One of the craziest realizations we all make as we first learn about raising chickens is that the live chicks are actually delivered in the mail. If you hadn’t made that realization that you can order chicks yet, don’t feel badly, but now you know! Because chicks arrive in the mail, there are several considerations…
If you are thinking about buying your first chicks, then you are getting ready to embark on a wonderful adventure filled with lots of learning and many fresh eggs! We are going to assume that you are starting from scratch. Here are a few of the basics that you will need to own before your…
There are some important steps you need to take to get ready for your shipment before your chicks arrive. Basically, your goal is to get everything you need set up and ready to go. That way, when your chicks arrive, you won’t have to worry about scrambling to keep them warm, protected, fed and watered.…
A brooder is a small pen designed to protect, warm, feed and water your newly born chicks until they are strong enough to survive on their own. Basically, a brooder takes the place of a broody hen who under normal circumstances would be responsible for taking care of her clutch. There are three primary types…
Some may consider incubating eggs under hens to be “old school” because of the availability of commercial incubators, but it’s hard to deny the many year of success that Mother Nature has under her belt. There are a few tricks to incubating eggs naturally that we cover in this article. Since you are not using…
Using an incubator to hatch chicks is a good approach if you plan to hatch eggs each season and would like maximum control over the process. Alternatively, you may also try allowing one of your broody hens to do the incubation for you. Taking advantage of Mother Nature saves you the investment cost of purchasing…
Back in the day, people used candles to peer though the eggshell and into the egg. Nowadays, there are specially designed flashlights for this purpose. Regardless of how you illuminate an egg, it’s important to understand this process if you plan to hatch fertilized eggs into chicks. The process of candling involves shining a light…
Professionals use a practice called vent sexing, which is one of the most accurate ways to differentiate male chicks from female chicks. Don’t underestimate the value of experience in this field though. Even the experts make mistakes, and you will more certainly gain accuracy with practice! The process of vent sexing includes the following steps:…
A straight run of chicks will be approximately 50% male (cockerels) and 50% female (pullets). If you had the ability to test a chick’s chromosomes you would be able to know the gender for sure. Since that’s not the case, you will likely have to rely on a little “art” and a little “science” to…
If you are a newbie to raising chickens, we do not recommend starting your adventure trying to hatch a fertile egg. Instead, we recommend ordering live chicks because it simplifies your project and gives you a higher likelihood of success. That said, if you are experienced at raising chickens or simply want to see the…