My Chirpy Chicken Coop

Medicated Vs. Non-Medicated Chick Feed February 27, 2022 (A bag of non-medicated chick feed.) Question of the century: Should I give my chicks medicated or non-medicated chick feed? There are lots of decisions to make when it comes to raising chickens and one of them is whether or not to use medicated chick feed. Personally, I choose not to..  There's nothing wrong with making the decision to use medicated feed.  I just don't feel it's necessary, and in the spirit of raising my chickens naturally, I extend that to my chicks as well. But each spring, the newbie chicken keepers always ask, "Is medicated chick feed necessary?" So let me explain why I don't feel that it is. To back up and explain a bit, the purpose of medicated chick feed is to help protect chicks from coccidiosis, which is an infectious parasite and the number one killer of baby chicks.  Medicated chick feed, designed to be fed for the first 8 weeks of a chick's life, contains Amprolium which...

Brooding Chicks For Cheap February 20, 2022 (Our cheap chick brooder. ;) Chickens, a coop, run, fencing, feed, supplements, waterers, feeders, first aid supplies...the costs can add up when you're preparing for your backyard flock.  But getting started with baby chicks doesn't have to cost you that much! Here are a few clever tips to help you get started for less...but you'll need to start stockpiling some things (if you don't already have them around the house) in advance of bringing your chicks home this spring. The Brooder- Baby chicks need a nursery to live in until they're big enough to live outside in their coop. It's called a "brooder" and can be as simple as a cardboard box. Done. (Or if you have a stock tank, galvanized tub or dog kennel , you can also use that.) Brooder Bedding- The brooder needs something soft and grippy and absorbent on the bottom to keep water messes and poop under control. The easiest (and cleanest) thing I've found i...

Spraddle Leg February 13, 2022 (This is what normal  chick feet look like.) Hopefully you will never have to worry about a chick with spraddle leg or curled toes, but as is the case with everything else chicken-related, it's always best to be prepared. Spraddle leg (also called splayed leg) a condition that a chick is either born with or develops within the first few hours of life whereby one or both legs slip out to the sides making them unable to stand or walk. Spraddle leg can occur during incubation or the hatching process if the temperature is too high or varies too much during the incubation period or if the hatch is difficult for the chick.  The more common cause of spraddle leg is an incubator or brooder floor that is too slippery for the chick to grip, which causes the legs to slide to one side. As a result the chick's legs muscles don't develop properly because of the lack of traction. To try and prevent this condition in your newly hatched chicks, a sheet of pa...

My New Year Gift To Y'all! February 6, 2022 (Our current chicks free ranging in the grass.) Excuse me for posting this quite late, but I have a special New Year's gift for my readers: 10% Off Any Purchase @ Brinsea ! The coupon code to enter at checkout is CHIRPY2022 . Thank you to all my readers for supporting my blog these past two years!!! You are much appreciated, and Happy New Year!😊

The Big Day 2022 January 30, 2022 (The chicks free ranging with their mammas!) It's "the big day" for the chicks!!! They are officially 4 weeks old. Which means they now have a world of opportunities to unlock!  We let them outside for the first time, and they got to see their mama hens!!! I only wish they could have met Lafayette...he would have been a proud daddy. The mamas didn't take too well to their little babies, but the outcome was better than expected- Hamilton and Eliza mostly ignored them, but the chicks loved following Hammy around! As for Angelica...well let's just say parenthood isn't one of her core strengths. As for the chicks future...we will most likely keep the hens, but we may have to sell the boys to a farm. (We don't know who's hen and roo yet.) I think our babies are enjoying life in the chirpy chicken coop!

DIY Brooder Box January 23, 2022 (My DIY brooder box kennel.) Baby chicks need a safe warm place to spend their first few weeks after you bring them home.  It's called a "brooder" or "brooder box".  I finally settled on making my own brooder box out of a dog kennel. It's quick and easy to set up, inexpensive, durable, 100% safe, easy to clean and reusable.  A dog kennel makes an inexpensive and safe brooder for your baby chicks when you first bring the home. You just need to make some alterations to it before your chicks move in! What You Need: Dog kennel Dog kennel tray Duct/Scotch tape What You Do: Unfold the kennel and set it up Slide in the kennel tray Use duct/scotch tape to tape an inch up from the bottom of the sides of the kennel (Chicks are extremely hyper and if the kennel bars are wide enough, then they will definitely escape by sliding through, keep the tape up until the chicks are about 2 weeks old.) Your chicks will need chick-sized feeders and...

Quick Chick Checklist January 16, 2022   (A chick eyeing the mini roost in the brooder!) Any new hobby, or project, or recipe (or bringing a new baby home for that matter!) requires a shopping list. And raising baby chicks is no different.  Your first time getting ready for your chicks to arrive, you might feel overwhelmed with all the supplies and choices available to you. So I've created this shopping list of baby chick supplies to be sure you're ready for your new arrivals - whether you go pick them up at the feed store or have them shipped to you at home. What you basically need to do is replicate the set-up you see at your feed store. Your chicks need a safe warm place to grow up, feed, water, soft bedding, etc. While you're at the feed store, you can get your shopping done before you pick out your chicks, but if you're having your chicks delivered, why not have their baby chicks supplies delivered as well?  It's a good idea anyway to assemble everything you ne...

Join Me In The Fight To Legalize Roosters! January 9, 2022 (A picture of dear Lafayette crowing one early morning!) Hundreds of cities across the U.S. have permitted urban chicken keeping. People have a desire for urban chickens for a number of reasons, including companionship, teaching children about agriculture, and the ability to raise one’s own food (one hen provides on average 3-4 eggs per week). After setting up the coop and the initial learning curve, urban chicken farmers say a small flock can be as easy to raise as a dog. The regulations regarding roosters were unclear in 14 cities and in 7 cities the keeping of roosters was not permitted. Of the remaining 4 in which the keeping of roosters was permitted, 1 city allowed roosters if kept a certain distance from neighbors residences, 1 allowed roosters only under 4 months of age, 1 allowed a single rooster per household, and 1 placed no restrictions. Many cities choose to not allow the keeping of roosters, as neighbors often com...

The Great Eggscape January 2, 2022 (A chick making the Great Eggscape!) Ever since starting to raise chickens, I had in the back of my head to try hatching eggs one day. And so I decided to do so over Christmas break! Unfortunately, Angelica isn't the best broody hen (she will sit on her eggs for a few days, then abandon them forever!). Fortunately, we were able to borrow a Brinsea incubator from a friend and so I got started! The plan was originally to hatch the chicks on Christmas day (cool right?), however, we got the incubator a little too late to set them for Christmas, so we eventually set them for December 28th, my grandpa's birthday!  Since Lafayette kindly provided us with some fertile eggs, we decided to use those for hatching! How exciting it will be to have mixed breed chicks!  If you are hatching with a Brinsea incubator, or are just starting out your journey of hatching eggs, Brinsea's Incubation Handbook is a great place for info! As soon as I collected th...

3 Secrets To A Clean Chicken Coop December 26, 2021   (Our cleaned-out coop on a rainy day, probably about to get dirty again! :) We all know that chickens, like all animals (and children!), tend to be...well, dirty. Which is why I have three awesome secrets to a clean chicken coop: Vinyl Vinyl on the floor of the coop is the best for poopy messes! And it's very easy to change out every so often.         2. Feed & Water Outside The second important way to keep your coop clean is to never put feed or water inside the coop. Never. For any reason. All it does is attract flies in the summer, rodents in the winter, and make a huge wet mess year round.         3. Outdoor Activities That leads me to my third tip for keeping your coop clean - outdoor activities. The easiest way to keep your coop clean is to keep your chickens out in the run as much as possible year round. In reality, they should only be inside the coop while they're sle...