Homestead Chick Growth Guide (with pictures)

Homestead Chick Growth Guide (with pictures)
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | May 9, 2023
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Your homestead brood’s needs will change rapidly as they grow. In order for chicks to mature into healthy, productive adults, each crucial milestone must be met as they grow. Down feathers are replaced by adolescent feathers… additional heat is no longer needed…. diet changes are required for proper growth… and more space is essential as the chicks get bigger! Through my experience with raising chicks every year for my 4-H Poultry Project, I was able to document their weekly growth from day one up to 14 weeks of age! I have put together this Homestead Chick Growth Guide to highlight the milestones that should be accomplished during each week of a chick’s life.

Factors that Affect Chick Growth Rates

Chick growth rates vary depending on several factors. The following guide is based off of my experience with raising Svart Hona chicks. Your chicks’ growth may not follow the exact pattern as shown in this guide. Here are a few growth factors to consider:

• Breed- different breeds of chickens develop at different rates, some are fast maturing (like Svart Honas) and others are slow-feathering breeds
• Temperatures- both external temperature and brooder temperature play a role in how fast or slow a chick will grow
• Care- different care methods may enhance or decrease growth rates
• Health- healthy chicks will grow at a normal rate, abnormally slow growth may indicate the presence of a disease

Also, the care and diet tips given for each week are things that should be done during THAT week. For example, the tips given for ‘1 Week Old’ are for day 2 up until day 7. While the dates don’t have to be exact, try to stick to the guidelines as closely as possible for each week. This growth guide can be used for mail ordered chicks, chicks purchased from the farm store, or chicks hatched on the homestead!

Disclaimer: I have based this Chick Growth Guide off of my personal experience and what I do to care for my growing chicks. My experience comes from raising chicks in Michigan starting in the month of April.

1 Day Old

April 12– Care:

• A brooder should be properly setup, check out this post on How to Set Up a Brooder for Chicks.
• Keep the brooder temperature around 95°F, monitor chick behavior.
• As a guideline, if you are using a heat lamp, keep the heat lamp about 18 inches away from the brooder floor and adjust it as needed to achieve the proper brooder temperature.
• Paper towel is a good brooder litter for the first 4-5 days.
• Clean the litter and refill the feeder and water as needed.
• Watch for signs of pasty butt.
• Quiet, content chirps are signs of happy, warm chicks. Loud, distressed cheeps and huddled chicks means the chicks are too cold.

Diet:

• Chicks should be shown where to drink first, then where to find food.
• Sugar water can be given to the chicks for the first day or two, but ideally not as their sole source of drinking water.
• Chicks should be fed a chick starter feed (approx. 18-20% protein), sprinkle some of the food around the feeder to encourage the chicks to eat.

Note: If you are using an Ecoglow, which I highly recommend, the brooder must be in a room that stays above 55-60°F. Also, the brooder temperature does not need to stay 95°F because the chicks can come and go from under the Ecoglow as needed.

1 Week Old

April 19– Care:

• Switch the brooder litter to large flake, pine wood shavings.
• Wing feathers will already be developing and the chicks will be testing out their new flying abilities!
• Still watch for signs of pasty butt.
• Clean the litter daily and refill the feeder and water as needed. To clean the wood shavings, I simply stir in the droppings every morning and evening.
• Your brood can go outside for short periods of time if the temperature is above 70°F and it is sunny out. Watch the chicks’ behaviour so you can tell when they have had enough and need to get warm again.

Diet:

• You can give the chicks probiotics in their water (use probiotics formulated for chickens).
• Acceptable chick treats at this age are very small amounts of crushed oats or scrambled eggs (remember to supply chick grit too if a natural source of dirt is not available).

Note: Often times I will move the brooder from inside my house out to my garage at this stage. I still use the Ecoglow but I also use a heat lamp on nights/days that cause the garage to get below 55°F.

2 Weeks Old

April 26– Care:

• You can start slowly decreasing the brooder temperature, however, still watch your chicks’ behavior to ensure they are staying warm enough, especially at night. Generally a 5° decrease is normal over the span of the week.
• As a general guideline, if you are using a heat lamp, raise it up about 3 inches to help reduce the heat intensity and decrease the brooder temperature at floor level.
• The chicks’ wing and tail feathers will be significantly developed.
• If it is sunny and warm outside (above 65°), your brood can go out for very short, supervised periods of time.
• Monitor your chicks’ health, check for pasty butt, bumblefoot, bloody droppings, and other signs of illness.
• Clean the litter daily and refill the feeder and water as needed. At this point, a full brooder cleaning may be needed and all the litter may need to be replaced with fresh, clean litter.

Diet:

• You can stop supplying the probiotic water at this time and switch to fresh, clean drinking water.
• You can offer free-choice herbs by hanging some in the brooder for the chicks to peck at.
• A ‘clean’ grass clump with dirt attached to the roots is a fun novelty for young chicks to explore in their brooder when they can’t get outside!

Note: You may need to raise the Ecoglow up this week so that the chicks can still fit under it!

3 Weeks Old

May 3– Care:

• Slowly decrease the brooder temperature by another 5°, watch your chicks’ behavior to determine heat needs (again, you can raise a heat lamp up another 3 inches).
• Depending on the chicken breed, you may be able to notice male chicks are starting to develop a larger comb and wattles.
• Depending on how many chicks you have, your brooder’s litter may need another total change out. If so, switch out all the dirty wood shavings for fresh, clean wood shavings. If a complete change out is not necessary, continue to stir in the droppings every day.
• Chicks will be replacing all of their down feathers and begin growing in adolescent feathers.
• If it is warm and sunny out (above 60°F), the chicks can go outside for short, supervised field trips.
• Always fill the feeder and water as needed. Keep the drinking water as clean and fresh as possible.

Diet:

• Chicks should still be on a diet of high protein chick starter feed supplied free-choice all day long.

Note: Continue to raise the Ecoglow as needed to accommodate the growing chicks.

4 Weeks Old

May 10– Care:

• Slowly continue to remove supplemental heat sources as the chicks become fully feathered.
• Depending on where you live, the chicks may still need extra heat at night if the ambient temperature gets too cold (below 45-55°F).
• You may need to upgrade to a larger brooder or adolescent pen if your chicks have outgrown their brooder at this stage.
• The chicks can go outside for longer periods of time if the weather is sunny and warm (above 55°F).
• I often offer a dust bath spot for my growing chicks to enjoy at this age!
• You may be able to distinguish more male and female traits at this stage.
• Clean the litter daily and refill the feeder and water as needed. Upgrading to a larger feeder and water may be necessary at this age.
• Heighten the feeder and water to accommodate for the chicks’ growth. The base of the feeder and water should be at back-height to the shortest chick.

Diet:

• You can offer free-choice natural supplements to your brood as long as chick grit or a natural source of dirt is available too.

Note: Weekly litter replacements may be needed depending on how well you clean the brooder and manage the daily droppings. The brooder should not have damp litter in it or smell like ammonia.

5 Weeks Old

May 17– Care:

• The chicks may no longer need a supplemental heat source if they are fully feathered.
• Outside excursions can be plentiful!
• The chicks should be almost fully feathered (remember, this may depend on the breed).
• Wood shaving brooder litter may need another thorough cleaning and replacement.
• Fill the feeder as needed and refresh the water daily. Always provide fresh, clean drinking water every day.
• Young cockerels may start making their first attempts at crowing!

Diet:

• The chicks can be switched to a starter/grower feed (20% protein) or kept on chick starter feed.
• You can put some apple cider vinegar (ACV) or garlic in your brood’s water.
  • ACV- 1 T. per gallon of water
  • garlic- one to three cloves per gallon of water)

6 Weeks Old

May 24– Care:

• Add roosts to your brood’s pen so they can learn to perch and roost at night. This is helpful for when it comes time to coop train them!
• The young birds can be outside for extended periods of time in a predator proof enclosure.
• Behaviors you may notice include: sparing, tidbitting, alarm clucks, dust bathing, sun bathing
• If you would like, you can switch the litter over from wood shavings to construction grade sand.
• Check for bumblefoot as the young birds start perching for the first time.
• Refill the feeder as needed and provide fresh water daily.

7 Weeks Old

May 31– Care:

• Clean the brooder/grow-out pen litter daily.
• Refill the feeder as needed.
• Supply fresh water daily.
• Your brood is probably now mature enough to be moved out to a chicken coop!
• Make the move gradually so as to allow the young birds to adjust to their new surroundings and learn where their food, water, and roosts are.
• I like to let my young birds spend their afternoons out in their ‘new’ coop for a few days before they actually spend a night out in the coop.
• You will have to teach the young birds to go in at night to roost, this is called coop training. Every evening, place all the birds in the coop through the chicken door and securely close the door. Let them out into the coop enclosure every morning. It may take up to a week for the birds to learn to go in on their own. Using yummy treats is often helpful for getting the birds inside at night!

8 Weeks Old

June 7– Care:

• If you have too many cockerels per number of pullets, you will want to separate the cockerels from the pullets.
• The young birds can be moved to an outside coop if you have not already done so.
• Identification and sexing traits may be noticeable.
• If you are showing your birds in 4-H, you can start practicing with your show bird!
• If you are still using a grow-out pen for your brood, the litter may need to be changed out for fresh litter every 2-4 weeks.
• Refill the feeder as needed and provide fresh water daily.

9 Weeks Old

June 14– Care:

• You can try free-ranging your brood under supervision! Teach them to come when called for easily getting them back in the coop!
• Clean up droppings daily.
• Fill the feeder as needed and refresh the water daily.

10 Weeks Old

June 21– Care:

• Clean up droppings daily.
• Fill the feeder as needed.
• Supply fresh, clean water on a daily basis.
• You can free-range your brood under supervision or allow them plenty of enclosure space to stretch their legs!
• Apply external parasite protection (I use Poultry Protector) and/or start performing monthly health checks.

11 Weeks Old

June 28– Care:

• Clean up droppings every day.
• Provide fresh, clean water every day.
• Refill the feeder as needed.
• Handle your birds on a regular basis and hand feed them treats regularly to encourage friendliness.

12 Weeks Old

July 5– Care:

• You can free-range your young homestead flock on a regular basis under supervision.
• Clean up droppings daily.
• Provide fresh water every day and refill the feeder as needed.

Diet:

• The young birds should still be on chick starter or a starter/grower diet.

13 Weeks Old

July 12– Care:

• You may notice young cockerels sparing as they establish a pecking order. The young pullets will also be establishing a pecking order, but they are more mild about it.
• Consider culling down cockerels that you don’t want.
• Clean up droppings daily.
• Provide fresh water daily and refill the feeder as needed.

14 Weeks Old

July 19– Care:

• Clean up droppings from the enclosure on a bi-weekly basis.
• Apply parasite protection to all of your young birds to help prevent external parasites (I use Poultry Protector).
• Clean up droppings in the coop/grow-out pen daily.
• Provide fresh, clean water daily.
• Fill the feeder as needed. Raise the feeder and water as needed.

What’s Next?

While your young flock may be looking and acting a lot like adult chickens, they still have some maturing to do. Young birds often don’t fill out and reach their full adult weight/size until they are almost a year old. Here are some milestones to keep in mind as your young flock starts to reach maturity:

• Laying Age– pullets will start laying anytime after 20-24 weeks of age
• Final Feed Switch– switch to layer feed or a flock maintenance feed as soon as the pullets start laying
• Supplemental Calcium– provide free-choice calcium when the pullets start laying
• Integration– young chickens can be integrated into an older flock once they are roughly the same size as the older birds (check out my post on Integrating New Chickens into a Flock)

There are so many unique possibilities once you start raising a homestead flock! If you have enough knowledge in poultry and wish to start a career, check poultry farm vacancies on https://jooble.org/jobs-poultry-farm!

Hopefully this Homestead Chick Growth Guide will help you care for your chicks while they grow up to be healthy, happy adolescents! I love watching my chicks grow and seeing them develop into ‘mini’ chickens! This guide will help you keep track of the dietary changes, temperature decreases, and care practices that you will need to implement each week as you raise your homestead brood.

Enjoy your chicks during each of their life stages! Also, don’t forget to join our community of modern pioneers! You will receive continued support during your chicken raising adventure along with lots of helpful tips and free exclusive content. And feel free to reach out with any questions you have about raising chicks on the homestead!