Baby Chicks Care 101: How to Raise Healthy Chicks from Day One

Getting your first batch of baby chicks is one of the most exciting parts of starting a backyard flock — and one of the most common places beginners run into trouble. Day-old chicks look fragile because they’re. Without the warmth of a mother hen, they depend entirely on you for heat, water, food, and protection during the first 6 to 8 weeks of their lives. The good news: the fundamentals of raising baby chicks are straightforward. Get the brooder set up correctly before the chicks arrive, and you’ve handled 80% of the work.

This guide covers caring for baby chicks — from brooder setup and temperature management to feeding, health monitoring, and moving hens outside when the time is right.

Before the Chicks Arrive: Setting Up the Brooder

The brooder is a temporary, enclosed, heated space where chicks will live during their first weeks of life. Setting it up at least 24 hours before your chicks arrive gives you time to dial in the temperature and confirm everything is working before they need it.

Brooder Basics

A brooder doesn’t need to be elaborate. A large cardboard box, a plastic storage tote, or a galvanized stock tank all work well for small batches. For larger batches (20 or more chicks), a corner of a garage or basement sectioned off with a plywood surround works better and provides room to expand as chicks grow.

The brooder needs:

• A secure enclosure that keeps chicks in and pets, predators, and drafts out
• A heat source positioned at one end (not centered) so chicks can self-regulate by moving toward or away from warmth
• Bedding material on the floor
• A waterer and feeder positioned away from the heat source

Heat Source Options

The traditional approach uses a red heat lamp suspended above the brooder. Red bulbs are preferred over white — they produce less disruptive light and reduce the risk of pecking behavior among chicks. However, heat lamps are a significant fire hazard and require secure mounting. If one falls into the bedding, the results can be catastrophic.

A safer alternative — and now the preferred choice for many experienced chicken keepers — is a radiant heat plate or brooder plate. These devices mimic a mother hen: chicks crawl underneath and warm themselves against the radiant panel surface. They use less electricity than heat lamps and eliminate the fire risk. They’re more expensive upfront ($40 to $60) but worth it for safety and peace of mind.

Temperature Requirements

Baby chicks need a warm environment with a specific temperature gradient:

• Week 1: 95°F directly under the heat source
• Week 2: 90°F
• Week 3: 85°F
• Each subsequent week: Reduce by 5°F until you reach ambient outdoor temperature

Place a thermometer at floor level near the heat source to check the actual temperature at chick level. More practically, let the chicks tell you: if they’re huddled directly under the heat source and peeping loudly, they’re cold — lower the lamp or add another heat plate. If they’re pressed against the brooder walls as far from the heat source as possible, they’re too hot. Properly heated chicks will be spread out, active, and making soft, contented sounds.

Bedding and Brooder Hygiene

The brooder floor needs absorbent, safe bedding material. Pine shavings (large flake, not fine) are the standard choice. They’re absorbent, inexpensive, and compost well after use. Avoid:

• Cedar shavings: The aromatic oils are toxic to chicks
• Fine sawdust or small shavings: Chicks may eat them and develop crop problems
• Newspaper: Too slippery — can cause spraddle leg in young chicks
• Sand: Too cold and doesn’t provide adequate cushioning

Start with 2 to 3 inches of bedding and add fresh material on top as it gets damp. The brooder will need full cleanouts every week or so to prevent ammonia buildup — which is both unpleasant and can damage chick respiratory systems.

Food and Water for Baby Chicks

Chick Starter Feed

Baby chicks need chick starter feed from day one. This is a high-protein (18 to 20%) crumble or mash formulated specifically for young birds. Don’t feed layer pellets to chicks — the calcium content is too high for young kidneys.

Chick starter comes in medicated and non-medicated varieties. Medicated starter contains amprolium, a coccidiostat that helps prevent coccidiosis (a common intestinal disease in young chicks). If your chicks were vaccinated for coccidiosis at the hatchery, use non-medicated feed. If they weren’t vaccinated (which is the default for most mail-order chicks), medicated starter is a reasonable precaution.

Keep feed available at all times. Young chicks eat small amounts frequently. A gravity feeder that holds a pound or two of feed works well for small batches. Hang or elevate feeders slightly off the ground as chicks grow to keep them from scratching bedding into the feed.

Water

Fresh, clean water is critical from the moment chicks arrive. When chicks are placed in the brooder for the first time, gently dip each chick’s beak into the waterer so they know where water is. This takes a few seconds per chick but significantly improves early outcomes.

Use a chick-size waterer with a narrow base trough — standard poultry waterers with deep reservoirs can be drowning hazards for day-old chicks. Add a layer of clean marbles or pebbles in the water trough during the first week if the openings seem deep enough to pose a risk.

Room-temperature water is preferred for young chicks — cold water can chill them. Change the water at least once daily, more often in warm conditions, and clean the waterer base several times per week to prevent algae and bacterial growth.

Common Health Issues in Baby Chicks

Pasty Butt (Pasting Up)

One of the most common issues in the first week: droppings dry and stick to the chick’s vent (the opening where waste exits), blocking it. Left untreated, pasty butt is fatal within hours. Check each chick’s vent daily for the first two weeks. If you see dried pasting, use a warm, damp cloth to gently soften and remove it. Don’t pull — you can injure the chick. After cleaning, apply a small dab of plain coconut oil or petroleum jelly to discourage further sticking.

Spraddle Leg

Spraddle leg is a condition where one or both legs slide out to the sides, preventing the chick from standing or walking normally. It’s often caused by slippery brooder flooring (hence avoiding newspaper). Early cases can be corrected by hobbling the legs with a small bandage or piece of medical tape for a few days, which encourages proper leg positioning while muscles develop.

Coccidiosis

Coccidiosis is a parasitic intestinal disease that can spread rapidly through a brooder. Symptoms include lethargy, hunched posture, bloody or watery droppings, and failure to eat or drink. If you suspect coccidiosis, treat the entire batch with Corid (amprolium) in the water immediately — it’s widely available at feed stores. Medicated starter feed provides ongoing prevention.

Respiratory Issues

Ammonia from wet, dirty bedding is the most common cause of respiratory problems in brooder chicks. If you can smell ammonia when you open the brooder, the chicks can definitely smell it — and it’s damaging their airways. Increase cleanout frequency and add ventilation.

Going Outside: Transitioning Chicks to the Coop

At 6 to 8 weeks of age, most chick breeds are fully feathered and capable of regulating their own body temperature. This is when they’re ready to move from the brooder to the outdoor coop — assuming nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50°F. If you’re raising chicks during winter or early spring, they may need a few additional weeks in the brooder or supplemental heat in the coop during the coldest nights.

Short Outdoor Excursions

From about 2 to 3 weeks of age, you can begin taking chicks outside for short supervised visits on warm days. Keep them confined in a small area (a puppy pen or wire enclosure works well), provide shade, bring water, and watch them closely for overheating or chilling. These early outdoor sessions help chicks acclimate to temperature variation and natural light cycles.

Moving Day

When it’s time to move chicks to the coop permanently, do it in the evening. Place them inside the closed coop after dark, and they’ll wake up in their new home. Spending the first night enclosed in the coop helps them imprint it as home — they’ll reliably return to it at dusk going forward. Keep the coop closed for the first day or two before opening the run door, giving them time to settle in.

Integrating Chicks with an Existing Flock

If you’re adding young birds to an existing flock, expect a period of adjustment. Established hens will establish a pecking order with the newcomers, which involves some chasing and occasional pecking. This is normal. What you need to prevent is serious bullying — relentless chasing that prevents young birds from accessing food and water.

Best practice: keep chicks visible but separated from the existing flock for 2 to 4 weeks using a wire partition in the run. This allows the birds to see and get used to each other before physical contact. When you open the partition, do it on a day when both groups are well-fed and have plenty of space. Supervise for the first hour.

From Chick to Laying Hen: What to Expect

Most laying breeds begin producing eggs at 18 to 22 weeks of age. You’ll notice behavioral changes as hens approach laying age: they’ll become more interested in the nesting boxes, their combs will deepen in color, and they may start squatting (a submissive posture) when you approach them. First eggs are often small and irregularly shaped — perfectly normal. Production and egg size stabilize within the first month of laying.

Getting your first batch of chicks to the laying stage is one of the most satisfying milestones in backyard chicken-keeping. The skills you develop in that first 5-month process — observation, problem-solving, routine care — carry forward into everything else about managing a flock.

For the next step, read our guide on How to Build a Chicken Coop for Beginners to make sure your coop is ready when your chicks are. And if you’re planning the broader homestead setup, Raising Animals on a Homestead: The Beginner’s Complete Guide covers the full range of animal options for a homestead system.