Most people think that eggs come from the store.

Well surprise! Not only do they NOT come from the store, but anyone with a little time and a little space can raise beautiful laying hens from day-old chicks. In about five months, you will be able to prepare a delicious omelette with your own eggs.

Guess how the chicks get to your doorstep? In the US mail! Yes, they really do. When chicks hatch in the incubator, the yolk of the egg they were in has been nourishing them during their incubation. Because of this stored feed, the chick does not need to eat right away and can be mailed to your door.

The maximum travel time should not exceed 48 hours from hatching to arrival at home. Most hatcheries ship only a specified distance to allow chicks to arrive safely.

When you pick up your chicks at the post office (go pick them up, don’t wait for the postman to bring them to you), take them home right away. Keep them warm. Remember, these are chicks! they are fragile

The ideal “chick nursery” consists of a draft-free area lined with sawdust or wood shavings, a heat lamp directed at the floor, a feeder, and a water source. (Your local produce store can help you with this. You’ll want to be sure to buy a chick starter, it comes in big bags.) These chicks know what they need to do to grow big and strong, but a little help from you doesn’t hurt!

Our best nursery was an old 100 gallon water tank that we lined with wood shavings. The sides are high and keep out drafts (killer for chicks), and the wood chip floor covering keeps chicks clean and sanitary. Every day add a thin layer of additional wood shavings, which will keep your chicks healthy. (Wood shavings absorb chick droppings and the resulting rotting action actually provides some gentle warmth from the floor.) A 100 gallon tank will allow you to add shavings for at least 3-4 weeks for about 25 chicks, by which time the chicks may be getting too big for the tank anyway!

Let’s go back to day 1, bring the chicks home. Have a heat lamp ready with a 100-200 watt bulb, positioned pointing downward. Remove the chicks from the shipping container and dip their beaks, one at a time, into the water and food. (Remember, they know what to do with food and water, but it helps them to see where you are.) Then let them go!

Chicks that have been shipped out can be a bit disoriented, and we have found that a little apple cider vinegar helps tremendously. Add a tablespoon of cider vinegar to a gallon of water to help settle their stomachs. Chickens thrive on it, and we have found it helpful to have access to vinegar water their entire lives. This will also prevent the chicks from pecking each other.

Add a couple of pinhead-sized handfuls of gravel and sand to the wood chips. Your chicks need gravel in their “crop,” the pouch inside their throat that serves as their “teeth.” You may have noticed that chickens do not chew their food. What they do is allow the food to travel to the crop, where they have a supply of gravel that grinds the food for them. You will see your chicks scratching in the dirt, looking for gravel and other goodies. This is normal and another sign that your chicks are healthy and happy.

You will need to monitor the heat lamp for the first few days. If the chicks are lying below, they are probably too cold. If they move away from it, they are probably too hot. They should be kept at about 95 degrees until they grow their feathers. Look at these. If you see the chicks walking in the light and stretching out a leg or wing and then moving away from the light, it’s probably in good shape. The optimal distance for the lamp to be from the bottom of the floor is when the chicks lie in a circle around the light of the lamp. You will be able to say it.

Make sure you leave the light on 24/7.

Another sign of happy and healthy chicks is the chirping sound they make. Not an anguished “Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!” sound, but a quiet, small, chatty chirping sound. You will be able to tell pretty quickly when you have happy chicks, because they will constantly make this sound. If you don’t hear anything, something is wrong with your babies. Check your heat, food and water. When they are happy, they will sing.

At about 3 weeks of age, the chicks will be fully feathered and will be able to withstand temperature differences quite well. You can transfer them out of the 100 gallon tank now. Some people will use a chicken coop, and others will make a cage with no bottom, but lined on the top and sides with chicken wire so predators can’t get inside. If you live in the country, your perky chicks will be highly attractive to local skunks, raccoons, opossums, foxes, owls, and other vermin. Protect them! Make sure nothing can trap your babies.

The dietary needs of your chicks change as they grow. We find that feeding a cafeteria-style buffet works best, with your choice of whole or cracked corn, whole grain oats, brewer’s yeast, and oyster shells. Whole grains prevent parasite problems. Make sure your chicks have access to fresh, green grass and plant material. They love to eat insects and vegetables!

Once your chicks are around three months old, they will look like adults. Although they are not. Give them a couple more months and start looking for fresh eggs. Hmm!