These little black beauties are day old croad langshan chicks.

#1 What Breed?

If you are purchasing day old chicks it is important you select the right breed of chick to suit your requirements.

If you are wanting hens to lay eggs, then choose an egg laying breed. The most efficient and productive are commercial hybrids like the brown shavers or the hyline browns. The beauty about buying from a reputable breeder/hatchery is that you know you are purchasing a female chick that is designed to lay lots of eggs. Commercial hybrids can only be purchased as day old chicks or pullets. They are not available as hatching eggs (fertile eggs) to the public.
Day old brown shaver chicks and young brown shaver pullets are readily available from us.

If purchasing a heritage layer there are a few things to consider. Firstly, day old heritage chicks are sold unsexed so potentially half of the chicks you are purchasing could be male. The 50:50 ratio is only an indicator of the average over the season. From hatch to hatch it can vary. There is the possibility you may get 100% boys. The question is will you be able to cope with the boys once they grow up? It is best to have a plan in place on how you wish to deal with these boys once they start to crow. Most councils do not allow for roosters to be kept in urban areas for obvious reasons! Cock-a-doodle-doo! The options are either: to keep (crow collar?), cull and compost (to bury) or to eat or sell. Please note abandoning cockerels in a quiet roadside paddock or into forestry is against the law and cruel on the bird.

Secondly enquire about the productivity of the heritage line you are buying. Some lines have been bred only for looks for showing and the laying ability of the fowl has been reduced. It is also important to understand the difference between the laying ability of heritage and commercial hens.

Commercial hens will lay very well for app 2 years then production will start to decline beyond what is acceptable for most poultry keepers. It is only natural for all hens to lay less eggs as they age. Most backyard chook owners begin to feel that they reach a point where they are feeding out layer feed for little ‘egg’ return. Many chook owners have high expectations form their commercial hybrids and once production starts to fall back they believe it is time to cull or compost.

Heritage chickens are more seasonal layers they lay less eggs overall but take time out to moult and replenish reserves for the new lay season each year. This time out usually happens over autumn, so you will need to be prepared for little or no eggs over a 2 to 3-month period every year.

#3 The Right Heat

Either entrust your chicks to a broody hen and she will provide natural body heat to keep them warm.

Or if using artificial heat, choose between radiant heat (a heat emitter with a reflector) or a contact heat (comfort heat plate).

Which type of brooder is best: heat lamp or heat plate?

Using a Broody Hen to Hatch Her Own Clutch

Once your broody hen has hatched out her brood she will let you know when she is done, and this is usually when she vacates the nest with her young ones in tow in search of a feed and a drink. She will be a super-proud mum clucking and chortling away with her gorgeous new brood in tow!
If your hen (once called missing!) has been sitting out of sight on her eggs in the shrubbery or hidden in the woodpile or just hogging precious space in the layer house now is the time to move her and her young brood to a safe area. Scoop them up along with mum (she will most likely be protective and feisty!) and pop them in a safe and secure coop. We do not recommend shifting her prior to hatching as this sudden move to a new area can put her off her broody intentions. Always worth the wait to move her and make her secure once she has left her nest with her brood. Keep her in this safe coop for at least 4 weeks before you move her to a larger area or run.
Place plenty of shavings in the house (a dry and cosy place to be) and place a drinker with fresh water and feeder full of the correct feed in the run. Remember as you have a mother hen with chicks you will need to make sure the drinker is suitable for both an adult bird and chicks. This would need to be a straight sided drinker with a shallow trough for the water.

Placing Day Old Chicks Under a Broody Hen

If you have sourced day-old chicks from a breeder, hatchery or from ag day/calf club then most times these can be popped under your broody hen with good success. This will need to be done on day one (hatch day). A mother hen is less inclined to accept older chicks.
Make sure you have a hen that has gone broody for a while and has been sitting on fake or nest eggs for a couple of weeks. It is best to leave the hen sitting where she has chosen to nest and quietly slip your hand under her and remove the fake eggs. Then one at a time slip the day-old chicks below her. All going to plan she should settle on them and think she has hatched them. It is advisable to keep an eye on her and the new chicks for at least 24 hours to ensure she accepts them and none get abandoned and die of cold. Regular check ups even at night are advisable. It is always a good idea to be prepared just in case she abandons them and have a backup ready; a heat source set up in a box. 

For more information on raising day old chicks read our Raising Chick Guide here.