Crazy Chicken Lady Who??
Crazy Chicken Lady ME! That’s right, I have joined the chicken life. We started our flock with 4 chicks and I’m a little obsessed to say the least. (With the egg prices these days, can you blame me? Kidding, sort of…)
My chicken journey began a few years ago when I joked about wanting to have chickens. Fast forward to last summer, my husband told me we should go for it. So I jumped right into planning mode - books were ordered, magazines were subscribed to and a Pinterest board was born. I feel like I know {almost} all one could need to know about raising chickens!
Here’s what we have so far-
Brooder Box
A giant tote from Tractor Supply Co. (where I purchased my chicks, but we’ll get to that later) is what I am currently using for my brooder box. A brooder box is what you’ll house your chicks in until they’re old enough to move outdoors to their coop. You can use anything, really. Another popular brooder box option is a kiddie pool surrounded with chicken wire.
Brooder Plate
This is what the chicks will go under to keep warm. It acts as a mama hen sitting on her eggs and keeping her babies warm. Chicks needs a LOT of warmth their first few weeks.
Shavings
For their little feet to grip to and for easy poop/pee cleanup. I’ve chosen to use pine shavings, but you can use whatever you want.
Shavings Storage
This is optional of course, but since we don’t have a shed I bought a second mega-tote for storing shavings in!
Food & Water
When it comes to food for your chicks, make sure you are getting specific chick feed. It’ll provide all of the essential nutrients needed for them to grow! Also, add chick grit - it’s essential for their digestion. Electrolytes are also essential for your chicks, and that gets added to their water. This is the brand of grit and feed that we use!
Food Storage
I purchased a seal-tight feed container for keeping the feed safe from critters and attracting predators.
Cleaning Supplies
An extendable rake, scooper & bucket make cleaning the brooder box a breeze! The extendable arms will be a big help when it’s time to clean the coop.
I plan to use this for deep cleans to kill any germs/bacteria that may have grew as well as kill smells!
Trash Can
I purchased a literal garbage container with a lid to dispose of the dirty shavings. Later on, it’ll turn into compost for gardening.
The main event: the chicks themselves!
Many feed stores will start having chicks in store now! We went with Tractor Supply for the purchase of our chicks. We got 1 Barred Rock, 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte and 2 Light Brahmas. All docile & cold-hearty breeds, which is good for New England weather!
Our chicks exploring their brooder box! Their names are Lola, Magnolia, Gladys & Dorothy.
I’ll be sure to link everything to my LTK page! If you’re getting chicks I hope you found this helpful! If not and you’ve gotten to this point, thanks for reading about my chicken journey so far! Stay tuned for more updates and chick spam!
