Raising and hatching out Baby Chicks

You will need a pen for the baby chicks and their mother if you are hatching them. I have found pens up off the ground are best and if you already have a chicken yard, put it inside that pen to help guard against predators such as cats, dogs, snakes, and rats. My pen measures 4 ft. by 6 ft. and is 18 inches high. I drove six pieces of metal pipe into the ground for legs that hold it some 4 ft. off the ground. Schedule 40, 1 1/4  inch PVC makes a good frame if none of the pieces are over 3 1/2 ft long and cross pieces are used for bracing and to support the flooring wire and roofing material. The flooring wire should be of stiff hardware cloth type wire that is overlaid with vinyl window screening. This will keep feed from falling through the wire and being wasted. The wire on the rest of the pen can be regular small opening chicken wire or plastic mesh attached  with wire ties or nylon string. Have  doors on both long sides so you can easily reach all parts of the pen to catch chicks. Cover one of the short sides, the north side, with either tin or vinyl siding, along with at least a third of one of the cornering long sides. This will give the chicks protection from wind and blowing rain. Cover only 2/3rds of the top with a solid covering so they can get some sun. Vinyl siding can be attached to the PVC with screws while tin can have holes punched in it and be tied on using wire. Be careful of sharp edges when working with sheets of tin.

You will have to wait for a hen to get broody and want to set or buy an incubator to be able to hatch eggs. I have never used an incubator so I cannot help you with those. You cannot make a hen set but the signs of one setting are easy to spot. She will not want to leave the nest and will puff herself up and peck when you try to remove her. She will walk around at feeding time puffed up, will make clucking noises, and be fiesty with other hens. Don't give her any eggs for setting until you are sure she is calm enough to stay on the nest and is really setting. She will need a nest box all to herself for the incubation period of 21 days. It should be off the ground and where you can check on her each day. I close off one of my regular nest boxes so the other hens can't get into it, give it a good layer of straw, and make sure it won't be in the hot sun or any cold drafts. If you are going to buy chicks either at a local supplier or through the mail, be sure you have everything ready before their arrival date. You can check out my other article "Deciding what breed of chicken to raise" to help choose what types to order.

Depending on your climate, don't try to hatch or raise chicks too early in the spring unless they're kept inside for the first six weeks or so. If night time temps get below 60 degrees the young chicks will need supplemental heat. Here along the gulf coast I can hatch as early as late April. You also don't want to wait too late, because high temps will make eggs go bad and kill chicks also. If you are ordering chicks through the mail, check on the company's shipping dates. They will only ship after warm weather and before the heat of summer. For setting pick out about 18 good solid looking eggs, not overly large ones, and mark each with a penciled X on one side. This is to check that the hen is turning the eggs each day. Put them in the nest and let her walk over to them to settle herself in, then leave her alone for two days before checking on her. Mark your calender with the hatching date. She doesn't need to come off the nest for some three days, then pick her up  and set her on the ground with some water and feed. While she is eating check for any cracked or broken eggs. Remove any cracked ones and if any broke you will have to clean the nest and any other soiled eggs. Use a warm damp cloth and don't let the eggs get chilled so work quickly. Any eggs that get egg material on them will go bad if not cleaned and they will all go bad if the nest is not cleaned and the straw replaced. When you put the hen back check her feathers for egg material and clean her. Hopefully you won't have to go through this. You only need to take her off the nest once every other day for the first week to 10 days, then let her off everyday after that. Don't be surprised by the size and smell of her droppings, just have a shovel ready.

As the hatching date nears get your supplies ready, a bag of chick starter, some coccidostat medicine for their water, a waterer that you can handle and keep clean, a large box with lots of newspaper, a feeding trough, and a source of heat such as a extension cord with a light. The chicks will probably not all hatch on the same day. Hatching may take over 3 days and the hen may want to leave the nest when the first few chicks hatch out. To keep her from doing this you need to remove the early chicks as soon their eggs start to hatch and place them inside under the warm light to finish hatching. Do not try to help any of the chicks out of their eggshells and do not disturb the hen when hatching starts. Just quietly lift up one wing to check on the eggs and don't pick her up or she may step on one of the chicks. Place the chicks in the paper lined box kept away from where the hen can hear them, such as a corner of your kitchen or dining room. The chicks don't need to be handled too much, the stess will weaken and can kill them. They can live off the stored up nourishment from the egg yolk for some 24 hours after hatching, this is why they can be bought through the mail, so don't worry if they don't eat for a while. Give them a shallow dish of water and dip their bill into it when you first put them in the box and scatter some feed on the paper. If they peep loudly and huddle together, they may be cold. Put the light over one corner of the box, but be sure its not so close to any paper that it may start a fire. Check on the chicks after a few minutes, if they are huddled away from the light it may be too hot. Move it away or get a smaller bulb. Any eggs that have not hatched after 3 days are probably rotten and best disposed of by burying. Be careful handling them, they will explode from built up gases and that is not fun.

Now you can put all the chicks back under their mother and move her and her brood to the pen you built. Sometimes a hen will not take all the chicks and will kill any she doesn't want. If that happens you have two choices, one -raise the unwanted chick by yourself -not easy to do with only one chick, or take them all from the hen and raise them yourself -usually the best bet. Chicks will be healthier raised in a group. Feed the young chicks all they will eat keeping food available all the time. Be sure they have clean water at all times but don't use a deep waterer due to the danger of drowning. Use a coccidostat medicine in their water so they won't get sick. Watch for any that are getting pecked on for any signs of blood. The other chicks will repeatedly peck at any bloody spots and kill the hurt chick. There are anti-peck salves you can get to dress wounds, but you must seperate the hurt chick to save its life as long as the others peck at it. You may have some hard decisions to make, such as what to do to any sickly or malformed chicks that cannot get around or eat properly. Be ready for questions from your young helpers and help them to face up to life's hardships. If you are raising the chicks yourself without a mother hen, they will have to be brought in at night to be kept warm for the first 3 weeks or so depending on the temperatures. Place many layers of newspaper in the box and remove them as they get soiled. Newly hatched chicks and chick feed will attract ants so you may have to spray the legs of the pen to keep them away during hatching and later.

The chicks will start to grow feathers after just a couple of days and will be well feathered after some 4 to 6 weeks, then they can be placed in a larger yard on the ground with a shelter of some sort. I just use another PVC framed and vinyl covered hutch. If fowl pox is a problem in your area you need to vaccinate during the first two weeks or so. Smiths Poultry supplies sells the vaccine and it is easy to administer. Coccidiosis and fowl pox are two dieases often carried by older birds that can quickly kill young chicks. The hen can stay with them until they are well feathered or about half grown, as she will watch and warn them of dangers such as cats, snakes, and hawks. It is best to have netting over their pen to prevent them from flying out and hawks from diving in. You can start feeding them chick grower after 3 weeks and then start them on scratch feed after 5 weeks. A good starting grain for young birds in wheat because of its size, softness, and high food value. Mix it in with some cracked corn and don't forget they will need some grit and oyster shells when they start to eat hard grains. By the end of the summer you should have some fine young cockerels and pullets, and next spring the pullets will start laying.