For the past few years, I’ve been letting our silkie hens hatch eggs on their own, so I haven’t had to worry about keeping chicks warm in a brooder area.
Now that I’ve decided to purchase chicks, I need to provide them with a brooder area to stay warm.
Why the change? Well, I had a hawk and fox attack my chickens late last fall. The hawk once again this winter brought my flock down to five.
Two of those five happen to be roosters, and if you know the rooster and hen ratio, I need more hens before these two boys start acting like fools.
I would love to allow my silkie hens to hatch babies, but the thing is, I need hens.
If I allow my silkies to hatch their own chicks, I may end up with more roosters which is what I am trying to prevent, so I ordered sexed birds with a guarantee that they are all female.
The chick’s won’t be shipped until mid-May, but I’m ready for them. In this post, I’ll share the brooding area that I’ve set up.
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BREAKING THE RULES
Ok, ok, so here’s the deal, I’m going to break some rules here. I’m telling your right off the bat. I am going to keep my chicks in the house for a couple weeks in the living room area, and I’m totally ok with it.
Should poultry be in the house? Probably not, but a majority of us do it.
I’ve had chicks in the house before, and I even allow Wolf, one of my silkie roosters, in the house on occasion.
I hobby farm, pets are my family, ya-da ya-da, my kids are grown.
I have all intentions to be washing my hands after handling the chicks. Salmonella is a thing, BE CAREFUL and use caution when handling poultry.
I just want to snuggle the babies! Is that so wrong?
BROODER SET UP
In the past, I’ve used large totes with wire covers or even laundry baskets, but this time for my brooder area, I’m using a large dog kennel.
I’ve attached a brooder lamp with a 250-watt heat lamp reflector to keep the chicks warm. I’ve also lined the flooring with newspaper and pine shavings to collect the poo, which I will need to clean regularly.
For a little bit of brooder nursery cuteness and to keep the pine shavings a bit cleaner, I painted some cardboard strips with trees, clouds, a blue sky, and pink flowers. It looks adorable!
WATER AND FEED
WATER
When it comes to water, I’ll be using a chick waterer. They’re convenient and make little mess. I’ll also be supplying my chicks with electrolytes that I will mix with their water when they first arrive from the hatchery.
FEED
As for chick feed, chicks need to start life with a chick starter/grower poultry feed. Many brands offer a starter/grower to support your chick’s health from day one up to 18 weeks old.
If you’re introducing your chicks to an existing flock, as I will be, and you’re wondering how to keep feeding your new chicks the proper diet after introduction, all you have to do, is feed both the chicks and existing adults the starter/grower feed.
Keep everyone on the grower/starter feed until the new chicks are at least 16-18 weeks old. Then they can move to mature feed whether you have layers or meat birds.
Tractor Supply has a lot of options for chick feed, and if you have a local feed mill, as I do, they can help you find the appropriate feed choice.
I plan to keep the chicks in the house brooding area for up to three weeks, and then they’ll move outside to the chicken coop. I’ll still be keeping them in a safe, confined space with their heat lamp, but this will allow my exciting flock to see and mingle with them without putting the chicks in danger.
I’ll share a post about the introduction as the chicks are moved outdoors, but for now, I’m still waiting for my 15 new babies to arrive.
The breeds I chose include the Ameraucana, Whiting True Blue, Blue Cochin, Speckled Sussex, Polish, Welsummer, and one of my favorite breeds, the Brahma.
XOXO
Emily
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