Educational Websites:
– brooder info
- Salmonella info
- coop info
Your baby chicks were provided by:
My Pet Chicken
Mt Healthy Hatchery
Estes Hatchery
Randall Burkey
*If you would like to order more, please tell them the Chicken Whisperer sent you!
Other Tips and Important Information:
- Keep an eye on the chick’s bottom especially for the first 2 weeks. Chicks can get “pasty butt,” which can lead to constipation and death. If you notice the buildup of waste on the chick’s bottom, take a wet paper towel and wipe it away.
- The more you hold your chicks as they age, the friendlier they will be as adults.
- Always wash your hands after holding, touching or handling the chicks in any way. Chicks can carry Salmonella that can be transferred to you or your child if proper hygiene is not practiced (as is the case with any household pet).
- Keep food and waterers full at all times! Do not put food and water next to each other. The food will get in the water and spoil. Separate them inside the brooder bin.
- Chicks may need help finding the food and water initially. Dip their beaks once in their feeder and water when you first put them in the bin.
- Any type of wood shavings should not be used as bedding for the first four days.
- Change out bedding as needed. It is not healthy for chicks to walk around in their own waste.
- When the chicks get older, you may need to add netting to the top of your brooder bin so they can’t fly out.
- Baby chicks should not be feed anything other than Chick food from a feed & seed store.
- Chicks can be moved to a coop and run outside once they are 6 weeks old. More information on coops and runs can be found in the listed websites.
- Chickens will begin laying eggs around 20 weeks old.
Congratulations on your new pets!
Brooder Information:
A Brooder is the baby chicks’ home for the first 6 weeks before it can go outside. More information can be found in the Educational Websites links.
Materials / Where to get it:
45 gallon RubberMaid bin (Walmart)
Clamp Heat Lamp (Walmart)
Poster board (Walmart)
125 Watt Heat Bulb (Ace Hardware/Lowes)
50lb bag Chick Starter (Feed & Seed)
1 gallon Waterer (Feed & Seed)
1 quart Feeder (Feed & Seed)
Directions:
1. Place the bin in an area of your house (bathroom, garage, sunroom) Chicks cannot go outside for 6 weeks!
2. Screw the 125 Watt Bulb in the Lamp and clamp it to one end of the bin where the lid clamps on and plug in. Make sure it won’t fall.
3. Insert bedding (poster board) after cutting corners to fit. Will need 1 & ½ sheets to cover the bottom. Other bedding materials are acceptable, but please research which ones are appropriate using the links provided. Cedar shavings should NEVER be used!
4. Fill the feeder and water and place in the bin.
5. Place the chicks in the bin!
Atlanta Feed and Seed Centers:
TC Country Feed & Seed
100 Heritage Town Parkway
Canton, Georgia
770-479-8926
North Fulton Feed & Seed
12950 Hwy 9
Milton, Ga. 30005
770-475-5572
Acworth Feed & Seed
5000 Lake Acworth Dr.
Acworth Ga. 30101
770-529-0319
Standard Feed & Seed
2339 Brannen Rd. SE #R
Atlanta, Georgia 30316
404-241-6922
Cherokee Farm Supply
2370 Hightower Rd.
Ball Ground, Ga. 30107
770-887-0440
Tractor Supply Company
10 Georgia Locations
Veterinarian Care:
Dr. Tarah Hadley, DVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian)
Atlanta Hospital For Birds and Exotics
7431 Covington Highway
Lithonia, Georgia 30058
678-562-8403
Dr. Tarah Hadley, DVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian) is a board certified avian specialist--one of 120 veterinarians in the U.S. and Canada who can claim this elite status. She has received specialized, intensive training in exotic and zoo animal medicine and surgery.
Suggestions:
* Join the Atlanta Pet Chicken Meetup Group! Here you have the opportunity to meet other people that own chickens, ask your questions and find your answers!
* Listen to “Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer” every Saturday at 9am!
***Please Note***
If at any time the responsibility of these chicks is too great, please contact the Chicken Whisperer immediately! We will take the chicks back at any time!
- Bill Greenwood
- Atlanta Pet Chicken Meetup Member Volunteers
- America’s Web Radio – David Moxley
- All the hatcheries for donating chicks:
My Pet Chicken
Mt Healthy Hatchery
Estes Hatchery
Randall Burkey
- Chick Food Donations provided by:
TC Country Feed & Seed
North Fulton Feed & Seed
- GQF (Georgia Quail Farms)