Spring chick season checklist

Before you buy: the planning list

• Check your local rules, including hen limits, rooster bans, permits, and coop setbacks. Start with the local laws finder.
• Decide on chicks or pullets. Chicks need weeks of indoor brooding; started pullets skip that step. See getting your flock.
• Choose sexed pullets if roosters are not allowed. Sexing is not perfect, so ask the seller what happens if one turns out to be a rooster.
• Pick breeds for your climate. Try the breed quiz.
• Have a coop plan for when chicks move out, usually once they are fully feathered.

Brooder setup (before pickup day)

• A draft-free enclosure in a garage, basement, or spare room, out of reach of pets and small children.
• A heat source. Brooding plate-style heaters are a common alternative to heat lamps and lower the fire risk. If you use a lamp, secure it with more than one method and keep it well away from bedding.
• Common guidance is about 90 to 95°F under the heat source the first week, then about 5°F lower each week. Watch the chicks: huddling under the heat means cold; crowding the edges means too hot.
• Pine shavings for bedding (not cedar), a chick feeder, and a chick waterer.
• Chick starter feed. Medicated starter helps prevent coccidiosis; if your chicks were vaccinated for coccidiosis, ask the seller whether to use unmedicated feed.

Turn the brooder on a day early and check the temperature.

The first two weeks

• Dip each chick's beak in the water when you bring it home so it learns where to drink.
• Check vents daily for pasty butt (droppings stuck over the vent). Gently clean it off with warm water.
• Keep the waterer clean. Chicks kick shavings into everything; raising it on a small block helps.
• Expect fast growth and a lot of dust. That is normal.

Handwashing and kids

Chicks are adorable and can carry Salmonella even when they look healthy. The CDC recommends washing hands after touching chicks or anything in their area, not kissing or snuggling them against your face, and keeping children under 5 from handling them. Keep chicks out of kitchens and eating areas. More in the biosecurity guide and the CDC's backyard poultry page.

Moving outside

Most chicks are ready for the coop once they are fully feathered, often around 6 weeks, depending on the weather. Spend a few days in the coop and run before letting them roam, and make sure the coop is predator-proof first. Small chicks can slip through gaps adult hens cannot.