The 8 Things You Need To Start Raising Chicks
It's chick season! Whether you're a first-time chick owner or a seasoned pro, it's important to have everything you need to create a comfortable and safe environment for your chicks. Luckily, at North 40, you can get everything you need in one place. We met up with Barbara at our West Great Falls store to talk about the top items you need before you leave the store with chicks. Check out the video or read on for more information.
1.) Brooder
You want to make sure that you have a brooder setup. The big thing is an adequate space so there's plenty of room for however many chicks that you need. They need to have at least half a square foot per chick. We offer really nice starter kits that can hold up to 12 chicks. They come with a feeder, a waterer, a heat lamp, and everything you need, other than the area to store your chicks. We also have little playpens for chicks that hold up to 15 if you need a space. A nice big sized cardboard box, a nice big plastic tote, or a feed trough, all work for a brooder space.
2.) Bedding
When you're choosing your bedding for your chicks, you want to make sure that you are choosing something that is chick safe. Pine shavings are always a good choice. They smell nice, look clean, absorb moisture, they're all around a really good bedding option. Make sure that you keep your bedding fresh for your chicks so that they stay healthy and clean.
3.) Feed
We offer a variety of different chick starters. The most important thing to decide on is whether you're going to do a medicated or non-medicated feed. All bags are labeled medicated or non-medicated. The medicated version is not antibiotic or anything like that, it is all a personal choice. It just helps prevent coccidiosis, which is a bacteria that is actually in the chicks. We have a variety of different sized bags and multiple different brands at different price points to fit everyone's pocketbook.
4.) Heat Source
You’re going to need a heat source for your chicks. We have infrared heat lamps, 250 watts or 125 watts. We have red or white bulbs, you can pick either one it doesn't really matter. They're going to heat the same. The red ones are kind of nice because it tends to make it so chicks can't see indifferences in each other and they're a little bit more friendly to each other.
5.) Brooder Lamp
We have some really nice brooder lamps at the store. They have a clamp on them that makes it easy to adjust angles. Temperature-wise, chicks need to be kept at 95° F for the first week and then every week after that it drops 5° degrees. You can either expand your brooder space or you can just adjust your lamp to keep the temperature where you need it.
6.) Thermometer
We have little thermometers that are handy to stick in your brooder and make sure that the temperature is accurate for your chicks.
7/8.) Feeder and Waterer
Don't forget to get your feeder and waterer! We offer a variety of different sizes and shapes. Making sure that your chicks have clean fresh water and clean fresh feed at all times is very important for the health of your chicks.
Bonus Tip
For a little bonus tip, you might have to deal with a little thing called pasty butt, and we sell these handy dandy little squirt bottles that you fill with nice warm water and they work really well for cleaning off those little chicks.
Availability
Each store will carry different breeds. You can check with your local store for whatever is available in their store directly. If you have any other questions visit your local store or check us out online!
