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What to Do When Your Chicks Arrive

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Do you know what to do when your chicks arrive? Be ready for them! Be as sure as you can that you have everything you need. Everything MUST be in place when your chicks arrive at their new home!

raising chicks, raising meat birds

 

We keep our chicks in the basement for the first 2 weeks. This is because in our climate, it is usually still too cold down at the barn for day old chicks.

We can do a better job of regulating the temperature if we have them in the basement. People have kept their chicks in the bathtub, so there are options.

 

temperature gun, chicks

 

 

We start heating the room a couple of days before the chicks arrive. We have concrete walls in this part of the basement (with an outside door) so it is usually cool in this room.

A couple of mornings before the chicks are expected, I start shooting the temperature of the brooders with this…a handheld temperature gun….93, just a tad too high (we want 90), so I turn the heat down in the room just a bit.

If it’s too warm in the room, you may need to raise the heat lamps. It’s a bit finicky, but after you do it a few times you get the hang of it.

If it’s too cold in the room, lower the heatlamps. I’ll check the temperature probably every time I go to check on the chicks.

 

chicks, raise your own chicks

 

Here they are in their delivery box – chicks can live up to 72 hours after hatching without food or water. Amazing, isn’t it?

 

 
 
 
We dip their beaks in the small chick waterer as we take each chick out of the box. Some people don’t do this, but we do.
 
The small amount of time it takes helps me feel reassured that every chick knows where the water is.
 
Amazing that you can order chicks and have them come through the mail.
 
 

chicks, raise your own chicks, chick waterer

 

This is the scene you want to see one minute after you start putting the chicks in their house. Lots of chicks around the waterer, drinking away.

You will find that they will be very thirsty after their road trip to your house.

 

chick feeder, meat birds

 

A few minutes later, they should have found the feeder.

Check on them regularly. It is important to keep water and chick starter in front of them at all times.
 
Feed  them on chick starter for two weeks, then switch them over to pellets. We normally feed 20% protein pellets.
 
Now you know what to do when your chicks arrive – however, there are a lot more details you need to learn to raise chicks successfully.
 
 
 
 
If you want to learn everything you need to know about raising meat birds or laying hens, grab our ebook 8 Pounds in 8 Weeks: Raising Day Old Chicks for the Dinner Table!
 
 
 
 

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Filed Under: Raising Chickens, Raising Meat BirdsTagged: chicks

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