New to raising Chickens

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Puddin14

Puddin14

In the Brooder
6 Years
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Feb 28, 2013
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Hi my name is Lori and i'm considering purchasing chicks for my first time ever. I have always wanted to have chickens but am not sure how to begin to ensure the best outcome. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Oh I live in Michigan.
 
Hi and :welcome

It's different with everyone, so even if you prepare meticulously you might have to wing it in some aspects... we certainly did at first. :lol:
You'll need a lamp to keep chicks warm, if you're getting small ones that are only a few weeks old.

Also be careful of water, if it's too deep they can fall in it and they're not always the best at getting back out. We use a shallow dish, but that means they kick it all over their box and we have to change bedding often. However if you're only going to have a few chicks that's probably a good solution, or else put marbles in a deeper bowl.

Anyway, good luck and don't hesitate to ask any of your questions here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/11/raising-baby-chicks
 
Hello and welcome to BYC
frow.gif
Chickens are great and I'm sure you will enjoy raising them! I see Fierlin1182 already hooked you up to the chick raising section, but here are some section you can look at that will hopefully answer your questions and give you an idea of what you need to get ready for your first chicks:

General info and how to get started:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Coops and housing:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/9/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance

The fun part, Breeds:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

There are also frequently asked questions with links to discussions here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/204/backyardchickens-forum-faq#post_1198

Scroll down to "General Chicken Questions"

Enjoy you chicken adventures and keep us posted!
 
Welcome! Books, lots and lots of books. Gail Damerow has 3 of the best chicken books: Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks (which I'm reading now), Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, and The Chicken Encyclopedia.

Here's my tips:

* Build bigger -you'll quickly become addicted
* Research Breeds -do you want egg layers, meat birds, pets, or a combination of those, do you want friendly chickens (docile isn't necessarily the same thing)
* Know that sometimes chickens do die without it being your fault, but always research a possible reason in case you need to fix something
* Relax and Enjoy your chickens -gain knowledge, but know that some things are just learned by trial and error and what works best for you
 
Hi Puddin, I'm from central michigan area. I'm glad you could join us. with baby chicks you can get instructions on what you need to do at your local farm feed and pet store. Feirlin and Sumi have great ideas. keep them warm. if you start with 1-2 day old chicks start your temp at 90 degrees using your heat lamp then drop the temp 5 degrees every week until normal temperature by raising the lamp. I lost one baby chick within a week and we don't know why. It just happens.
 
Thank you everyone so much for the information. The TSC here in my town has the baby chicks in. But I'm told by the person I'm with that I can not have baby chicks until I have the coop completely built. I'm not sure why this is such an issue as its still very cold here and they are babies. How soon should I have a coop built? The chicks will be in the basement in the brooder box, for at least 4-8 weeks, is that right? I'm feeling a bit let down. I was first told yeah you can have the chickens, but then well you can get them, but only after you have the coop ready to go. How possible is it to have a coop built for 6 adult chickens in a week?

Thanks again,
Lori
 

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