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Step 1
Read Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. This simple guidebook is available from Murray McMurray Hatchery and other online sites, including Amazon.com.
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Step 2
Choose and order your chicks online. Go to the Murray McMurray Hatchery and look through the catalog of birds. Note the shipment dates and decide when you want the birds. Choose your favorite type of bird after reading the breed description and assessing your birds' purpose. For example, there is a brown layer collection for those who want eggs and a good heavy chicken assortment for those looking for meat birds.
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Step 3
Prepare your cages for the young chicks. Chicks need a heat lamp to stay warm during the first weeks of their lives. Include a water system. Depending on the size of your brood, you may need several waterers. A one-gallon water system will sustain 50 birds.
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Step 4
Purchase chicken feed. Use commercial chick starter for the first two months; you'll need one two-foot feeder for every 25 birds. When you buy chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery, you can also buy the necessary poultry equipment.
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Step 5
Pick up the chicks from the post office immediately upon delivery if they are not brought directly to your door. It is important to get them out of the shipping box and into their new environment as soon as is possible, so that they can drink water to recover from the trip.
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Step 6
Add three tablespoons of sugar to each gallon of water for the first two days you have your chicks, to help them recover from the trip. Also add QuickChick, a combination of electrolytes and vitamins, to their water from the start. Before releasing each chick into the cage, dip its beak in the water. This encourages it to find more.
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Step 7
Raise the chicks according to your guidebook, changing their environment as needed as they grow. Enjoy your animals.
