Raising Chickens

This here is the basics of raising chickens. For specifics such as brooder temp or feeding instructions on other birds, please refer to my links, or contact me.

Shelter:

  First off, you need a brooder. This can be anything from an elaborate, pre-assembled commercial brooder to a cardboard box. All you need in the brooder is a spacious place for the chicks, with a heat lamp that can be moved up and down for temperature control, high enough sides so that the chicks won't be able to jump out, and bedding.
   The heat lamp can be bought at a feed supply store and most hardware stores; you may use a standard colorless bulb or a red bulb; it really depends on your preference. The red bulb reduces cannibalism, but if you give the birds enough room, they should be okay without it (the idea behind this being that when a bird bleeds, the others want to peck it, but with a red bulb, the other birds can't see a color difference of blood). The temperature of the brooder, for chickens, should be from 1 day to 1 week 95 degrees F, decreasing 5 degrees each week until 6 weeks, where the chicks may then be moved from the brooder to the coop.
   For bedding, there are specific materials that you should use. You can use wood chips, straw, newspaper, or even ground corncobs (definately a last resort, might I add). Wood chips are ideal, as they are not too rough, and can be easily cleaned. When raising chicks, I would highly recommend wood chips; it just avoids much hassle. However, when using wood chips, NEVER, and I mean NEVER use Cedar. It is deadly to chickens and most other birds. When Cedar gets wet, it emits a fume that, when breathed in by a chicken, causes respitory irritation, disease, and if the bird is there long enough (which isn't long at all), death. PLEASE, when using wood chips, use Pine. Also, when using a wood product, don't use sawdust. It is so fine that it is breathed in by chicks while they sleep, causing respitory problems. No one likes a sick chickie!
   After the chicks are 6-7 weeks old, they may be moved to a coop. Depending on the size of the flock, anything from a doghouse to a barn may be used. If you will have laying hens (and female broilers do NOT count- they will never lay an egg), there needs to be nesting boxes- about 1 for every 2-3 hens. These boxes are just a place where the hen is relatively secluded so that she may lay her egg. Also, for laying hens and roosters, there needs to be a roost or perch for the chickens to sleep on at night. This can be just a wooden dowell or stick suspended 1-3 feet off the floor of the coop. If you own broilers, they should not jump onto a roost, or into the coop for that matter; everything should be ground level so as not to cause strain on the bird. If you would like your birds to be able to roam outside, your yard should either be fenced in, you should have a wide area for them to roam, or they should have their own fenced in area. This prevents the neighbors having a nusience chicken eating their garden. I, personally have a large dog kennel surrounding my coop, and I let the chickens into my yard once in a while to run around, with supervision. As a side note, chickens love it when they have a dry dirt patch to roll around in; they are giving themselves a dust bath, and it keeps them cool, as well as prevents mites.

Food and Water:

   Chicks (and adult chickens)should always be offered feed and water. The water should be clear, cool, and free of debris or foreign material. Basically, if you wouldn't drink it, neither should the chicken. As far as feed goes, you must feed the chick a specific type of feed. Now, I'm talking about baby chickens here; though there are different feeds for different species. For a baby chick, they should be fed either chick starter or broiler starter. Broiler starter should only be used for broilers, as it has a much higher protein content than regular chick starter, though, when i raise broilers, I only feed them regular chick starter; it's cheaper and works just as well. After the chick reaches 6 months of age, they may then be fed layer feed or layer ration. This feed has lower protein and higher calcium to help with the formation of eggs. Another type of feed that can be given is called scratch grains. This feed should not be used as a main food- it should be used more as a treat, because it doesn't have the same nutrition as chick food and layer food. Also, when looking in a feed store, you may run across medicated feed- this is feed that has a specific amount of medicine mixed in. Do not use this food unless your flock has a disease that can be treated by said medication. Also, if you will be slaughtering these birds, please read the feed tag and be aware of the withdrawl date so that the medication will be out of the system by slaughter. Be aware, eggs from hens eating medicated feed will also be contaminated with medicine.

Grooming:

   Chicks will probably not need to be groomed, so this topic is focused more on the older birds. Chickens will get dirty, and if you plan on showing them, will need to be cleaned. To give a chicken a bath, the water must be relatively warm, and because you will likely bathe them outside, it must be warm outside as well. Anything from expensive show shampoo for livestock to cheap dollar shampoo for people may be used; so long as you do not use dishwashing soap- it gets rid of the oils that a chicken needs and will make the bird less shiny. A word of precaution- if you are using the whitening shampoo commonly used on sheep and cattle, be careful- if you use too much or keep it on the bird too long, it will stain. While a pink chicken is quite cute and funny, it may not be for show. Be careful. Usually, the chickens will be okay with air drying. But in some cases, it is necessary to use a hair dryer- like when the bird is exceptionally cold or must dry soon. Again, you must be careful; when using a hair dryer on a tight feathered bird (one where the feathers lay close to the body), the hair dryer may break feathers and overly fluff the bird. It is still okay to use, but please don't do this close to a show. Before a show, it's a good idea to only use a hair dryer on loose feathered, fluffy birds, like the Silkie. When a bird is drying, if placed on grass, it MAY get a light green stain, but this doesn't always happen. Also, when placed on straw, it MAY be stained a light yellow, but again, this does not always happen. Your best bet to prevent staining is to put the bird on pine chips until dry.