Choosing your starting point shapes the entire arc of your flock. You have three realistic options: hatch your own eggs in an incubator, buy day-old chicks from a hatchery, or buy started pullets from a local farmer. Each has real strengths, and the right choice depends on your goals, time, infrastructure, and patience.
Whichever path you pick, the first six weeks in the brooder is where most new keepers lose birds. This Part covers all three paths and then walks through the brooder in detail — more chicks die from temperature errors than from disease, and almost every one of those deaths is preventable with the right setup.
Hatching Your Own
Hatching gives you full control over genetics, biosecurity, and the deep satisfaction of raising birds from day zero. It also means you need an incubator, a brooder set up before lockdown, and the stomach for the inevitable losses that come with it.
- Incubator: still-air or forced-air. Forced-air is more consistent for beginners. Target 99.5°F (37.5°C) and 50–55% humidity, rising to 65% at lockdown (day 18).
- Candling: candle eggs at days 7 and 14 to remove infertile or dead eggs. Prevents bacterial explosions in the incubator.
- Lockdown: day 18 — stop turning eggs, raise humidity to 65%, do not open until hatch is complete (around day 21).
- Brooder ready: have a brooder set up before lockdown. Chicks need to move there within 24 hours of hatching.
- Fertility: you need a rooster (or fertilized eggs from a hatchery/farm). Hatch rate from quality eggs: 75–85%.
If you want hatching without the equipment, there's a third way: let a broody hen do it for you. She handles temperature, humidity, turning, and chick education — all of it. See Part 2: Broody Hens.
Buying Day-Old Chicks from a Hatchery
Hatcheries ship day-old chicks (they can survive 72 hours on absorbed yolk). Best for larger quantities and breed selection.
- Reputable sources (Canada): Frey's Hatchery (ON), Meadow Creek Hatchery (BC), New Moon Farm (BC), Rochester Hatchery (AB).
- Vaccinations: request Marek's disease vaccine at hatch — almost always worth it. Ask about coccidiosis vaccine if you won't use medicated feed.
- Straight-run vs sexed: sexed chicks cost more but eliminate the rooster surplus problem. 90% accuracy is typical.
- Shipping stress: pick up ASAP. Dip each beak in water upon arrival. Offer electrolytes for 24 hours.
Buying Started Pullets from a Local Farmer
Started pullets (8–20 weeks) skip the brooder phase entirely and are the fastest path to eggs. They cost more per bird but are lower-risk for beginners. Ask the seller about feed history, any medications used, and flock disease history. This is the path we recommend for a first-time chicken keeper who doesn't want to navigate the brooder phase on the first try.
The Brooder — The First Six Weeks
The brooder is the most critical phase. More chicks die from temperature errors than disease. The rules are simple and non-negotiable: keep them warm, keep them dry, keep them fed, keep them watered, and keep them in a space big enough that they don't pile on each other.
Temperature
- Week 1: 95°F (35°C) directly under the heat source.
- Reduce by 5°F per week until chicks are fully feathered (around 6 weeks) or ambient temperature matches outside conditions.
- Read the chicks: piled under the lamp = too cold. Spread to the edges and panting = too hot. Active and spread evenly = just right. Trust the birds over the thermometer.
Heat sources
- Brooder plates (contact warmth) are safer than heat lamps — no fire risk, and they mimic the body heat of a mother hen.
- If you use bulbs, use red heat lamps to reduce pecking. Secure them aggressively — a dropped heat lamp starts barn fires.
Bedding
- Pine shavings, 2–4" deep. Never cedar — it's toxic to chicks.
- Change or add weekly. Paper towels for the first 3 days so chicks learn what food is.
Feed and water
- Chick starter, 18–22% protein (medicated or non-medicated, your call).
- Fresh water in shallow founts daily — add marbles to prevent drowning for the first week.
Space
- Minimum 0.5 sq ft per chick in the brooder. Crowding causes pasty butt and cannibalism.
Ready for a Hen to Do It for You?
Nothing beats a good broody hen. No incubator to plug in, no humidity gauges, no midnight checks. Part 2 covers how to read the signs of a committed broody, how to set her up step by step, and how to protect the chicks once they hatch. If you've got heritage-stock birds, you may already have a natural-born mother in your flock waiting for her chance.
The Homestead Chicken Course · Part 1 of 8