My Chirpy Chicken Coop

Beginner's Guide To Raising Baby Chicks March 27, 2022 So you've decided to start raising chickens!  I assume you've checked with your town or municipality and know the rules as far as how many chickens you are allowed, if you need a permit for either the chickens or their coop (or both), if you can have roosters, etc.  And now you're ready to get started. Raising baby chicks isn't difficult. They really just need to be kept warm, safe, and well fed and watered.  But first you are going to need to find some chicks to buy!  Spring is the most common time to start raising chicks because while they need to start off in the house under a heat lamp, by the time they have grown in their feathers and are ready to go outside around 6-8 weeks old, the weather should be warm enough. If you are only looking for hens (or female chickens), then your best best is to order them from a reputable hatchery such as Meyer Hatchery They offer "gendered" chicks (that means you ...

Brooder Box Boredom Busters March 20, 2022 (Bored, sleepy chicks dozing off in the brooder!) Living within the confinement of a brooder box, whether it be a plastic tote or cardboard box, can get boring for baby chicks. Boredom lead to bullying, pecking and all sorts of other problems.  Help keep your brooder babies from getting bored with these easy-to-implement brooder box boredom busters! (Try saying that three times fast!) Rooster Bars: As young as a few days old, your chicks will have fun hopping onto perches and practicing balancing. I use wood sticks for them when they're this small, but you can also use small branches as well. They probably won't sleep on the them until they are much older, but the roosting bars keep them busy and active in the brooder. Clumps Of Dirt & Grass: Bring the outdoors inside and put some clumps of grass with the dirt attached in the brooder. The chicks love nibbling on the grass and scratching in the dirt to look for bugs and worms. Two a...

National Poultry Day 2022!!! March 13, 2022 (Free-ranging beauties :) Poultry is the theme for March 19th as it is National Poultry Day! No fowl moods or ruffled feathers. However, there may be some quacking and gobbling going on.  It is believed that chicken was introduced to American soil by European explorers in the 16th century. Most Americans raised small flocks, enough to feed their families with the eggs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees poultry production in the United States. Estimates place production at around 9 billion chickens in the United States. While a group of chickens is called either a brood or peep, if they are chicks we call them a clutch or chattering. To all my chicken-lovers out there: Happy National Poultry Day!!!

Pasty Butt March 6, 2022 (Don't freak out! - This is a normal, healthy chick behind.) Pasty butt, also called "pasting up" or "pasted vent" is a fairly common, but potentially life-threatening, condition that can occur when the vent of a baby chick gets clogged with dried feces.  If not treated quickly, it can be fatal because the baby chick is unable to eliminate its poop and it will quickly get stopped up and die.  Fortunately it's easy to detect, treat and even prevent, but since it's so common, it is something that you should be aware of if you're just starting out with your baby chicks and that every backyard chicken keeper needs to be aware of. Pasty butt is the condition in which a chick's soft droppings stuck to the fine down around their vent and then harden and get stuck in the opening of the baby chick’s vent. The feces dries up and literally stops up the chick so it can’t poop. The dried-up feces acts like a cork, creating a plug so t...