April is my preferred month for beginning with baby chicks. The weather has, hopefully, settled down a little. The pullets will reach six months in the fall and, supposedly, lay through the winter.
Getting Baby Chicks
Traditionally eggs are set under a broody hen. She hatches out and raises a group of baby chicks. I have done this, but don’t now as black snakes usually eat the eggs.
Incubators are another popular way to set eggs. A friend is hatching some eggs for me this year. They should be hatching about now. These will be what the hatcheries call straight run, a mix of pullets and cockerels. Eggs and dinner.
Then there are the hatcheries. I’ve gotten baby chicks from Cackle Hatchery many times and will again this year.
Only the First Step
Beginning with baby chicks doesn’t start with getting the chicks. Even before they arrive home, there is preparation to do.
I have a dedicated chick house. It’s used for storage over the winter, but in April it is again set up for chicks.
Plastic feed sacks go down on the floor boards to protect them from spilled water. A heat lamp is set up as chicks need to be warm. Waterers and feeders are set up. Chick starter is purchased and set up.
I know some advice is to never use newspaper on the floor for baby chicks. It works for me and has for decades. It has several advantages for me.
I put out layers, five sheets thick, enough for ten to twelve days. They are offset a bit so I can tell each layer. Each day I can roll up the dirty sheets and leave the chicks with a fairly clean floor for the new day.
New Residents
The house is set up. The heat lamp has it warm and cozy. The waterers and feeders are filled.
When the chicks come home, each chick is taken out, bill dipped in water and set down. It doesn’t take long before these little ones are off exploring. That stops as soon as they find the food. Now it’s just a matter of time waiting for them to grow up.
