We're gearing up for more chicks this spring, and in dusting off our chick supplies, we thought we'd put together a quick list of the must haves for when you bring your chicks home. These are affiliate links, so with no cost to you, purchasing though these links puts a few more mealworms in the treat bucket.
First, you'll need somewhere for your chicks to live that's warm and enclosed. Our winter chicks started a plastic tub in the guest bathroom until we built our chick boxes. You'll want the lid to keep the chicks in, and either cut holes for air or leave half off. We also closed the bathroom door to both keep the chicks in and the cats out.
Next, you'll need feeders and waterers- this set comes with a treat ball and is the standard for chicks. Easy to use, and enough for quite a few chicks. Also available at your local farm store.
You'll also need bedding- either shavings or straw. We started with shavings and moved to straw, but either works. Be sure to get enough to keep the chicks dry.
You'll need chick feed and even in the summer, you'll need a way for the chicks to stay warm like this heat lamp- be careful, these bulbs do get hot. Chicks need to be kept very warm, and their box needs to have room for them to regulate their temperature by moving towards and away from the lamp.
Other than that, you'll need room on your phone for all the pictures and a few rags to clean up the inevitable little bit of mess when the chicks are out of their box being cuddled by the family.
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