Our little darling chicks have arrived! We ordered from mypetchicken.com and found the selection and service to be excellent. The chicks shipped super fast and were all healthy and well when they arrived (oh and so soft and cute!). Our little gal chicks will live in their brooder box for about 4-6 weeks, then transition to their chicken coop outdoors, where they will have free range of our backyard once they are full grown.
Investing in chicks can start to get expensive if you don’t DIY. I considered just using a large cardboard box to keep them in for those first 4-6 weeks, but all the sources I read about chick care said that a large cardboard box would soon be too small for the growing chicks (and potentially too short as well for when they try flying). Mypetchicken.com sells a for $72 shipping; however to save some cash, I decided to copy the idea using left over moving boxes I had laying around.
You will need:
2 Large cardboard boxes of the same size
cutting tool
strong tape (duct tape works)
It’s so simple: cut a side open on the two boxes, open them up and then tape the edges together, folding the bottoms in together so they sort of weave and interlock. You can choose to tape those inside flaps together for added stability.
Added bonus for this design: when the chicks get bigger and can start jumping and trying to fly, you can fold up the top flaps of the boxes and tape them together to add 5 plus inches to the height of your box – cool! You can also grab a couple long sticks or dowels and punch holes in the sides of the cardboard to set up roosting perches for the chicks about 1-2 inches off the ground.
To make removing and cleaning the pine bedding easier, I picked up a painters drop cloth at the hardware store for $8, size 5×5, and laid it inside the pen before putting down the bedding. This will allow me to wrap up the entire bedding/poop mess inside the drop cloth and carry it out to the compost pile.
Other items needed for our 6 little birds were purchased at a local feed store:
$5.50 – buy the large one so you don’t have to buy it later when the birds get bigger and try to knock over a smaller sized one you may have bought at first. Saves you money and time!
$4
3 cubic feet of compressed $8
25 lbs $12
From Amazon I purchased a for $11.20
and from Amazon also I purchased a $12
My home-made “package” cost $55.70, compared to the starter kit from mypetchicken.com priced at $72 plus shipping. As an added bonus, I purchased 5 times as much food, got a larger watering device and a metal feeder instead of plastic. I also was able to get 20 times as much pine bedding and a much sturdier heatlamp. I’d say that’s a win! Plus, I do think my recycled cardboard chick house ended up being larger than the size of the packaged one.
And man, are they cute! My son loves going in there during the day with me to check on them.
For more information on raising baby chicks, I recommend
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Baby Chicks To Buy in
Rutherford, New Jersey
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Rutherford New Jersey,
including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more.
Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different
egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Rutherford
New Jersey also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Rutherford New Jersey, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale,
turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale,
chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of
baby chicks for sale in Rutherford NJ.
Baby Chickens And Heat Lamps in
Rutherford, New Jersey
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Rutherford New Jersey
catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await
the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and
different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to
their site and request one if you are interested.
Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Rutherford New Jersey * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Rutherford
New Jersey * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Baby Chickens How To Raise in
Rutherford, New Jersey
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
Rutherford New Jersey is easy and has always been a very pleasant
experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Rutherford,
New Jersey Baby chicks are extremely
cute and also
difficult to stand up to,
however it's best to prepare for their
arrival prior to you get them. Prepare initially
by compiling not only the
correct materials, yet
also the correct
expertise to care for
them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably
straightforward, you simply should provide them with the following: A
clean as well as warm
habitat A lot of food as well
as water Interest as well as
love Habitat Your habitat can be an easy box, aquarium,
cat carrier, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels and also
blankets (without any loosened
strings!) to begin, and after a
couple of weeks use straw over paper.
Keep in mind: Avoid using only
paper or various other slipper
surface areas-- or your chicks legs could grow
misshapen. You also require
something to provide food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
meal from the feed store, or a pickle jar
cover for food and an animal bird water dispenser from a
pet dog shop. Likewise, as the chicks get
older you can introduce a perch
right into the habitat to obtain them
trained on setting down. Heat To
maintain your chicks heat you should
provide them with a heat resource.
This can be as straightforward as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style light from a
hardware shop, or an infrared reptile heat
light bulb additionally function effectively (my
recommendation). Chicks need this
heat 24/7 up until their downy fluff is
changed with feathers (which could take up to two months). The newly
hatched out need a temperature level
in between 90 as well as 100 levels,
and weekly this can
be minimized by
roughly 5 degrees or
so. The warmth source must get on simply one side of the cage
to allow chicks an array of
temperatures. The chicks are your ideal
thermostat- if they are hiding in the
opposite corner of your warmth
lamp, you need to
minimize the temperature. If
they are surrounding each various other under the
heat (not simply curling up),
you have to include some heat.
Home cleaning
Cleanliness is vital and also it maintains your chicks healthy. Make sure to change
the bed linens
often and
always offer tidy
food as well as water Food and also water.
Chicks expand really quick
which calls for plenty of tidy
food and water. Give
sufficient in any way times as well
as examine
commonly to avoid dehydrated and
starving chicks. Chick food is different than adult chicken food, as well as it comes
in both medicated as well as non-medicated ranges. Feed chick food for the
initial 2 months, after that
switch over to a raiser food (~ 17 %
protein) for an additional 2 months,
and then to a somewhat
reduced healthy protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have levels). Soil Some chicks like to obtain a head start on taking
dust bathrooms, while others will not take
up that task until they are
older. If you have the space in your chick
enclosure, present a tray of sand or
dust for them to wash in.
Attention as well as love There are a
few advantages to spending quality time with your chicks. To start
with, they will certainly more than likely bond with you and also
not run away as adults. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily and
see their actions, you could
catch illness or various
other troubles previously. Keep an
eye out for hissing, hopping, or
other unhealthy
indicators. Make sure to
likewise look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels can bring about matted plumes and clogged cloaca.
Finally, it is important to keep an eye out for social concerns, such as the
littlest chick obtaining badgered. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently totally feathered
and also its time for them to leave the
safety and security of your residence
and relocate outside right into a
coop. Take a look at our
section on chicken coops to get more information
regarding cages and also
correct coop environments.
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