We did it. Brian & I are chick parents, and they’re adorable little fuzz balls. Here’s a short video of them at 3 days old. (Listen close for their tiny peep noises – too cute!)

Their coop is still under construction, but they will be living in our house in a cardboard box for a few more weeks, enjoying a heat lamp. It’s too cold outside for them right now.

Ingredients for New Chick Parents

Here are the essentials to create happy chicks in a box:

• wood chips or straw
• water container
• food container
• chick starter feed
• heat lamp
• chicks
• a box

Here’s our setup in action. It’s pretty simple but effective.

Sleeping or Dead?

Each morning, before I even pee or make a pot of coffee, I check the box to make sure I still have the right number of babies and they’re all still alive. (I can only assume all mothers do this.)

I’ve discovered the chicks like to play a game I call, “sleeping or dead?” So far, it’s been sleeping every time, but I’ll let you be the judge. Who says chickens don’t have a sense of humor?

And here’s another. Dead or sleeping?

Maximum Chick Comfort

As good chick parents, Brian & I have been trying to learn their personalities and figure out how to give them a better box environment. The wood chips we bought are pretty big; we were concerned the chips were uncomfortable on their tiny feet, so we decided to conduct an experiment.

I laid an old t-shirt down in part of the box to see if the chicks preferred to walk/sleep on the shirt rather than the wood chips. Turns out, chicks really don’t give a cluck.

Everyone Loves Baby Chicks

Here are a few more “awwwwww” worthy pictures of fuzzy 3-day-old chicks. Please enjoy for now, and there will definitely be more to come!