Raising Chickens – Things You Can Do While Raising Young Chickens : laying chickens

When you get older chickens, they do not need you to take care of them. I mean to say that you still have to address a few things, but you can mostly leave them hands free.

Comparing raising chicks that are just out of the egg and those that are about a month in age can bring up some great differences. Chicks that are a month or so old are starting to show feathers and a larger size than younger chicks. You can even look into hatchery purchased chicks.

You still have to take care of their temperature and food, as well as water and comfort. You have to address all of these concerns no matter the age of the chick, even if they are adults.

These concerns are still a problem, but they have more of them when they get older. They have to take in more food and take up more space, making all of these concerns a greater problem. They get bigger, so they need more. Consequently, you have to adjust your schedule appropriately, and make sure you take care of these things.

When they are young, you have to make sure the water is sterilized (via boiling or other method), so that it will be safe for them to drink and digest. Once they get a bit older, though, they can handle water not actively sterilized. You just have to verify that the water you get them is clean, tap water equivalent, and you’ll be fine. Do you not know if the water is safe? Boil it to be sure.

Do not even try to place a jug on a dish as the chicks get older. These older chicks will just tip over the jug more often, spilling all of the water everywhere and making more work for you. Make sure that you use a pot or plastic water jug, something that will not tip over as easily, as you give them water. Agricultural stores will also feature specialized water containers for them.

You can still give them food for baby chickens. However, you can try to incorporate mashed potatoes and the like into their food if you wish. While potato peelings are not appetizing for them, mashing the innards of the potato is very appealing. You could even include chopped up lettuce and grass, as well as cabbage if you want to introduce some vegetables and roughage into their diet. Insects? They absolutely love them.

Somehow, chickens like dust baths and rolling around in dirt. Not only that, they can rub the feathers in the dirt and clean them by shaking them. It can start to become routine for them. When they act like this, you might want them to be able to dustbathe, so keep a sandbox handy so they can clean themselves. Despite this, keep their environs as clean as possible. Keep enough space in their area so they do not feel cramped, and so they can move about freely and sleep.

In terms of heat, there is less of a concern for them as they get older. Due to the feathers that these adult chicks have grown, they will not have to worry as much about keeping warm, especially as they grow more of them. Whatever feathers they have can serve to protect them as the temperature drops and night falls. If you want to guarantee their safety and warmth, just turn down the heat lamp a bit but still have it on. Keep a temperature of at least 20 degrees near the chicks. You should also consider building a coop for these chickens.

If you do run into issues, just look at the problem logically. With the help of these essentials, you should have a good handle on raising chickens.

Time lapse video from one week old to laying eggs. We get around 20 eggs a day and I let them free range when the the weather is good. Learn to be self suffi…
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