I would say that most homesteader’s first animal would be chicks! If you don’t know why you need chickens then read here! Chickens are super easy to care for and are are pretty low maintenance. Besides cats and dogs these would be the first animal that I would recommend to any new homesteader. When we lived in the city our HOA allowed chickens so we decided to get six little chicks to have as laying hens. Those little fluff balls were some of the cutest things you had ever seen.
Now we are going to talk about the things you need to have prepared for your little babies. It really isn’t that complicated so you would be able to prepare for them quickly.
- The Brooder
A brooder can really vary from person to person, and you can make it super simple or as fancy as you like. You pretty much just need a big container of some sort for them. You could use a plastic bin, but be careful for when you use the heat source that it won’t be a fire hazard. We used the bin for a couple of days but quickly realized that it won’t work for long term. Some people will just use galvanized water tubs and that works really well for them. It just needs to be tall enough so that the chicks can’t fly out of it and there shouldn’t be any sharp corners. We built one using wood then made a lid with hardware cloth and wood. Once you picked your brooder you will need some sort of bedding in it. We used small pine shavings and that worked really well for us. They were super easy to clean and smelled really good. You will just have to clean it out every so often to keep it fresh and not smelly.
2. A Heat Source
Little baby chicks will have to be kept at 95-100 degrees the first week of their life and it will gradually decrease as they grow, so you will have to provide that heat source for them. You can buy a heat lamp (which is what we used for our first chicks) but they are such a big fire hazard that I would recommend just spending the money on a chick brooder or heating plate, just please be extra cautious and keep a good eye on the brooder if you choose to use a heat lamp.
3. Water
Just like all living things your little babies will need a clean and fresh source of water. The amount of chicks you get, will help determine how big of a waterer you will need. With our first we just used a small one, make sure to keep an eye on them because other wise they could drown. We added a couple rocks in the bottom and that seemed to work for us. We also added a small amount of apple cider vinegar as an immune booster. Use one tablespoon apple cider vinegar in one gallon of water.
4. Food
Make sure to get a chick starter feed and in organic if possible. The better quality of food that you feed them the healthier and happier you chicks will be. So just spend the extra money on a high quality feed and it will keep your babies healthy. Trust me you will thank yourself later because it is not fun dealing with sick chicks so we need to do everything possible to keep them well because chicks are prone to a lot of diseases.
Now that you have everything that you will need you can go get your new addition to your homestead. It is such a joy watching them scratch and play with each other. I really enjoy raising those adorable little babies.
Other articles that you may like:
- Reasons your hens may not be laying eggs
- A guide to raising your chicks week by week
- Recipes to use up extra eggs!
The 1912 Homestead 