Raising Chicks before Chickens

There are two types of chicks to raise: the ones you practically took care of from the moment they were hatched and the ones that you bought from hatcheries which are already taken care of and just needs further nourishing. Basing from the two choices, there are also two ways of properly raising the chicks before becoming the perfect chickens.

Chicks hatched from your own poultry?s eggs basically need 4 things: comfort, warmth, food and water. Comfort can be based from your own personal touch and how you hold the chicks. Warmth is taken from the mother or if you plan to separate the chicks on an early stage, an incubator or what others call as a heat lamp is essential. Usually the incubator is composed of two or three light bulbs depending on the number of chicks that have hatched.

The very first thing to do is fix the place where you will put your hatchlings ? the brooder. It must have a temperature that is neither too cold nor too hot. Either of the two extremes will contribute severe negative conditions to the chicks. Your incubator must have a temperature that?s 90-95 degrees. If you have settled with the 95-degree heat, maintain it until the end of the first week. Your temperature must decrease every week by 5 degrees until you reach the 6th week.

The floor of your chick?s pad must be made of cardboard or piles of old newspapers. This can be used as an insulator for keeping the temperature in the room in proper condition.

Have the drinking station of your chicks always cleaned. Aside from that, the proper way of refreshing your chicks is to give them boiled water. Something as little as these creatures are too vulnerable to germs. Their baby immune systems aren?t that mature to fight away bacteria and harmful microorganisms that may invade their body. Better safe than sorry. Grain coffee is also an alternative but will cost you. You have to make sure that what you give them is not that hot to handle.

To serve their drink, pour the contents in a jug, turn it upside down standing on a dish. The leak coming from the inverted jug is sufficient enough to accommodate their need for nourishment.

Chicks are a little particular with their food. They don?t eat anything ?old?. They want their food dripping with freshness. Initially, you could give them milled oats. You could include bits of boiled eggs into the milled oats. If you think giving them that is a bit too mushy, you are welcome to go to feed stores for poultry raising. Some who are fond of feeding anything to their chicks have this intuition to feed them bread. Which is totally wrong. Because feeding them bread is a sin. This can kill them.

You could also include lettuce cuts into the diet. Squeamish or not, you have to provide their favorite menu ? bugs and grubs. They eat these little wiggly things and gobble them up so fast.

Just don?t make any mistake of giving these to newly hatched chicks.

You have to be very particular of the space that you have provided for the young ones. Cramping must be avoided. This might result to trampling and worse, cannibalism. Chicks grow quickly. That?s why you have to ensure that their room is big enough for their proper accommodation.

Do replace the cardboard or the newspaper placed under their pad every time you notice it?s soiled. Even you wouldn?t like the idea of sleeping in your own feces.

Raising the Not So Grown up Chickens

As the chicks get older, they would require less maintenance. Meaning, there are still some things to take care of but it?s less delicate than when dealing with babies.

There are quite a few differences between taking care of newly hatched chicks and those that are like 2 weeks up to a month old. These are the chicks that already have prominent feathers and their bodies are bigger compared than when they were quite smaller. These are also the chicks that you bought from hatcheries.

The basic needs are still important like food, water, comfort, and warmth. Those four essentials can never be taken away from the list even if they are already old enough to lay eggs.

The list remains the same, although, now that they are more grown up, their needs have increased. Their appetite and hunger increases, their need for space increases, their need for water increases. Everything about them increases. Thus, you should make proper adjustments and see to it that every matter is taken care of.

Unlike in their early stages, water must be boiled or otherwise, sterilized for ensuring that the water they drink is safe enough not to upset their stomach and affect their health. But now that they have already grown for a bit, any kind of water will do. Just be sure that you?ll give them clean water like something that came directly from the faucet. Not yet ensured with the water?s safety? Then boil it.

You could now disregard the idea of putting an upside down jug on a dish. If you don?t take it away, the chicks will just frequently trip it over and the jug will fall and all its contents will be spilled. Use something that will not have the tendency to fall in any kind of motion, a pot or plastic water container can do. You can also buy the appropriate water container in agricultural stores.

Baby chicken foods can still be given. Though at times, you can introduce new kinds of stuff like including mashed potatoes in their meal. True, they hate potato peelings but they love the inner part of it especially when it is mashed. You could also include veggies like lettuce cut into pieces, cabbage, and grass is also a fine recipe to feed them. Insects? A first-class favorite.

When it comes to the temperature, you have to lessen your efforts and worries. Since these grown up chicks already have literary grown feathers, not full, but it?s getting there, sort of, warmth can be erased from the topic. The few feathers that they have grown are enough to keep their bodies warm during cold nights. But just to be sure that they get the heat they deserve, keep the heat lamp but in a more minimal state. Maintain a 20 degrees temperature within the chicken?s vicinity.

Chickens love to bathe in dust for some unexplainable reason. To add up to that, they love rubbing their feathers into the soil, and wag their feathers clean. It?s beginning to look like a tradition. With this kind of activity, it is therefore necessary to have a sandbox or let them roam around so they can dustbathe freely. But even so, maintain a clean environment. Provide a wider space for them to romp and for them to have enough room to sleep and not overcrowd.

If problems do arise, common sense can always work. These basics will definitely help you raise the chickens you need.

Raising Chickens: Pros and Cons

There are so many reasons why someone would want or wouldn?t want a chicken in their backyard. There are debates about it and here are some:

Pros

1. Costs incredibly cheap.

When we say cheap, not only does the chicken itself count but also the maintenance of it all. Compared to keeping a dog or a cat for a pet, it is much cheaper to take care of a number of chickens most likely because they are not choosy when it comes to food. You can feed them scraps and table leftovers and they will happily gobble it up. With as little as $2 a day, you can spend on a bunch of layer mash.

2. You can get something from them.

Eggs. Meat. Ornament. Who wouldn?t want it? In terms of eggs, it is seldom that you encounter a chicken that can?t lay eggs. It is a good source of iron, which is good for the brain. You could either sell these eggs or keep them in your fridge. With meat, every part of a chicken can be eaten. Yes, every. In cases of those who don?t want to see their chickens go bye-bye, they raise them as pets and for exhibition purposes.

3. Low maintenance.

Unlike dogs who need everyday grooming and cats who need your undivided attention, chickens need none of those. You don?t have to bring them to your vet every once in a while to take shots and doses of vaccines. All you have to do is feed them and supply clean water every day. Their coops must be cleaned at least once a week or twice every month depending on the number of chickens that you own.

4. Fertilizers for free and an instant pest control agent.

These are the two things that chicken raisers love about owning a chicken. When you allow your chickens to roam around your backyard, it is in their nature to peck on whatever it is that catches their interest and their hunger. Chickens love anything that came from the ground most especially the ones that are moving. They eat insects, bugs, worms and the like. For them, these are special treats. Furthermore, it is in their nature to eradicate their internal wastes anywhere they please. But their poops are considered as natural fertilizers that the ground needs to grow plants and root crops in a healthy state.

Cons

1. They are not the best guard pets to have.

While chickens can coo and make familiar sounds, it is not in their nature to bite or coo on anyone they see who looks suspicious. All they can do is grow, eat, and lay eggs. They are also not the ideal pets you would want to have especially if you need a response like waggling of the tail or a purring sound.

2. Chickens are messy.

Indeed. Plus, their poop smells terrible that it can reach certain areas in your house. If you?re the type of person who doesn?t want to go through enduring hours of cleaning, chickens aren?t really the pets for you.

3. One for all, all for one.

Well, in terms of getting sick this is a con. Because when one catches flu, everyone gets it too. And if one dies because of that flu, it is expected that every single chicken living with that infected chicken who also got that flu is also going to die after a few days.

Top 5 Reasons Why to Raise Chickens

Raising chickens should not be a fuss. There are actually several reasons why people want to cultivate chickens in their backyard. Some of these are written below.

Reason # 1 ? Chickens love leftovers.
A chicken?s appetite is incredible. They can eat almost everything, even their own kind! You can now say bye-bye to those unwanted leftovers being left rotten in your fridge. You feel less guilty of throwing them out into the garbage can. Plus, you can save on chicken feed. But be very careful with what you give for it may be their last supper. Tone down on the onions and garlic.

Reason #2 ? Eggs!

Who doesn?t love eggs? Have them boiled, scrambled, sunny side up, etc. Admit it, pets that live comfortably inside your houses don?t give anything more than barks, meows, purrs, and sometimes, chirp. Fishes, in general, can be eaten, but who would want to eat Goldie? None of these domesticated animals produce something edible. Well, chickens, on the other hand, have lots of benefits. One of the many benefits chickens give is their egg.

You can eat fresh eggs right from the source. Either raw (good for pregnant women) or cooked, eggs taken from chickens minutes or hours ago are more tasty and nutritious than those purchased in the grocery store. You?ll notice the texture and color is way different than that of the fresh ones.

Reason #3 ? Source of natural fertilizers

Your lawn or backyard could?ve never looked better. Chickens love to freely walk around. Chickens also love to peck on anything they see that can be considered as food. And what is food to them? Possibly anything that?s organic. If you let your chickens roam around your space, you?ll find out how reliable they can be. They eat pests living in your backyard ? grubs, beetles, insects, earwigs, and anything that comes close.

After the digestion has set its due, they will transform what they?ve eaten into poop. But this is not just any kind of poop but a treasure called natural fertilizer. And you know what natural fertilizers do right? They keep the soil healthy for plants to grow. Cool.

Reason #4 ? Low Maintenance Pets

Unlike dogs that need combing and brushing everyday to keep their fur alive and shiny, chickens doesn?t need such soulful treatment. All you have to do is provide them their daily needs like food and water. You also have to clean their pad at least twice a month and change the beddings too. In return, you can gather all the eggs. Aside from just gathering, you can also start a small business of your own by supplying poultry stores with fresh eggs or chicken meat.

Reason #5 ? Grass and weed clippers

Got that right. Now you can save on mowing your own lawn by getting yourself chickens! For chickens, grasses, weeds, and leaves are treats. It?s like a lifetime dessert offering. It?s like having a cow in your own backyard. They will dig through whatever it is without even complaining about the hard work. Chickens will clip it then clean it all at the same time.

With these reasons, why bother getting yourself a dog or a cat? No offense but they can?t even water the plants nor lay eggs for breakfast. All they do is prove to their masters that they are either one?s best friends. In cases of chickens, you can have a best friend, a lawn mower, a supplier of organic fertilizer and an egg producer all in one.

Important Information on Feeding Raised Chickens

Chickens can eat almost everything from meat to vegetables. You can give them dog food and they?ll peck it with full gusto. You can give them pig food and they?ll eat it without hesitation. Chickens are cleaners of garbage tidbits. They can even wipe out every insect, worm, or anything little and more vulnerable than they are. The good thing about raising chickens in your backyard is that it needs no feeding qualifications other than vitamins and boosters.

Grains can also be fed to your chickens. Scraps of food bits and peelings can also be fed. You see, feeding isn?t that hard for as long as you save some of those leftovers for your poultry to feed on. Chickens are also intelligent for they know when the bucket of treats is ready for lunch.

You can feed your chicken in many ways. You can either put it in a container that is big enough to accommodate their number during mealtime. Scattering their food isn?t also a bad idea without the worry that it will go to waste and remain scattered. Bones with tiny bits of meat are also their favorite.

Now, when it comes to hens laying eggs, calcium is required for their diet. During the months when laying season is on its verge, you can feed your hens calcium just by including in their meal clam shells that are already crushed. Do not, by any means give clam shells that are whole. They may be at risk of recognizing these clams as their own egg shells. So you have to see to it that the clam shells are thoroughly crushed into pieces before giving it to them. These are available in your local feed stores.

The most advisable food for your chickens are feeds, pellets, corn and grains. Meat, fruits and vegetables can be given out too. But chickens can?t have all the fun gobbling everything up. Their diet must also be kept in observance because there are certain kinds of food that aren?t advisable for them to eat. These foods can either be harmful or worse, deadly. Aside from the foods mentioned below, basically, other feedings are safe.

Reason why chickens should not eat these types of food

Chicken If you were given the opportunity to eat the thigh of your neighbor, would you do it? Same reason why chickens will dearly object if served with their own kind. But they will not know this. They never will. That?s why, it is alright if you have included chicken bones to their meals. But the consequences can be outstanding because if given large amounts of chicken meat or parts of the spinal cord and brain, this may lead to the development of encephalopathy.

Apple: An apple every two weeks given to 4 birds is fine but if this routine is done every day, you could expect digestive problems.

Peelings of Potato: Chickens don?t really like the idea of eating roots crops. The taste isn?t that enjoyable either.

Orange Peelings: The toughness of this is too much for them to take.

Tomato: Given in small quantities, tomatoes can be good but be careful cause if given in excess, they might affect the chicken?s droppings.

Banana: For some reason, they just don?t like them.

These are just some of the foods that aren?t really advisable to give to your chickens. Just take note: Root plants aren?t on top of their list; hard fuits can never be favorite; if given in large quantities, whatever the food is, will give their digestive system a hard time.