Chick days are here
Springtime is just around the corner and that means baby chicks will be showing up in feed stores across the USA. As a country girl, I already know that the chicks are not meant to be pets and are not intended for city or suburban life. That does not seem to stop people from protesting the sale of those chicks, thinking that they are an Easter sale gimmick.
Baby chicks need special care for the first 6 weeks of their life. They cannot maintain body temperature without a heat source. A heat lamp made just for poultry is the usual source of heat for the chicks.
Another need for the chicks is a special formulated food, known as chick starter.
If the young chick was not sexed (the gender of the chick is determined as a day old chick) then by the end of the six weeks you would know what gender you had, a rooster or a hen.
Chickens do make great pets provided you have the property for them. We have a pet rooster who hangs around my daughter when she cleans the stalls or is allowed in the house and follows her around. He also perches on her shoulder. She hand raised him from when he was a few days old. He is about a year old now. We have had chickens for about 10+ years now.
