The Difference Between Store Bought Chicks and Home Raised Chicks

In this video I will show you the difference in activity levels of store bought chicks and home raised chicks. Chicks from stores are usually kept in small crowded stock tanks with a very warm bright light on and an endless food dispenser. Chicks need a natural light cycle to develop properly. One things people don't consider on their brooder lights is that they are keeping a light source on 24/7 which destroys the circadian ryhthm and hormone regulation.

Your circadian rhythm is a 24-hour biological cycle characterized by sleep-wake patterns. Daylight and darkness help dictate your circadian rhythm. Light exposure stops the release of melatonin, and in turn, this helps control your circadian rhythms. This is true for chicks, humans, or any other creature with a pineal gland. When we are exposed to light pollution, especially on a 24/7 basis, it severely disrupts our hormone levels.

This is why I use a ceramic bulb which only produces heat and no light. They are relatively inexpesive too at around $12 for a 100W bulb. This should be sufficient for small clutches of chicks.

Most chicks at stores are fed the cheapest chick food available which is often made from ground corn and may contain medication. I use a mix of chia, flax, milo, and millet seeds which are high in proteins, fats, carbs, fiber, vitamins and minerals. You can see my chicks have developed their wing feathers much more than these store bought chicks. The store bought chicks are also much heavier for their age than the home raised.

Feeding your chicks from a feeder also encourages them to be lazy. I throw their food on top of the hay and they love scratching away to find the food. This is how chickens naturally find their food and will encourage them to forage. Have you ever noticed chickens spilling their food or hiding it under the bedding? This is perfectly normal because they'd rather "find" it than just eat out of a feeder.

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Interesting. I used to use heat lamps for the chicks, but the last couple of years swapped to using a heat table. Although I have to be honest I hadn't thought about the 24/7 light issue. Just luck!

How have you found the heat table? I'm thinking of investing in one myself.

Really interesting. I haven't actually thought about this - my chicks normally just had a red heat light that's on continuously. I've not had any problems BUT I haven't got anything to compare it against.

When the hatching season starts next year I might well give this a go as it seems a more natural way to rear them. I expect it also helps them transition away from the brooder to the outside coop too because they're used to 24hr fluctuations in light etc.

Very informative! I had not thought about the constant light from a heat lamp interrupting their sleep patterns. I always feel sorry for the baby chicks shipped in the mail and then placed in troughs for people to purchase around Easter every year.🐓

I still have a standard bulb, but I recently put a box in so they could get away from the heat and light if they want. I've found they've feathered up so much quicker doing this and as they're indoors I can turn the light off at night after about a week, just covering their box over with a thin sheet to keep the warmth in. I was able to put my last lot out at 3 weeks old with the warmer weather arriving.

I'm now hoping to see a mother hen at work for the first time. The eggs are due to hatch this weekend, but I don't know how mum will go.

I think the store keeper/businessman do it with 100% business mentality ,means quick profit. Those those chicks are raised for flesh only, they are getting quick money as you have mentioned that they are heavier than yours.

Yes, the poultry industry is only concerned about profits and this is how they teach people to raise them.

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its so cute :) thnks friend

The video is very good. The chicken's children are beautiful.

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Wow such a huge difference. Just goes to show the damage that is done with these light. I never like pet shops but this just further my dislike thanks for sharing.