New to Your Home · Birds
Backyard Chick Care
Heat Lamps, Pasty Butt, and Feeding Ratios
Chicks arrive able to walk, peck and drink, so your job is the environment, not the feeding. 10 lessons on what precocial means for a backyard keeper, the 95 degree heat zone and reading huddling versus scattering, softening and clearing pasty butt safely, 18 to 20 percent starter crumble and what Amprolium does, marbles in the waterer against drowning, pecking order and the pull of red, micro chick grit from day 3 to 5, dropping heat 5 degrees a week, supervised outdoor hardening, and the look-but-don't-touch flock integration.
About this course
Chicks hatch with their eyes open and their legs working, which changes your job from feeder to environment manager. Lesson 1 explains what precocial means in practice. Lesson 2 sets up the brooder: a 95 degree spot under the lamp, a cool end at room temperature, and the huddle-or-scatter behavior that tells you which way to adjust. Lesson 3 is pasty butt, the dried plug over the vent that can kill a chick in a day or two, and the warm-cloth method that clears it without tearing skin. You'll choose an 18 to 20 percent starter crumble and understand what Amprolium is and isn't, then fix the waterer with marbles so nobody drowns. Lessons 6 and 7 cover the pecking order, why a drop of blood turns a flock on one chick, and the tiny granite grit that keeps a gizzard working. The last three lessons walk the chicks out of the brooder: 5 degrees less heat each week until they're feathered around week 6, supervised field trips on warm days from week 3 or 4, and the two-week see-but-don't-touch pen that gets them into the adult flock without a fight.
What you'll learn
- What precocial means in practice, and building a 95 degree brooder with a cool end
- Reading huddling versus scattering, and clearing pasty butt with a warm damp cloth
- Choosing 18 to 20 percent starter crumble and understanding medicated Amprolium feeds
- Marbles and moats against drowning, and stopping brooder bullying before blood draws a crowd
- Micro chick grit from day 3 to 5, and dropping heat 5 degrees a week
- Supervised outdoor hardening from week 3 to 4, then the two-week flock integration method
Who this is for
First-time backyard keepers with a box of day-old chicks arriving this week; homesteaders adding a second batch to an established flock; and anyone who found a chick with a dried plug over its vent this morning and wants to clear it without hurting the bird.
Course outline (10 modules)
Quiz & Certificate
Knowledge quiz
After completing all lessons, take a short quiz to test your understanding.
Go to quiz →Completion certificate
Pass the quiz and earn a shareable certificate of completion.
View certificate →Frequently asked questions
Ready to get started?
$9.99 · Lifetime access · 10 lessons