Getting Ready for Spring Chickens!

It is about that time of year to be getting ready for Spring chickens!  You’ve probably heard that familiar peeping at the local farm store letting you know that “Chick Days” are upon us.  So whether you plan to buy chicks or hatch some fertile eggs yourself, here are some helpful tips from our sponsored backyard chicken experts.

Kathy Mormino “The Chicken Chick” provides tips for choosing healthy chicks at your local farm store.  Healthy chicks are active and alert when awake, stand up straight and tall, and have a clean vent (watch for pasty butt).  Although you may not be able to handle them at the store, you can observe their behavior in the brooder.

Fact or Chicken Poop: “Giving probiotics to baby chicks reduces the risk of Salmonella in eggs and other diseases later in life.”  Our expert Andy Schneider aka The Chicken Whisperer clarifies The Truth About the Effects of Probiotics Given to Baby Chicks.

And for a nice overall guide to raising chicks, check out Lisa Steele’s (Fresh Eggs Daily) Beginners Guide to Getting Started Raising Baby Chicks.  Lisa covers everything from where to buy chicks, to supplies, brooder, water, and feeding.  A good resource for those beginner chick parents.

Raising your backyard flock from chicks is a wonderful experience and will help you and your chickens bond.  Chicks grow and develop rapidly, so enjoy the fuzzy, soft cute phase for the short while it lasts.  Before you know it, in about 6 months time, they will be fully grown and the hens will be laying.

Check out some of our backyard chicken supplies that may help in caring for your flock.