Feed suppliers, farm supply businesses, local hatcheries, and mail-order (online) hatcheries make good sources of strong, healthy baby chicks. Pooling your order with other project members can reduce your initial investment because discounts are usually given to larger orders. The few cents per chick charge for Mereck’s disease vaccination can provide great returns later.

The US Postal Service will ship mail-order chicks during appropriate weather conditions. Chicks are usually sent out from the hatchery on Monday or Tuesday. With a three-day guarantee delivery, you should receive them at your post office on Thursday or Friday.

Chicks are mailed in a special box called a “Pullman.” Each compartment is designed for 25 chicks, so orders less than 25 will include chicks of unspecified breeds to fill the space and provide proper heat in transit.

Chicks can be artificially brooded like other poultry. However, since the goal is to raise the chicks on pasture, a “broody” hen that fosters them may get them out on the range more quickly. This hen is sometimes called a “cluck hen” because of her clucking sound. Her natural hormones and instincts behaviorally and physiologically change her to incubate eggs and rear chicks.

A “broody” hen that is best for fostering chicks has been sitting on a nest of eggs for several days. Some breeds make better mothers than others. Loose-feathered Cochins, Rocks, Wyandottes, and many crossbreds are best, but individuals of other breeds may also be very satisfactory. A hen that is not “setting tight” may reject the chicks and even kill them.

The chicks should be introduced to the hen in her nest box. Stay calm when sliding the chicken under the hen, and keep her area darkened. It may even be necessary to cover her nest and restrain her in the box until she has accepted the chicks. Check the hen occasionally to ensure she has not rejected the chicks.

A good hen may be able to brood as many as 20 chicks! A large hen is not necessarily a better mother than a small hen. A hen will keep the chicks at the proper temperature and direct them to water and feed. She will help the chicks explore their environment and begin foraging insects and vegetation. She will provide warmth for the chicks and call them under her cover when they need protection. A hen will reduce energy costs, but feed consumption will increase since the hen will consume chick starter feed.

A complete Chick Starter crumble ensures that the babies receive a balanced ration in each bite. Whether the feed is medicated or non-medicated is the producer’s choice. The medication in starter feed is Amprolium, an amoebicide that prevents coccidiosis. The drug is a “thiamine analogue” and blocks the infectious microbe’s uptake of the vitamin thiamine. By killing the amoeba in the chick’s gut, the disease is prevented.

Since the coccidiosis amoeba is found in soil and the intent is to get the chicks on pasture as soon as possible, this medication is recommended and allowed under Label Rouge guidelines.

The chicks can be introduced to the range as soon as the weather is suitable. They will need supplemental heat during the cool nights.

Moving the birds to new areas frequently can provide fresh pasture. Native grass pasture is commonly used because it is durable and recovers after the birds graze it off. Legumes such as alfalfa and clover pasture will increase protein consumption, allowing the supplemental ration to be higher in whole and cracked grains.

Electrified temporary fences will prevent the devastation from predators such as foxes, raccoons, and opossums. If rapture predators like hawks, owls, and eagles are a concern, roof netting may need to be applied. A chicken tractor will provide protection for a few birds but requires more labor and expense.