How I Raise Chicks

We let them out a lot for human interaction and exercise

We all do it differently and I am no expert on the subject, but I thought I'd share what I do.

Recently the youngest and I brought home a darling pair of peeps from the feed store.  I don't always buy my peeps from the same place each time, but instead I've actually gone to different places intentionally.

The first time I bought chicks, after loads of research on the subject, we drove to a hatchery.  Lots of variety to choose from, very knowledgeable staff to answer questions, great experience and loads of fun too.  The next time we went to a local feed store.  Unfortunately we didn't do well that time as they peeps weren't healthy and we had three deaths in three days.  We tried a different feed store (same chain, different store) and those two survived leaving us eventually with four healthy hens.  This time I went to a different feed store and so far so good.

So tiny

I am nervous chicken mama, I admit.  I raise my girls in the house where I can keep an eye on them, make sure they are warm enough, have plenty to eat and drink and of course, get plenty of love.  It is how I am.

A small and cozy space so they stay warm enough
Note the marbles in the water feeder

The first two weeks they stay in our cat carrier near a heat source, but not too close.  In advance of their arrival the carrier gets a bleach bath, is thoroughly dried and then gets a thin layer of pine shavings.  I also bleach bath the chick feeders.  For added safety I put marbles in the water feeder to reduce the risk of the babies drowning.  It's a great trick.

A piece of cardstock keeps them from getting their heads
stuck and helps keep the bedding inside

By week three I move them into a large dog carrier that I purchased at a thrift store just to use as a brooder/infirmary/chicken jail (should someone require a timeout).  I clean that carrier out the same way as the cat carrier.  The peeps move in, I remove the marbles from the water feeder and they stay in that until they are ready to integrate into the coop.

We change out the water frequently because the kick the bedding into it
I also cover the brooder with a thick bath towel each night so they stay warm
and settle down to sleep in relative darkness

I personally prefer pine shavings over straw.  The pine shavings are cleaned out of the brooder and replaced once a week and we have no issues with odor.  They are also easily compostable.  I purchase all natural chick starter, usually a 25# bag, and they eat that until they are big enough for lay pellets.  I choose not to buy any other feeds and I do not put additives in their water.  I also supplement their feed with veggie scraps when they are about 4 weeks old on.

They love to sit on top of the feeders
They also love their humans and time spent running around stretching their legs

I try to keep my chicken keeping simple and very basic and it has served me well.  Like I said, we all have our own ways of doing things, but this is how I choose to raise chicks.