Its chick season!
I love this time of year. Chicks in the feed store means spring is almost here. Even though theres still a fair amount of snow on the ground while I write this, I have visions of flowers, fluffy chicks, warm weather, and green grass dancing through my head. This is the time of year that I hear the hum of my incubator running near my desk when I am working on the computer. It doesn’t matter that I have been raising chickens and chicks for years, seeing the first egg pip and a chick break out is always exciting. That’s one of the reasons I started the incubation program. Every kid (or kid at heart) should get to experience thrill of a chick hatching and a new life starting; even if you don’t have the room or time to raise chickens. If you are considering starting your own flock of chickens, there are something you should consider.
Location is key: Checking with your town ordinances is an important step. If might be tempting to look at your big yard and say why not, the town will never know. This is never a good idea, especially if you have kids who will grow attached to the chickens. You might have even asked all your neighbors to make sure they are ok with it and promise free eggs. Just because they tell you that they are fine, doesn’t mean they actually are ok. I have heard so many stories of neighbors making anonymous complaints because they didn’t want to be honest and say they don’t like the idea. And your neighbors will know. Chickens can be loud. We all know that roosters crow, but hens sing an egg song that can be just as loud. After they lay an egg the sing it. I like to think if it as they are proud of themselves and just must celebrate. Also, unless you have a completely closed off run that includes a roof, your chickens will get around. They can fly 10 ft in the air so your 6 ft privacy fence will be nothing. I see constant Facebook posts of broken-hearted people who have to rehome their chickens because the town told them they had to.
Chicks or Hens: Yes, chicks can be adorable, but they are also messy. If you don’t have an outdoor space to start chicks I would recommend starting with grown hens. If you keep them in the house for more than a week or two you will start to notice all the dust. The bigger they get, the dustier they get. And if you see it settling on your surfaces, its also in their air and you are breathing it in. Chicks need it warm, starting at 90 degrees their first week of life. Heat plates and lamps have their own limitations. Heat plates need an ambient temperature of at least 50 degrees outside in order to keep the chicks at their toasty 90 degrees. This would be good for a basement, insulated garage or barn. Heat lamps are dangerous. They have been known to break and start fires. I personally try to avoid using them at all and if I do, they are never in the house. I’m not saying I haven’t gone against all this advice in my past. My first few years the chicks were in my house, then my garage. Now only outside in the barn. If you have a chicken coop with electric, you can always lock it up and let the chicks stay in their with a heat plate as long as it is late spring or summer.
Housing: How do you want your chickens to live. There are pros and cons to each set up. Do you want a stationary coop with a fixed run. This is great for predator protection, but it requires a lot more cleaning and your chickens don’t get to roam around the grass and forage. Do you want a stationary coop but you want to let your chickens free range during the day? This is great for the chickens health and mental state. It does require some cleaning maintenance as well. However if you free range chickens, you should know you will loose some to predators. Even if you are outside with them while they are free ranging. It happens in the blink of an eye. I use a mobile coop with a hardware cloth bottom. It requires very little cleaning because the manure just falls through and lands on the grass underneath. It does require the work to move the coop around, so the manure doesn’t build up under and burn the grass.
Have more questions? We can help. Keep an eye on our Facebook page because we will be hosting an adult chicken tendering class. It will go over all the basics of taking care of chickens and help you get started on your journey. If you have kids with questions, we will be hosting a kid’s chicken class in April. It’s on our website now. It has sold out in past years so go sign up before it is sold out.