I am so excited to announce that we have baby chicks joining the homestead! I love that sweet sound they make. There are two main sounds; one is a calm chirping kind of chatty sound, that says;” I am good. Everything is good. I am secure. All is well with my world.” Then the other sound is an alarm call, which is surprisingly LOUD. This call says, “Where is everybody? I am in trouble, or at least I think I am. MAMA! My whole world has been turned upside down! HELP!”

Here is a video so you can see for yourself! I will let you watch the video below to find out the things I am doing differently this time around, which includes fermenting my chick starter feed. Or if you just need your daily dose of cuteness watch and listen. Enjoy!

If you are not allowed to have chickens in your city, then I am so so sorry. Here is a link to a very determined, smart young lady who took her city on legally. She worked social media for support, concerning her chicken ban and won!   See her story here.

3 Reasons to get chickens:

• Composted chicken manure makes your garden ROCK!
• Fresh eggs are delicious!
• Such sweet outdoor entertainment!

I have to say raising a feisty group of feathered girls is amazing. However, when I first got them I had a different expectation of what it would mean to be The Crazy Chicken Lady. Here is a link to an article I wrote at the very beginning of my adventure with chickens; A few things about chickens I wish I had known BEFORE I got them! It will give you a realistic idea of what it means to have your own flock.

Here is an article all about my chicken coop. It even has the video I followed to build it. If I can do it, you can too! https://bloomwhereyourplanted.com/my-chicken-coop/

The other misconception, that would be chicken owners have, is that they are going to get eggs from their chicken pets forever. No, sadly your beloved chicken will only lay reliably for about 3 years. After that it is your decision whether to keep your girls, eggs or no eggs, or to move on with new chicks.

What you will need to raise chicks:

Links for supplies at bottom of post

-Four boards to make a 4×4 area

I screw my boards together & just use the garage floor for the bottom.

-Wood shavings or sand

Wood shavings can sometimes fill up water troughs & leave your charges with nothing to drink! Putting them up on bricks helps a bit, but I have found sand to be the way to go. Wood shavings can also cause pasty butt(blocked vent), but sand is fine for them, even beneficial, for them to ingest. (I get all purpose sand on the concrete isle of my local hardware store.)

-Heat source-heat lamp(with red bulb), ceramic heat lamp or a heating plate

Chicks will start out at 95F then reduce temps by 5 degrees each week until they are ready to go outside.

Baby chicks like to be warm, I know! Simulating the cover of mama’s wings is not easy! A heating plate is probably the closest thing to mama hen. Basically you need a warm place for the chicks to get under and a place that they can get away from the heat if need be. One end of my brooder has the heat and the other is for the chicks to cool their jets, if you will. I put my food and water in the middle.

There is always the question, What do you do at night? Yes, having that bright heated bulb burning down on the chicks 24/7 is not good for them. A red bulb reduces the stress of that bright light on the chicks, but still provides life giving warmth.

If you are like me and have a son, who loves all living creatures including reptiles, then you have a ceramic heat lamp. This device was purchased for a bearded dragon, which heaven help me I am soooo glad  has moved on. Her name was Lizzy and she required the regular purchase of crickets for her well being. Crickets are loud at night, just sayin. The day Lizzy passed, I had to comfort my 12 yr old and then go do a happy dance in the privacy of my closet.  Any hoo, fast forward a few years and I have a ceramic heat lamp for my chicks.  Who saw that coming?

-Twine to raise & lower your heat source

I hang my lamps over my chick brooder. The clip on way has never worked for me. You are going to have to learn a boy scout knot in order to be successful. Hang with me here, we can do this. I call it the slippy up and down knot, but I am sure my boys have a much more sophisticated name for it. The point is, your heat source is tied to it, so up it goes when you want cooler temps and down it goes when you want warmth. I hang it from the rafters of my garage and plug it into my handy garage door opener electric outlet. Just in case you don’t have a boy scout handy, here is a tutorial on how to do this handy knot: Two half hitch knot video   

Food & water dishes

You can probably pick these up where ever you buy your chicks. My friend showed me a hack to make it easier to fill her’s. As you can see, she cut off the top! So much easier!!

-Chick starter

I have never used medicated chick starter & I have not had any trouble with my chicks. In the Dallas area I get my chicks & starter at Roaches Feed & Seed in Garland. They are so friendly & helpful with all my city girl questions!

I hope you get to hear the sweet sound of chicks chirping in your life this Spring!

Blessings, Dash & family