Building a Chicken Coop for Chicks

How to select chicks for your chicken coop

Building a chicken coop for chicks and raising your own chickens can be one of the most rewarding projects you can do. By creating a well-planned coop you will give your chicks a head start to grow and remain healthy.

Get plans for building a Backyard Chicken Coop here.

Starting with healthy chicks is the key to your brood's success. First, select a good resource for buying chicks. Use local resources and a reputable breeder to get the specific breed of chicks you want.

If you purchase chicks from a commercial hatchery, request the chicks have been vaccinated for Marek's disease, a fatal disease in chickens. Any reputable chicken breeder will have administered the vaccination soon after the chicks are born. This will ensure your chicks survive and do well.

Selecting your chicks can be a fun and educational process. When faced with a large pen of identical looking chicks, make the choice easier on yourself by sticking to a few guidelines.

This will insure you buy healthy chicks that will continue to grow into healthy hens. Building a chicken coop for chicks takes a little extra planning, but it's easy to do.

1. Start by looking for healthy chicks. When you are making your selection, look for active movements, bright eyes and strong voices. Young chicks will sleep a lot during the day. Look for chicks who move about and are eating and drinking or chirping. A sick chick will often be puffed up and have a drooping head. Although it's hard, avoid trying to 'save' these chicks as they will most likely die soon after you have purchased them.

2. Check for similar size amoung the chicks you chose. This will ensure the chicks will gain weight equally and develop well.

3. Check the chicks beaks for any discharge. This is a sign of a sick chick that probably won't recover after you buy it. Also, you can check the tail area for a waxy substance called 'pasty butt'. This is also a sign of a sick chick that won't do well in your brood.

Buy using these steps you will make sure your chickens have a good head start and stay healthy for life. Make a good investment at the start in healthy chicks purchased from a reputable chicken dealer or commercial hatchery. You will be glad you spent the extra effort and will avoid common disease and sickness in chicks. 

Here are the plans I settled on: 

They really worked for me and I got the chicken coop I wanted within my budget and my building skills. I highly recommend you check out Building a Chicken Coop.

Building a Chicken Coop is the ultimate guide to planning and building your own coop in your backyard. In includes drafts of plans, dimensions, materials lists and sources to everything you need to build a sustainable chicken coop.