Baby steps

Think once your new chicks have hatched your job is done? Not so, says Andy Cawthray, who advises what to do during the ‘nursery’ stage

- Andy Cawthray

When it comes to rearing chicks there are definitely two ends to the spectrum. If you used a broody hen to hatch the chicks then this would be a very brief instruction because, short of ensuring that there is the correct feed available and a drinker that is accessible to the chicks, the mother hen will pretty much take care of everything else. She'll keep them warm at night, protect them during the day and ensure that they learn how to forage and what's good to eat.

It’s fascinating to watch a hen with her crèche of chicks as she goes about rearing them. She will continue to tend to them for around six to eight weeks, by which point they start to become increasingly independent and capable of fending for themselves. She will then often ‘return to lay’ and may even set about rearing another batch of chicks. Nothing could be simpler for the backyard breeder.

If, however, you hatched your chicks using an incubator then that level of attentiveness and dependency falls on your shoulders for the months to come.

Last month we looked at the costs and considerations that need to be thought about when embarking on hatching some chicks of your own, but if you’ve managed to square all that and have started saving for your first incubator then here are a few more things to ready yourself for.