10 Helpful Facts for Raising Chicks on the Homestead
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | March 12, 2024
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Whether it’s your first time brooding chicks on the homestead or not… there’s always new tips and tricks to learn that will help you raise a healthy brood of chicks every time. With the baby chick boom, there’s also lots of tips and tricks being shared that should be avoided. These 10 helpful facts for raising chicks on the homestead are truly that… actual FACTS that will benefit your brood and make raising chicks on the homestead simple, easy, and fun. Combine these tips with the essential basics of raising chicks (brooder, heat, water, food, etc..) and you will be setting yourself up for a successful chick raising experience.

Fact #1. Sugar Water for Chicks

Sugar water is very important during the first few days of a chick’s life. In most cases, sugar water is beneficial for chicks being brooded by you. Chicks who have been hatched by a mother hen and who are being raised by the hen don’t usually need sugar water.

Sugar water especially helps chicks that have been shipped through the mail. Shipping is very stressful for chicks. Even chicks bought at the farm store or from a breeder will be experiencing some stress from being moved. The sugar water will help the chicks cope with the stress better and give them a boost in calories. Here’s a quick recipe for sugar water for chicks:

• 1 tablespoon of raw honey
• 1 cup of lukewarm water

You can dip the chick’s beak into the sugar water to encourage it to drink some of the sweet water! Whether I’m moving chicks from the incubator to the brooder or bringing home mail-shipped chicks, I always make sure every chick gets a sip of sugar water before being placed it in the brooder.

Note:

Too much sugar water (or too concentrated of sugar water) can cause an increase in pasty butt. Sugar water is most beneficial for the first 24-48 hours of a chick’s life. After that, a chick should be eating and drinking like normal and won’t need sugar water. Exceptions may include chicks who are struggling and who haven’t started eating and drinking like normal.

Fact #2. Probiotics for Chicks

Probiotics should be the first supplement you give your chicks. If you are planning on using natural supplements when raising your chicks… probiotics should be at the top of the list. Probiotics are an easy supplement that you can mix into your brood’s drinking water.

Chicks raised by a mother hen will pick up antibodies and natural probiotics from the mother hen’s poop (gross, I know). However, chicks raised in a brooder don’t have that opportunity, so supplemental probiotics can help out. Supplemental probiotics help keep chicks healthy by…

• stimulating the growth of good micro flora in the crop which aids in healthy digestion
• helping the chicks develop a strong immune system to ward off diseases
• replenishing beneficial bacteria in the gut
• improving nutrient absorption of feed

Make sure you feed your chicks a probiotic supplement that has been formulated for chickens. A good probiotic supplement should contain at least 5 strains of probiotic bacteria.

Fact #3. Apple Cider Vinegar for Chicks

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) can also be beneficial for baby chicks, but you must understand how to use it properly. It is an acidic supplement that affects the pH levels in a chick’s (and chicken’s) body. Apple cider vinegar can be used to prevent disease-causing microbes from thriving in the crop.

Good micro flora thrive in a pH level of 5.5-7 whereas disease causing microbes prefer a pH level of 7.5-9. Apple cider vinegar can help keep the crop’s pH level in the 5.5-7 range. This type of disease prevention is called competitive exclusion, which is when you fend off harmful organisms by encouraging the growth of beneficial ones. Here’s the recommended supplement dosage for ACV:

• 1 tablespoon of ACV to 1 gallon of water

I generally give my chicks sugar water for the first day or two of their life. Then I use probiotic water for the first week of their life. After the first week, I periodically give my chicks ACV water. Apple cider vinegar water should NOT be offered on a daily basis. To learn more about supplementing with vinegar, check out How Vinegar Affects Chickens.

You can buy Braggs organic apple cider vinegar for your chicks (and yourself) or try your hand at making your own DIY apple cider vinegar on the homestead!

Fact #4. Body Temperature Control

Chickens (and chicks) control their body temperature in four different ways: radiation, convection, conduction, and evaporation. Understanding how these thermoregulation methods work can help you prevent your chicks from overheating or getting chilled. Chicks who are too hot or too cold will become stressed. Stress can lead to pasty butt, dehydration, and malnutrition in baby chicks.

Evaporation and conduction are the two main methods chickens use to expel excess heat. Evaporation occurs when external temperatures approach the internal body temperature of a chicken. Panting is a method of evaporation that chickens use to cool down. Conduction occurs when the chicken comes in contact with something cool that can extract some of the excess heat. Standing on a cool surface would be a method of conduction.

A chicken can not lose enough heat in temperatures above 104°F because their normal body temperature is 103°F. Chicks will die if their body temperature exceeds 117°F. That is why using a radiant heater as the brooder heat source is healthier for chicks than a heat lamp. The chicks can easily move out from underneath the radiant heater if they are too hot. Check out this post on Radiant Heater vs Heat Lamp for more pros and cons of both brooder heating devices.

See my post How to Set Up a Brooder for more information on controlling the temperature of your brooder.

Fact #5. The Importance of Fresh Water

Chicks need plenty of fresh water everyday! It is very important to keep your chicks hydrated in order to keep them healthy. Chicks that lose even just 10% of their body water will experience physical disorders and chicks that lose over 20% of their body water will die.

To encourage your chicks to drink, keep the drinker height between the eye of the chick and the height of its back. The drinker should be at a level in which the shortest/smallest chick in the brood can easily access it. Always provide fresh clean water for the chicks to drink. Make sure there is enough water for every chick.

When you add supplements, like honey, probiotics, garlic, or ACV, you must make sure the chicks are still drinking the water despite the added supplements. Provide supplemented water for 24-48 hours (make sure the chicks are drinking it) then switch out the supplemented water for fresh, clean water.

Fact #6. Proper Feed

Chicks need different types of food at different stages of their life. Start off with a chick starter feed, then switch to a grower feed if necessary, and lastly transition to an all-flock feed or layer feed.

The main difference between the types of feed is the protein content. Growing chicks need different levels of protein as they grow. Here are the average protein levels of each type of feed and to what age chicks they should be fed:

• starter feed 18-20% protein– day 1 to 8 weeks
• grower feed 15-16% protein– 8 weeks to 18 weeks
• layer feed 16-18% protein– 18 weeks and older

Some brands of chicken feed sell starter/grower or grower/finisher feed types. Check the back of the feed bag to see what age chicks the manufacturer recommends you feed those feed types to. Also, brands may differ in the protein content of their feed types, check the label to see how much protein is in the feed. Heritage breeds tend to need higher protein when they are chicks so that they will grow at the right rate.

You can supplement extra protein by offering dried grubs or crushed oats. Make sure you offer some form of chick grit as well so that the chicks can digest the new food. Chicks can have supplements as soon as they are 2 days old, just as long as chick grit is available and the supplements are given in moderation.

When transitioning feed types, do so gradually to prevent digestive upset from the changing protein levels.

Fact #7. Chick Behavior

Observing your chicks’ behavior will help you monitor the temperature in the brooder and monitor their health. Sometimes watching chick behavior is more helpful than a thermometer when monitoring the temperature of the brooder. Temperature plays a big role in how healthy your chicks are and how well they will develop. Here are some things to watch for:

The Brooder is Too Hot…

• chicks are spread out away from the heat source
• prevalent pasty butt issues
• visible signs of panting or holding wings away from body
• lethargy

The Brooder is Too Cold…

• chicks are huddled under heat source
• loud cheeping
• prevalent pasty butt issues

Being too hot or getting chilled is stressful for young chicks. Both of those conditions can lead to dehydration and malnutrition if the chicks stop eating and drinking. You can adjust the temperature of the brooder by adjusting the heat source or moving the brooder to a more temperate location.

Fact #8. Biosecurity Tip

If you have an older flock of chickens, care for your chicks before tending to your older flock. Baby chicks are still developing a strong immune system and are more prone to diseases that older chickens could be carrying. By taking care of your chicks first, you can reduce the possibility of you being a carrier of disease to your baby chicks.

Building a strong immune system starts as soon as a chick hatches. The immune system is a chick’s main defense against disease causing bacteria, pathogens, viruses, and microbes. Using natural supplements and gradually exposing your chicks to their environment can help the immune system develop antibodies to some of the pathogens naturally present in a chicken’s environment.

Placing clumps of herbs or ‘weeds’ (like dandelion or plantain) in the brooder with the roots and dirt still attached can help gradually expose your chicks to the natural soil microbes in their environment. Clumps of herbs/weeds can also function as a source of chick grit thanks to the small soil pieces.

Fact #9. Treats & Snacks for Chicks

You can offer young chicks healthy snacks and treats, but you must use moderation and common sense. Baby chicks are small and their bodies are still developing and growing. Their main diet should be a complete chick starter feed which will provide them with all the nutrients that their bodies need to grow.

Any additional snacks have the potential to dilute the overall nutrients a chick’s body receives from the chick starter. However, if the snacks and treats themselves contain beneficial nutrients, they can help enhance the nutrients your chicks get on a regular basis. Choose foods that are nutrient dense when feeding your chicks healthy snacks and treats.

Also keep in mind that chicks are very small and they won’t need very much of a treat (no more than a few bites per chick). Make sure the treats are in small enough pieces for the chicks to eat too. Here are a few healthy snacks and treats for chicks:

• Boiled or Scrambled Eggs- contain all life sustaining nutrients except for vitamin C
• Whole Oats- good source of fiber which aids with digestion and can help prevent pasty butt
• Honey- a natural sugar boost and full of beneficial properties
• Garlic- offer free-choice crushed garlic which provides many healthy benefits
• Fresh Herbs- free-choice fresh herbs can be beneficial and entertaining

Start off feeding extra foods in moderation when the chicks are very young. You don’t want too much of their daily food intake to consist of treats. As they get older, you can start incorporating in a few more treats and offer them treats more often.

For complete guide on feeding baby chicks, check out What to Feed Baby Chicks.

Fact #10. Mini Molts

Chicks will go through a series of mini ‘molts’ as they grow in their juvenile and adult feathers. Chicks hatch with fluffy, soft down feathers which do not provide very much insulation for retaining body heat. As they grow, they replace those down feathers with more dense, solid juvenile feathers. Chicks who are exposed to slightly cooler temperatures will replace their down feathers faster.

There will typically be three mini ‘molts’ that a chick goes through before it grows in its adult feathers that the chicken will keep until the next year’s fall molt. These mini molts are gradual and you may not be able to distinctly tell when each molt starts and ends.

Unlike the annual fall molt for adult chickens, young chicks do not need substantial supplemental protein during their mini molts. They are already on a high protein diet (chick starter feed) which will help them grow and develop their new feathers. As your chicks graduate through their mini molts, they will be able to spend more time outside and withstand more fluctuation in the external temperature of their environment.

Follow the Facts…

These 10 helpful facts for raising chicks on the homestead will help you take even better care of your chicks and help you raise a happy, healthy homestead brood! You may have noticed a few common themes in all of these tips, such as the importance of water and the different natural supplements that you can give your chicks to help them stay healthy. A healthy adult flock of chickens starts in the brooder, so these facts will help your chicks get a healthy start in life which will result in a more hardy, healthy homestead flock. Whether you are new to raising chicks or have raised many batches, I hope these tips will help you have a successful chick raising experience on the homestead!

For more articles to help you with your chick raising experience, check out…

• Raising Chicks Expenses
• The Complete Guide to Supplies for Raising Chickens
• Chicken Coop Building Essentials

Also, if you become a modern pioneer with us, you get our free guide to Raising Chickens Like a Pioneer! It gives you helpful tips for raising chickens frugally and naturally!