When you have chicken coops with both roosters and hens, you’re going to end up with a baby chick. There’s nothing kids love more than interacting with these tiny chicks and watching them grow. While you might be used to attending to the needs of older fowl, what baby chicks need to thrive is quite different. Here’s how to raise any baby chicks born into your chicken coop.
What you can Feed Baby Chicks
To prepare for the arrival of your baby chickens, invest in hen lamps so they can hatch their chicks into warmth and light. Ensure that your hen house is insulated so each hen has adequate space to tend to her brood.
It’s best to consult your local hatchery or farm for specialized feed created for newborn chickens. They might even be able to provide you with worms to feed them with. This is an activity that less squeamish kids are sure to enjoy. It’s a good idea to start supplementing specialized feed with other foods to get them used to a normal, starter feed varied diet. This can also include good nutrition to include vitamins and minerals. It can be done by slowly adding milled oats, shredded lettuce. And a small amount of bread and even smashed-boiled eggs to their feed. Continue this until they grow a bit bigger and start sprouting feathers and become nice and healthy.
Raising older chicks
Once the baby chicks are older, you’ll need to adapt to their environment slightly. When they develop a full covering of feathers they won’t need as warm an environment and will be much more mobile than before. This is a good time to introduce a sandbox so that they can learn how to dust bathe and groom themselves.
At this stage, the baby chickens need to be eating specialized feed. You can now directly combine this with mashed potato as well as cut up lettuce. Bugs are also popular treats if you have easy access to some. Older chickens will be able to drink water without assistance, so keep a sturdy container of it nearby that can’t be knocked over.
As the baby chicks age and spend less time with their mother, they’ll start foraging. Adult chickens feed by themselves. Just make sure that they can’t access to any specialized feed you have for your layers. It must be high in calcium and suitable for their nutritional requirements.
Contact us today if you want to find out more about the feed options available for your baby chicks!
As the baby chicks age and spend less time with their mother, they’ll start foraging, as adult chicken feed by themselves. Just make sure that they can’t access to any specialized feed you have for your layers. It’s high in calcium and not suitable for their nutritional requirements.
Contact us today if you want to find out more about the feed options available for your baby chicks!
