There are a lot of ways that can be done to raise baby chicks. In this article, we will give examples as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Read more as below:
There are several ways to raise baby chickens which are easy to do at home:
There are several ways to raise baby chickens but brooding is the best way if you want to get baby chicks easily and quickly. You just need eggs that have been fertilized, then put them in a box or pen where the hen usually sits on it.
You can choose several ways for raising baby chickens, but it must be done carefully and with enough preparations to make sure they will grow well by feeding them with nutritious food and provide a clean and safe environment for all of them.
1. Using Incubator
Using an incubator is the method that is often used by many people who want to have a lot of baby chicks. This way has advantages because you can control all things well during the early days. If you choose this, then you need a good incubator to hatch your eggs. Usually, it takes 25-28 days for day-old babies to hatch.
2. Using Brooder Box
If you are not able to get an incubator or want to do it on your own, then the brooder box is one of the best ways for raising baby chicks which can be done at home. This way is easy but you must have enough money to buy food for raising baby chicks. You can plant vegetables or grains to feed them daily.
3. Using Broody Hen
Brooding is the process when the hen sits tightly on the eggs, so it will be hatched by her body warmth. If you want to do it this way, you need several fertilized eggs to get your baby chickens easily. This way is one of the easiest ways to get baby chicks. But you should not disturb your hen while brooding.
There are several ways which you can choose based on what you want and need for raising baby chickens. You can keep them in different ways if they are still too young. If they already know how to eat, then there is no need for you to feed them daily. They can eat by themselves after few days.
In wintertime, this is a good practice to have a small poultry house near your apartment or any other place where you live. That allows putting there some eggs and hatch them. In spring young chickens will be appeared in the backyard of every happy person who decided to make a pet by raising chickens. This article will show how it is possible to hatch eggs and raise young chickens by yourself without any help from other people.
After this article, you will know how to properly care about the chickens what includes: feeding, housing, health and protecting them from predators.
Feeding
Chickens can eat almost everything. The best food for your chickens is kitchen leftovers such as vegetable remains like peals, skin and so on. Bread is also good for chickens but not too often because it can cause obesity. Chickens can eat eggs with yolk or without yolk; however, the best solution is to give them boiled eggs (without shell) that they will peck directly from the table.
It’s not necessary to feed your chickens every day. When you eat in the kitchen, put some remains you see on your plate in a special place where they can easily get to it. Sometimes they don’t even wait for the leftovers and peck through everything that lays around.
Fruits are maybe not so good for them because of sugar content but chickens will be very happy if they peck a couple of grapes, apples, pear or other fruits.
Vegetables like carrots and parsley are also good for chickens but maybe not every day because it causes obesity too.
Housing
When you decide to raise baby chickens in your house backyard you need to know that they love the sun much more than the rain. If it’s possible, make a place outside the house where they can lay in the sun.
When it’s raining, bring them into the house because especially during rain their feathers get wet and it can cause illness if they stay too long under bad weather conditions. The best way is to have a small poultry house outside your yard but near enough to be able to go there every day and check if everything is OK.
You can make a one level house with a small yard around it or a large poultry house like a barn. Inside the poultry house, you need to have: nesting boxes (one for two hens), a roosting bar and some shelves where they can lay eggs. It’s a good idea to leave them a box where they can go in and out of it whenever they want. When you place a house near the fence, make sure that there is some place for going into another yard or going to the garden if it’s necessary.
When spring comes and the temperature is higher, the chicken will be more active and start laying eggs everywhere on shelves, boxes…
Be careful to find all of them when they lay eggs because if you don’t collect the eggs every day, snakes, rats and other predators will eat them.
After the sun goes down chickens come back to the poultry house to sleep. It’s not a good idea to light them before dark so when it is sunny outside, bring them into the house or some other dark place.
Safety is very important when it’s about raising baby chicken. Chickens are very good at hiding so you need to be careful every time you go in the poultry house even if it’s just for doing some cleaning or feeding them.
You can find several different nests where chickens sleep but usually, they lay eggs in separate corners of the house.
After it’s dark, chickens will go to sleep and you should not wake them up ever because they need several hours of sleeping every day just like us. When chickens lay eggs it’s better to be quiet. If you disturb them, they can get upset and that means no breakfast for you!
Chickens are animals who love to play much more than sleeping so you should always have some toys for them. They love straw, boxes with hay and sometimes even your old shoes.
Health and protecting
Chickens don’t like strange things around them so if something looks strange or different, never leave it near the poultry house because maybe they will destroy it. It’s also good to keep chickens out of the kitchen during cooking because they can eat almost everything that lays around.
If you give them some food, don’t leave it near the poultry house too long or it will attract many other small animals who might get into your fenced yard.
Pigeons are also good for free rangers but if you decide to raise baby chicken near pigeons, it might be dangerous because they can spread so many diseases between them.
Chickens are very friendly animals and they will love to play with you if you give them some time every day. If there is more than one person in your house who loves chickens, don’t worry about feeding them because everybody should help with that.
When you raise baby chickens, be patient and keep in mind that they will need a lot of time for playing because it’s their nature. Never separate them from their mother before eight weeks because after that period they will never recognize her again so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
There are thousands of different animals in the world and each one is unique in its own way but all of them have something in common, they need to be protected, fed and given a home where they can feel safe.
Raising baby chickens is not very difficult but if you want to do it in the best way, read more articles on this subject or ask somebody who already raises chickens.
To raise a baby chick alone, make sure that there is enough place for her to sleep, eat and play. Don’t leave her alone for a long time, she is only a baby and needs somebody to take care of her.
Above all else, make sure that you love your little chick and she will give you nothing more than pure joy.
FAQ
How long do baby chickens need to stay inside?
You must give your little chicks enough time to grow before they come outside. The idea behind this is so they can develop a healthy immune system and be prepared to live outside. It should take about 4-6 weeks for the peeping to stop, meaning they should have grown their feathers and be ready for the outside.
What do you need to raise baby chickens?
Making sure that they have a constant supply of water and food, a nest to sleep in, some wood shavings on the floor of their container for them to lie on, and a heat source. If you are planning on keeping your chickens inside a coop then a heat lamp works well.
Do not use lamps that give off light, as they need to sleep at night and will find the light too disturbing. If you are keeping them outside then a heat lamp works well, but also make sure that you cover their cage on cold nights with something like a blanket or some chicken wire attached to the top of the coop if possible.
Can I raise a baby chicken in my house?
Yes, you can raise a baby chicken indoor. The best way to do it is to buy a big cage but let the space inside the cage for your small cute pets. Keep in mind that if you have just rescued the chickens from being abandoned, it will take time before they get familiarize with their new environment. To realize that their new home is safe to stay in, just introduce them inside the cage by putting some of their droppings inside so they will smell it.
No matter how old or young your baby chicken is, you have to take good care of both indoor and outdoor areas where they are residing.