I was just like many other first-time chicken owners. It all began when I saw the large “Chick Days” sign in front of my local feed store, walked inside, and got drawn in by those tiny little chirps. I walked out of the store with my first ever carton of baby chicks, all depending on me, and I had no idea what I was doing. So, if you find yourself in my shoes anytime soon, you’ll want to see this important info for raising baby chicks that I wish I had seen before taking them home! Spoiler alert: All of my chickens are happy and healthy at nearly six months old now. I have learned so much from this journey, and you will too. You can do this!
Baby chicks grow MUCH faster than you think.
I honestly had no idea that they only stay looking like cute fluff balls for like a week. Within about 10 days of taking them home, their wings have turned into feathers instead of fluff. About 28 days after taking them home, they’re covered in feathers from head to tail, and they’re larger than your entire hand.
The chicks may need a larger brooder box than most online photos suggest.
I have seen so many cute Pinterest photos of small, adorable brooder boxes. Those small boxes may work for the first 1-2 weeks, but baby chicks grow so quickly, and they’ll outgrow those spaces before you know it! You don’t want to have to switch their brooder box after the first week, so make sure to account for this before you get those baby chicks home. I am so thankful that I just used a plastic tub that I already had as my brooder box to start with, because they outgrew it so quickly and I ended up thrifting a much larger box for them to finish out their time indoors before relocating outside!
Keeping baby chicks indoors is insanely messy.
It’s hard to imagine, but somehow baby chicks make their own dust. Using a low-dust bedding can help keep some of the dust at bay, but even without the bedding there will somehow be a layer of dust and fuzz on every surface in the room. This happens because the chicks lose their fur in order to gain their fast-growing feathers. The deep clean that’s required after the chicks move outdoors is lengthy, but worth it! If you’re keeping them in a carpeted area, I highly recommend washing your carpets with this easy-to-use carpet washer that works similar to a vacuum cleaner!
Baby chicks can get sick or have other ailments that you will need to tend to.
You may be surprised to find out that baby chicks can be high maintenance when it comes to their basic health. You have to watch for sickness, pasty butt, and a slew of other ailments that they may experience that will need your attention! Some of the issues are minor and easy to fix, but you cannot leave it unattended or it could be harmful or fatal to your little chicks.
Chicken math is real, but you may not have the space for it.
Once you buy your first batch of chicks on a whim, you may learn that there are other breeds that you didn’t get the first time that will lay different egg colors. So you will run up to your local feed store to get “just a few more chicks”, and before you know it you have 24 chicks in your house when you started with 8. Don’t ask me how I know. The problem is, you may not have the room for all of them, and like me you may desperately be trying to figure out which ones are roosters so you can get rid of those before they all outgrow your brooder. Just take this into account when you are collecting your chicks.
You will most likely end up with some roosters, even if you paid a premium for pullets.
I was shocked to find out that my odds of getting hens weren’t 100%, even when I paid extra for pullets! Here’s my average experience with the odds of getting a hen vs roo: 50% chance of getting a hen from the “pullets” box. 25% chance of getting a hen out of the “straightrun” box.
If they’re sexlinks, then the gender is easily determined by the color of the chick, and you can be fairly confident that you will end up with whichever gender that you purchased.
Baby chicks make constant noise, so consider this when choosing where you’ll set up their brooder.
Chirp, chirp, chirrrrrrp! They make constant noise, which is cute for about two days, but then it may start to grate on you if you’ve got them in the main area of your house when you spend all day. You’ll want to be prepared for this by having them in a room that doesn’t allow the sound to bounce or echo too much. I had them in my eat-in kitchen, and the sound just bounced through the entire house all day every day.
Your house may smell like a barn.
I was very excited for starting ‘the farm life’ when I got my chicks home! But within a week’s time, I couldn’t stop telling my husband “I love the farm life, but I just cannot wait for the farm life to be outside instead of inside!”. Every time we got home, the house reeked from the dirty chick bedding. And no matter how much I cleaned it, it still smelled up the entire house.
Check the “using vinegar” section of my post about making your house smell good naturally for tips on how I removed the smell from my home after I relocated the chicks outside.
You will need to clean the brooder box. Often.
Part of the reason you have to do this so often is because of the point above, how it smells the entire house up. Another reason is one that I learned the hard way. The chicks are very messy, and they splashed their water out of its water container often. The problem was, it started to mildew and I didn’t realize it. Mildew and mold growth inside the brooder can cause many health issues for you, your family, and the baby chicks! You’ll want to clean it out often to prevent these issues.
Conclusion: Is it worth raising baby chicks indoors?
I want to say it’s worth it, but you’ll never catch me raising baby chicks indoors again! I’m exclusively an outside farm girl from now on. The only way I’m raising baby chicks again is outside where the dust can float galore, the barn will smell like a barn instead of my house smelling that way, and the chicks can grow as fast as they want without me worrying about having enough space for them.
For me personally, the moral of the story is that it’s easiest to raise the baby chicks outside whenever possible. But, if they must be raised inside, then follow these tips below to give yourself the best experience possible.
Tips for Raising Baby Chicks Indoors
- Start with a big brooder box from the beginning, rather than having to scramble when the chicks are running out of space.
- Attempt to place the brooder in a mudroom or other area that can handle extra dust, smells, and constant noise.
- Clean their brooder box regularly to prevent or minimize smells and other issues.
- Make sure to check on the chicks very often! They may need a water refill (they somehow spill it or drain it even if it’s in a container designed for them). They may have pasty butt or other ailments that you will need to tend to.
