Thinking About Buying Chicks During Chick Days? Here's What No One Tells You...
Every spring, backyard poultry buzz starts around chick supplies — especially during Chick Days at Tractor Supply — when stores across the U.S. stock baby chicks, ducklings, and other poultry for folks starting or expanding their flocks.
It’s easy to get swept up in the cuteness. Tiny chicks chirping in their bins, customers picking up boxes of “just four” baby chicks, and hopeful dreams of fresh eggs and backyard paradise — it’s adorable. But here’s the truth:
1) Raising chicks takes work
Chicks aren’t toys — they’re living animals that need:
A warm brooder (their first home)
Constant clean water
Proper chick starter feed
Bedding you’ll change again and again.
Water is crucial. New chicks can dehydrate fast, and many first-time keepers underestimate how quickly water gets dirtied by bedding or tipped under heat lamps.
2) They grow fast
What fits them as fluffballs at 1–3 days old won’t fit them in a few weeks — they’ll soon need pullet space, a coop, and waterers that can handle larger birds.
3) Chick Days brings newcomers and impulse buys
Because of that, many chicks get sold to folks who aren’t ready for long-term care — which leads to stress, losses, or birds given away later. That’s a real part of backyard chicken ownership not shown in the cute photos.
4) You can succeed — if you prepare
The basics for chick care include:
Brooder (warm and draft-free)
Heat source (lamp or radiant plate)
Bedding
Feed and clean accessible water
Getting those right from day one increases survival and reduces daily hassles.
The smart approach: scale your gear with your birds
One common mistake is buying temporary chick dishes that get thrown away later. A better strategy is to choose supplies that work throughout growth — from chicks to adults.
💧 For example, a Chicken Fountain can serve:
tiny chicks,
growing pullets,
and full-grown hens/roosters
all with the same water system.
That reduces repeated purchases and keeps water cleaner for longer — a big help for new chicken keepers.
👉 Learn more about a long-term watering solution: Check out the Chicken Fountain