Raising baby chicks is a right of passage for any homesteader or self-sufficiency folks. But when you're a beginner raising baby chicks, you want to make sure you're caring for your animals correctly, after all, this is your egg and meat production.

6 Tips to Raising Baby Chicks for the first 6 Weeks
These tips on raising baby chicks pertain to chicks purchased from a hatchery, feed store, or in the mail, when they haven't been hatched out with a Mama hen. It's much easier when we let nature do her thing, but many people don't have the luxury of an already established flock or broody hen and need to begin their flock with baby chicks.
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- Brooder boxes for chickens. Ideally, your brooder pen will have high enough sides to keep the baby chicks from jumping out. Curved or round shapes are best, deep corners can lead to a chick getting trapped and trampled in the corner.
- Best bedding for baby chicks. You need to have something in the bottom of your brooding box for the baby chicks bedding, preferably 2 inches deep. The best solutions are pine pellets or wood shavings (though cedar is not recommended, it can be stressful to their respiratory system). Hay and straw are prone to mold quickly and may harbor pests as well as requiring more frequent cleaning of your baby chicks pen. Newspaper is slippery, especially when wet, and can cause a condition in baby chicks called “splayed leg”.
- Heat lamp. Your new darling baby chicks are all fuzzy, little puff balls of cuteness. They haven't grown their feathers, and without their mother hen to keep them warm, they will require a heat lamp. A red bulb heat lamp not only keeps them warm but also helps protect them from getting pecked and killed by their coop mates.
It's important to make sure your heat lamp is stable and not near anything that could catch on fire. A guard is an excellent idea, especially when the chickens get bigger, aka jump, fly, peck at it.How long do chickens need to be under a heat lamp
So glad you asked. For the first two weeks baby chicks should be kept at 95 degrees Fahrenheit. After that, you can raise the heat lamp by a few inches to lower the temperature by about 5 degrees for each week until the chicks have their full feathers.
How long do you keep baby chickens under a light
Usually, chicks will be under the heat lamp for about 6 to 8 weeks. At 6 weeks chicks are fully feathered, but if your outdoor temperatures are below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, slowly acclimate them.
When can chickens live outside
Our chicks start living outside after about 2 to 3 weeks of age, but still with the aid of a heat lamp. We'll turn off the heat lamp during the day if it's warm out, but turn it back on for chilly nights for a few weeks, until they're about 8 weeks old, depending upon the weather.
- Water. When you first bring your baby chicks home, water is more important than food. Especially if they're coming via the mail from a hatchery.
First place the baby chicks in their prepared heated brooder box and offer them water.
It's best to use a watering container like this (I prefer metal ones as plastic tends to crack and leak), if it's an open container baby chicks can fall in and drown.
Once they've all taken a drink, you can tip their beak into the water to help them know where it is, you can introduce their food.
Water is more important when it comes to raising baby chicks, so usually wait an hour or so before introducing food to make sure they've drank water first. Always keep them with clean fresh water. - Food. When raising baby chicks, you need to start with the appropriate food for their optimal health and growth. What to feed baby chicks after hatching is important, especially the amount of protein. Laying hens or dual-purpose breeds require 16 to 18 grams of daily protein for the six weeks of life.
Meat birds have a higher protein demand, needing to be fed 23 grams of protein a day for the first 3 weeks with tapering to 20 grams from 3 to 6 weeks of age.
We chose not to feed our chicks medicated feed. The purpose of us raising our own meat is to avoid antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, and chemicals in our food.
We use an organic chick starter mix and also give them vegetable scraps from the garden and table. - Grit. If you're raising your baby chicks inside or they're not on the bare ground with access to dirt, you'll need to supplement with grit. The sooner the better. Grit helps them digest their food, as they don't have teeth. Put it in a small container in their pen and let them free range on it.
You are the most important, and biggest factor, when it comes to raising your baby chicks and their health.
Using the above 6 tips will help give your baby chicks their best start, but nothing can take the place of daily care and attention.
Make sure you check their water twice a day. Having clean and fresh water is very important. If the watering container springs a leak, you don't want your chicks standing in water or getting drenched.
You'll want to make sure they're at the right temperature throughout the day. If they get too hot or cold, it can be critical.
This is especially important during the first 24 hours of setting up your baby chicks.
Signs your baby chicks are too hot
If they're panting and at the corners of the brooder box (away from the heat lamp), it's a sign the baby chicks are too hot and the heat lamp needs to be raised up a few inches.
Signs your baby chicks are too cold
If they're all huddled together tightly under the heat lamp, they're too cold and you need to lower it an inch or two to warm them up.
Keep their brooder box clean. You don't want them eating, lying, or breathing in an excess amount of poop. Chickens don't urinate separately, it all comes out in their poop, which makes excellent fertilizer, high in nitrates, when it's had a chance too cool.
Raising baby chicks doesn't stop after 6 weeks, from the egg to the table and more about raising your own livestock, growing your own food organically and naturally, and how to preserve it for year round eating is waiting for you in the Pioneering Today Academy.
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There you have it, our complete guide for raising baby chicks for the first 6 weeks. Have you ever raised baby chicks?
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- Planning Your Livestock for a Year's Worth of Meat (Per Person)
- Breeding Chickens Naturally: Selective Breeding for Eggs & Chicks
- Integrating New Chicks to Existing Flocks Q&A Chicken Raising
- Raising Chickens for Profit
- How to Butcher a Chicken at Home
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Thanks Melissa for the info on raising baby chicks I haven’t had chickens for many years mainly because of a busy lifestyle, but I’m slowing down now an going to try it again. I’m getting 50 dual breed chicks june15th an really looking forward to it, I was a little disappointed when the hatchery called to day an said I wouldn’t have them for another mth as they were expected to arrive may 18th an I’m not sure how long it will take to get them to eating size? I’m thinking maybe 4 or 5 mths what is your experience with this?
Bill, yes, 4 to 5 months should get them up to size. What breed are you getting?
Do you add anything special to their water i.e. apple cider vinegar? Also do add any herbs in their food/bedding and nesting boxes as they get older? Thanks
I will give them oregano and fresh herbs and vegetables as they get older, but I generally don’t add any to the nesting boxes. I have added apple cider vinegar a few times, but with fresh water daily I haven’t had any issues and don’t use it on a regular basis.
Thanks for your knowledge of raising chickens, I have more experience to raise chickens better.
I was just given a gift of two tiny baby chicks. HELP So far I have bedding of wood shavings, a proper watering container, a heat lamp and feeder from our farm and ranch supply. My husband is now shopping for a proper round container.
The babies will be in the house; ( we live in town, no barn). I will be up all night observing them… We do have a female ragdoll cat, left in another room for the time being. Our house temperature in this particular room is usually about 75F. . I can turn the thermostat up and may be safer than using the heat lamp if I ever need to sleep. (lol)
We have had them for about four hours and they have taken water and eat a lot. Almost time to take the feeder out for the night.
Believe me….I need all the help I can get. They are very tiny.
Thank you,
Soni
Hi Soni, it sounds like you’re doing things right. Are the chicks huddled together? That can be a sign they’re cold. If they’re drinking and eating those are great signs. We used the heat lamp with ours though I understand safety concerns.
Hello. We have a chickens for 3 years. Every year they have chicks and they are healthy but this year we had 3 chicks over a week ago and they keep dying and we don’t know why. My oldest son is devastated because he loves his chickens. The mother hen is still seating on the eggs but I’m afraid that they will not survive. Maybe you will have some advice for us?
Thank you
Gosia
Melissa, can you share with us the brand of Organic Chick Starter/Feed you use? I’m currently debating on either ordering from Azure Standard (more expensive) or getting the Nutrena Nature Smart Organic chick starter/grower. Can you give me some direction?
Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
I use a custom blend from our local grainery, Conway Feed, in Conway, WA. Personally, I usually go with which one is cheaper if both are organic.
The mother hen is still seating on the eggs but I’m afraid that they will not survive.
Hello,
I am a new chicken enthusiast. I purchased one chick at 1 week old.
I then bought 3 more chicks at 1 week old while my original chick was 3 weeks. They’ve been getting along fine for three days and now my original chicken keeps attacking and killing my baby chicks? Is this normal? Why is the 3 week old chicken killing my babies?
Helpful hints
They’ve been getting along fine for three days and now my original chicken keeps attacking and killing my baby chicks? Is this normal? Why is the 3 week old chicken killing my babies?
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Baby chicks can’t go in without a mother hen to regular flock until they’re close to full-grown, they will attack and kill them. You need to separate them.
Thank you Melissa looking forward to learning more from you.
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