Getting Started: Where do chicks come from?
We went to Tractor Supply to get our chickens. They are golden hens, and they lay eggs. When we got them they were about 2 days old, so really tiny. They put them in a cardboard box, and we also got a few other things. We got a big round planter pot, because they get all cooped up in the corners. We got a heat lamp, the chicks need it to be about 98F. At Tractor Supply they did not have the bulb, but they did have the lamp, so we got that. We also got chicken food. We use Start and Grow for the new borns. We also got Hydro-Hen for their water. You put it in the water basin, but you are only supposed to use it for 12 hours. We went to Home Depot to get the bulb for the heat lamp, and other things my dad wanted to get.
Setting Things Up at Home
After that, we went home and set up all the stuff. We got four chickens, and named them: Dusty, Hazel, Whitey, and Sorbet. It was me and my sister KB’s project, so we had to share. I got Whitey and Sorbet, and she got Dusty and Hazel. Baby chickens poop a lot! For the first 3 weeks we have to put paper towels over the wood shavings. Once every 2 hours we have to check on them to make sure that the paper towels are not covered in poop and that there is enough food in the trough. The heaviest one, Dusty, gained 5 grams in one night. Dusty is 60g, Whitey is 51g, Hazel is 58g, and Sorbet is 49g. Every week you have to change the whole thing and wash it out. We put 4 inches of pine shavings in the bottom of the through and then clipped the heat lamp on to the side. Raising chickens is a little harder than I thought, and one of the worst parts is you can’t keep them away from the heat for long.
These are some of the pictures I took of the chickens.
