Make sure your setup is set up before you bring home spring chicks.

ARTICLE & PHOTOS BY LEAH SMITH

SHAPOVALPHOTO/STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Chicken wire is horrible at keeping predators out but is great for keeping chicks where you want them.

Raising chicks is an exciting experience. Enthusiastic beginners spend a great deal of time deciding which breeds to raise, but what about the setup and equipment that is needed to have ready for the arrival of your feathered additions?

Whether this is your first spring getting chicks, or you’re a season pro, it’s good to create a checklist to make sure you have everything in place and ready to go when your new chicks arrive.

CHIC CHICK HOUSING

The first thoughts for your new arrivals are probably about where to put them. Chicks, whether to be pullets or broilers, are generally the same size for the first couple of weeks, after which the broilers really start to develop their figures. We have a mixed flock each year, so I have witnessed that period of divergence time and again.

The numbers say that for ample room your brooder should provide roughly1⁄2 foot square per chick until they reach 5 weeks of age. From there, your chicks (broilers, in particular) will require an entire foot square as they progress to 8 weeks. This room need not come entirely in the form of indoor floorspace. Though they do receive more housing space, during this period our chicks will spend all the daylight hours possible in their outdoor pen.

In all corralling scenarios, your brooder space must be very adaptable. If you’re beginning with a cardboard box, be looking for its larger replacement almost immediately. If you have built straw bales into a PEN in a room, make sure there are bales and space enough to expand in short order.