Cory and I have been talking about getting Chickens for a few years. We thought it would be such a fun and cool experience. Before we went out and got them we had to get a general idea of what we were signing up for. We met with another local couple who had been raising Chickens for a few years. They were incredibly helpful! We talked about different kinds of Chickens, eggs, food, coops, bedding, predators, etc. You name it this couple has the knowledge which we were so grateful for and appreciative that they hooked us on finally getting Chickens!
After meeting with them we went over to Runnings, a local tractor supply store, and bought 8 tiny little chicks. They were only two days old! They looked like little fluffs of down feathers.
There are several different kinds of Chickens that you can get so we did a little research online to see which types would be best for us and the environment we live in. We wanted breeds that were a little hardier since we all know Upstate NY winters can be pretty harsh and the weather changes at the drop of a hat. We also decided that we wanted all of them to produce good eggs but also have some of them be meat chickens for processing. We ended up buying two of each of the following breeds: White leghorns ("I say, I say boyy"-foghorn leghorn- a little cartoon reference for ya), Barred Rocks, Buff Orpington, and Black Australrops.
After we picked up our 8 Chickens we grabbed some other supplies to get us started since we were first timers at this. We grabbed a heat lamp, chick food, a waterer and chick feeder. Oh! A thing to note, depending on where you live, make sure your Chickens are sexed to be all females. Runnings did this for us because in our area we are not allowed to have a Rooster so it was important we knew they were all hens before purchase.
A few tips on supplies, when getting the heat lamp buy the red bulb. Chickens are very curious creatures and how they explore their curiosity is by pecking. The red light helps it so as they grow they do not peck each other as much. When they are babies you can see some exposed skin sometimes and chickens like to peck at things that are pink, even my pink nail polish! It's very unique. The red light helps eliminate the pink color. Also, buy specific food made for baby chicks, it's smaller and easier for them to handle since their beaks are so tiny. (You could also make your own food if you do not want to purchase the bags from the store). Get a chick feeder and water too! These things are poop machines and they go when and where they want too, including in their food and water- gross! The feeders and waterers are designed to help with sanitation. You could set them up on something in the brooder to help even more with cleanliness but make sure the babes can still reach. We purchased the feeder with multiple different holes where the food was exposed. This way the chicks did not have to fight over it and everyone could eat at the same time if they wanted to. (The photo above is what the feeder looks like).Shopping was done so we brought them all home and I personally had a moment of "now what?" Haha. Cory had an ammo crate that was the perfect size for our little chicks first home. We shredded some newspaper as bedding. I read a lot of articles that said that newspaper was bad bedding for chicks because it does not soak up moisture well which could lead to the chicks developing spraddle leg. Spraddle leg is when the chickens legs are spread very far apart which causes them to have issues walking and moving around. If this does occur, do not panic, it can be corrected. We changed our bedding every day and we did not have any problems. But if you are nervous they said pine shavings are the best. Then we added our feeder and waterer to the box and lastly put on the heat lamp to keep them warm. I would suggest placing your heat lamp in one corner of your brooder box. That way if the chicks get too hot under the lamp they have other areas in the brooder to go and cool down. You can tell when they are cold because they will all huddle together. This could indicate that you need to move the heat lamp lower and closer to them to add extra warmth. Also, make sure your food and water are not directly under the light, warm water is not as refreshing! Hah!
Once the set up was complete we added in the best part- the tiny girls! (This photo is from the first day we brought them home- a few of them are sleeping).
One other thing Cory and I decided to do, which I am glad we did now that I am writing this blog, was keep a daily journal of the chicks and what was going on as they started to grow. You don't have to do it daily if you do not want to, but some pretty neat things happen that you will want to remember and the "chicken log" as our is called, is fun to look back on and read.
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