What to Look for When Buying Baby Chicks

Are you thinking about getting backyard chickens? More people have backyard chickens now than ever before. If you are new to purchasing chickens, there are a few things you should look for when buying baby chicks. 

What should you look for when buying baby chicks? 

Sleeping chicks are okay but once awake look for these things: 

Make sure they are active.

The majority of the chickens at the retail store are shipped from hatcheries. This can take several days and is hard on the chicks. Pay attention to how they are acting. If they are active, running around, chirping, eating, and drinking, this is a good sign. If they are off in the corner by themselves, they could be sick. Also, if they are standing and swaying, this could indicate a more serious problem. 

Next check their legs.

Many chicks can develop spraddle leg or splay leg. Chickens need strong legs to get away from predators and forage for bugs plus chickens that have difficulty getting around will be more susceptible to being picked on by the rest of the flock. These little balls of fluff can be mean to each other.  Splay leg can be corrected if caught early. 

Now their beaks.

You want to make sure the beak isn’t crossed or broken. A crossed beak or scissor beak chicks have a hard time picking up feed and drinking water. Chickens also use them to groom and explore. They can thrive but will require special attention. 

Broken beaks could be from an injury or possibly from beak trimming. If it’s not broken too far back, it should grow back within six weeks. You will need to watch the bird and make sure it’s getting enough to eat. 

Before getting Hazel, her beak was trimmed (too low) and it never grew back. Many people trim beaks to help illuminate pecking order injuries, which usually occurs from overcrowding. If you improve the conditions of your flock, you shouldn’t need to do this. 

Now the eyes.

You want to make sure the eyes are bright and not dull. If you see dull eyes, you will know it. Their eyes should not be runny or crusted over. This could indicate an upper respiratory illness. Any illness in a flock spreads quickly.

Finally, check the butt.

Baby chicks are susceptible to pasty butt. It’s a common illness caused by stress and changes in temperature. Remember, these chicks probably traveled a long way to get to the feed store. Pasty butt is treatable but you need to be vigilant about checking the chicks. It can cause a blockage and your chicks will die. 

Important to know that even if your chick is not experiencing pasty butt at the time you purchase, you need to still check several times a day. Changes in their environment are stressful. Be sure and check out my blog post for more info. 

Lastly, if you are wanting laying hens, you need to purchase pullets and not straight run chickens. Straight run chicks are not sexed at birth so you could end up with all roosters. If you live in the city as we do, roosters may not be allowed. You’ll end up having to rehome and he could possibly end up as someone’s dinner. 

So now you know what to look for when buying baby chicks. I’m excited about your new adventure. They are so much fun and quite adorable. You will need a brooder set up to keep them in until they can transition to the coop, which is usually between six and eight weeks. 

Be sure and check out my beginner’s guide on raising baby chicks. 

Good luck on your new adventure. I’m happy to answer any questions, just let me know.

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