The rules stay the same, but there’s more than one way to raise chicks. If you’re looking for new ideas, answers, or help with a special problem, experts have lots of tips. By checking out different opinions, you’ll find many ways to care for chicks while still following the basic rules.
Raising Baby Chicks | TBN Ranch
Everything you need to know, step by step, to prepare for, and manage baby chicks. Research, have a plan, be prepared, and know what to expect; these four things will help ease your commitment, so there’s more time to enjoy your birds.
Chicks just out of the brooder aren’t ready yet to greet the world and are not ready to join an existing flock. So, there needs to be a middle ground created. This middle ground is called a Grow Out Pen, which is just a fancy name for a safe enclosure for young birds to grow up in!
The guidelines for transitioning chicks from the brooder to a grow-out pen is when the chicks are fully feathered, which is between six and eight weeks. Allow young birds to mature in a grow-out pen until they are around four or five months old. This is important because, in the chicken world, size matters. Introducing small/young birds to a mature flock is a sure ticket to a drama show, and it could be a bloody one too! Grow-out pens slowly introduce juveniles gradually to an existing flock, making the transition easier for future interaction. You’ll want to keep your grow pen in plain view of the adult flock. They will be very curious about the youngsters for a few days and then return to business as usual. The chicks will be timid, or hide for the first few days, then will accept their onlookers as nonthreatening and return to normal behavior. Introduce Change Slowly The whole key to enjoying chickens is to avoid those problems that cause chaos in the chicken yard. Nothing good comes from rushing introductions or changes. The pecking order is serious business, and it’s a given that feeders, drinkers, and nest boxes have already been claimed and will be protected by an existing flock. When your juveniles are ready to join the flock, add more of those sought-after necessities so the new birds aren’t bullied.
Ready to Leave the Grow Out Pen? No problem, the trick is to not overthink it. Your existing flock is quite used to seeing the young birds already, and the juveniles are very unlikely to make a mad dash to freedom the minute the grow-out pen door opens. It’s all a process, one that will naturally go smoothly if you let them exit the grow-out pen on their own. They’ll take a few steps out, then run back in for days, even a week. That’s fine, just close them in at night, and in the morning open the door again. Social ranking among your chickens will begin almost immediately. Sometimes it’s hard to watch the fuzzy babies you raised all these months to get pushed around, you’ll want to intervene and protect them. My advice to you is to walk away and don’t look for problems. I guarantee, if you look for trouble you’re going to find it. The flock will work everything out on their own over time. You’ll know when you have to step in, and when to let nature take its course.
Raising chicks in a box somewhere in the house is not a very pleasant experience, at least after the first two weeks. Chicks are messy, and smelly if not constantly cleaned up after. This is difficult without a proper setup. Without the right tools for any job means working twice as hard, and raising chicks is no exception. Caring for and housing chicks shouldn’t feel like a chore. The planning, building, and improving your set-up is half the fun. Just like anything else, once a hobby becomes a job it’s just not fun anymore. After years of looking for an easier way to raise chicks on a budget, this is what I came up with. I had an 8×10 bare bones shed built with one window, two airflow vents, and a double door. Then the finishing was up to me, it took probably close to two years to afford everything. Today it has painted walls, a tile floor, electricity, and a custom-made brooder to accommodate 50 chicks comfortably. All my supplies are handy, and any mess sweeps right out the door. I enjoy spending time in my brooder shed. My cute chicks, a window fan, soft music, and a cup of coffee. That my friends is how to enjoy your birds!
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