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The chicks arrived about 10 days ago. When you order chicks from a hatchery, the arrive via USPS in a ventilated box. They’re usually peeping furiously from the stress of shipping. After about a day in their new home, their peeps have quieted to the soft chirps of a warm, happy chick.

When they arrive, you first show them the water by dipping their beak into the drinker. Once they’ve practiced their drinking skills they usually find the brooder plate and take a long nap.

Chicks grow so fast! Already at only one week old there is a noticeable difference between the Rangers (meat birds) and the egg layers I’m adding to the flock this year. By the end of week one, they’ve grown most of their wing feathers and may have the beginnings of a tail.

Spring always gives me chick fever. Even though I had ordered our chicks in December, I have to resist bringing home a few cute balls of fluff whenever I stop by the local farm store. This year we are adding a few new layers to our flock as well as trying meat birds for the first time.

We’ve got the brooder prepped and ready for the chicks to arrive. Since the meat birds will grow so much faster than the new egg layers, we’ve got separate areas to keep the smaller birds from getting trampled. The meat birds will move outside at about 3 weeks, allowing us to expand the area that is available for the layers while they continue to live in the brooder.

We prefer brooder plates to heat lamps. They offer a more natural growing experience for the chicks. They can duck in and out similar to how they would interact with a mama hen. They are far less prone to causing fires and allow the chicks to spend more time playing in cooler air. The more moderate air temperature encourages them to grow their feathers in more quickly.

Chick size feed and water stations round out our setup. I’m ready to introduce our chicks to their new home!