How to Raise Your Own Chicks: What to Get and What to Expect

So you want your own chickens? Maybe you want to have a laying flock to get your own eggs, or you want meat chickens to have your own farm raised meat. Either way, you will need to take special care of those chicks in their first few weeks of life.
In this video, I'll go over what I do to keep my chicks happy and healthy from the time they come home until the time they are ready to go outside. This includes their brooder, heat, food, water, bedding, and some common health concerns you might encounter.
Good luck and enjoy your sweet little balls of fluff!
#homesteading #chickens #chicks #raisingchickens #babychickens

[@mk_78]

Great video, very informative!

[@littleladyhomestead]

Thanks!

[@sarahbartlett1196]

I think the lights can get too hot and a fire hazard, not to mention hot burning if you accidentally touch it . For just a small amount of chicks, a heat plate is best for me. EASY, its radiant heat so you don't need to adjust temperature, just the height as hey get taller, they need to be able to touch their backs lightly onto the heat plate. Thank you for sharing. If you have them in summer in Australia, they need the heat plate for a small amount of time.

[@rosa632]

Hi Tessa!! Thanks for sharing your experience, with raising baby chicks and more. I’m currently walking through research to purchase baby chicks. We found out that our city has restrictions. So we can only have 6 hens and no roosters allowed. So that’s what we will start with. I still have to decide if we will order from our local feed shop or on-line. Although our local shop doesn’t offer a couple of the breeds I was hoping they would. All this to say, your video was timely as I continue to learn before we make our final decisions.

[@littleladyhomestead]

I'm so glad the timing worked out so well! How exciting that you're planning to start your flock! It's hard to resist ordering online so you can get exactly what you want, but you'll probably encounter a small order fee if you order less than 15 chicks. Unless you can find someone else who would want to go in on an order with you 😉 either way, I'm sure you'll really enjoy them!

[@heavymechanic2]

Where I live in VA, the town has more restrictions on chickens than dogs LOL. The town government has been difficult about beekeeping without any local ordinance to comply with. I am following their BS guidelines (coop placement) even if agriculture is exempt from any nuisance by the county bylaws. My nephew in TX cannot have chickens but is allowed swine, strange. Best of luck to you and TSC or RuralKing may be your best option to acquire chicks)

[@user-tf4zn9yj4e]

Thankyou so much for the video. I recently bought 10 wyndottes, Golden's. Their about 4 weeks now. I have no idea why. I was hungry for scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage, ham or bacon. Hahaha. Yep.i can get weird that way. So, on my journey that day, I stopped at TFS.
Looked at black pullets. Went to eat, came back to buy black pullets, somehow, bought golden wyndottes. I think God has a different plan. Problem, Albuquerque can get hot. 100 degrees during sommer. I bought sexed hens, but my neighbor gave me an incubator. Hahaha. What's God up to? Waiting to see if I have a male. Haha. This is for you dear. I am a beekeeper. I had been pollen in freezer. I researched it some for chicks. Yes they love it. But, Bee pollen may cause the chicks stomach to grow 20%
more on the ability to absorb nutrients. Hmmm.

[@user-tf4zn9yj4e]

My problem is going to keep these wyndottes cool enough in summer. You said you lost one before. California. Any suggestions. Thanks again for all you guys do.