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Raising your own backyard poultry flock can be very rewarding! Fresh eggs in the morning from pet chickens that become your friends! The opportunity to experience part of our farm heritage "first hand" with children and other loved ones. Keeping a backyard poultry flock can be a rewarding experience for all involved.
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Begin with a plan. Once you bring your baby chicks home, where will their "brooding area" be? The brooding area is the contained place where your baby chicks will live until they can go outside. A large cardboard box, a rubber stock tank, or a suitable tub or other containment system can work. Ideally, for the chick’s safety and your sanity, the sides should be at least 18 inches tall. It must be completely clean and dry before putting the baby chicks into it. It is important to provide adequate ventilation, but also keep the baby chicks from being near drafts. Ideally, locate this brooding area in a protected area of your home, safe from small children, other pets and drafts, but a garage or basement area might be best. Baby chicks can be a messy, as they love to pick at their bedding, which can create a bit of dust. Some folks could also find their smell to be a bit offensive. Plan ahead to pick the most suitable area!
The brooding area should be larger enough to provide up to 2 square feet per chick. The bottom of the area should be covered with one or more inches of pine shavings or ground corncob bedding. Remove all soiled litter as often as possible, but at least weekly, and add new litter as necessary.
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For the first few weeks, baby chicks need a heat lamp. When using an infra-red heat, place it 18 inches above the top of the bedding for the first week, and raise it 2 inches per week until the bulb is about 24 inches above the litter. Another way to judge this critical step is by actual temperature. When taken at the level the chicks are at, the first week the temperature should be between 92 to 95 degrees. You then lower the temperature by about 5 degrees per week until the temperature remains at 70 degrees. Put the heat lamp on and check the temperature before you bring home your chicks, to make sure all works well.
Provide water in a poultry fount or waterer, specifically made for baby chicks. Clean it daily along with providing a constant source of fresh water. Use feeders designed for baby chicks, and try to position them near the waterers, but slightly closer to the heat lamp. Keep fresh food available at all times as well. Baby chicks, unlike ducks, generally need medicated feed and supplemental antibiotics in their drinking water. Check with the hatchery for proper recommendations.
Check on the chicks at least a half dozen times a day. Look for some obvious signs. If all the chicks are gathered in the center in a tight circle, they may be cold and you need to slightly lower the lamp. If they are around the perimeter and seem to be avoiding each other, they may be too hot and you need to raise the bulb.
Once the babies are 2 to 3 weeks old, if the temperature is at least 70 degrees and sunny, you might let them outside for a short bit of air, assuming they are completely protected from all dangers or just getting away. When they begin to get feathers and are almost 6 weeks old, they should be ready to put outside in their new chicken home.
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