeds.
Roosting
Chickens do better when they roost at night up off the ground. And they're happier, also. It is the natural way for a bird to sleep. It helps prevent external parasites and keeps them from lying in their own droppings. You also don't want them to start sleeping in the nest boxes.
Introduce the chicks to roosting by placing a stick or narrow piece of wood several inches off the floor. I keep it placed so that it is under the heat source. They get used to hopping up and sitting on this. When I move them to larger quarters I raise up the roost and the heat source. Some of them will use it and usually some won't. Once they're 6 weeks old and out from under lights, I check at night and if any are not on the roost I place them there nightly. After a (short to long) while, they all learn.
Roosting excerpt from: Raising Chicks by Barry Koffler
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