Food Garden Life Show: Helping You Harvest More from Your Edible Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Edible Landscaping

What do you Need to Raise Chicks?We’ve talked about backyard poultry here on the show before, but we’ve never explored raising chicks. Our guest today is Dr. Scott Gillingham from Guelph, Ontario. He’s a poultry veterinarian who works with big flocks. But he’s also a homesteader with his own small flock. Commercial scale and homestead scale agriculture are often in different silos. His passion is bridging the silos.We’ll hear about:* Crop fill* Brooding chambers* Preventative medicine* Comfort zones* Giving chicks the right temperature* Suitable feed for chicks“You become the hen and you have to understand the attributes of a hen and how to provide for and nourish that chick.”Observation is Very ImportantWe’ll also talk about something that is very useful tool when raising chicks: A 5-gallon bucket. Gillingham explains how he uses a simple bucket to sit on and observe what’s up. It works in big commercial barns; it works with small home flocks.He says that when chicks have everything they need you’ll see them eating, drinking, sleeping, and playing. If not — you’ll see huddling for warmth or with wings up trying to cool themselves.Book about How to Raise ChicksGillingham’s book is Raising Amazing Chicks: The First Seven Days.

Show Notes

What do you Need to Raise Chicks?
We’ve talked about backyard poultry here on the show before, but we’ve never explored raising chicks. 
Our guest today is Dr. Scott Gillingham from Guelph, Ontario. He’s a poultry veterinarian who works with big flocks. But he’s also a homesteader with his own small flock. 

Commercial scale and homestead scale agriculture are often in different silos. His passion is bridging the silos.

We’ll hear about:
  • Crop fill
  • Brooding chambers
  • Preventative medicine
  • Comfort zones
  • Giving chicks the right temperature
  • Suitable feed for chicks

“You become the hen and you have to understand the attributes of a hen and how to provide for and nourish that chick.”

Observation is Very Important
We’ll also talk about something that is very useful tool when raising chicks: A 5-gallon bucket. 

Gillingham explains how he uses a simple bucket to sit on and observe what’s up. It works in big commercial barns; it works with small home flocks.

He says that when chicks have everything they need you’ll see them eating, drinking, sleeping, and playing. If not — you’ll see huddling for warmth or with wings up trying to cool themselves.

Book about How to Raise Chicks
Gillingham’s book is Raising Amazing Chicks: The First Seven Days. 

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What is Food Garden Life Show: Helping You Harvest More from Your Edible Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Edible Landscaping?

Want to grow your own food but need creative ideas so you can get the most from your space and your growing zone? Our passion is the edible garden.

We help people grow food on balconies, in backyards, and beyond—whether it’s edible landscaping, a vegetable garden, container gardens, or a home orchard.

There are many ways to approach edible landscaping. Find out how to harvest enough fruit, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. Get top tips for exotic crops. And learn how to garden in a way that suits any situation.

Host Steven Biggs was recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the “green gang” making a difference in Canadian horticulture. His home-garden experiments span driveway straw-bale gardens, a rooftop kitchen garden, fruit plantings, and an edible-themed front yard. He's a horticulturist, award-winning broadcaster and author, and former horticulture instructor with George Brown and Durham Colleges in Ontario, Canada.

Get started with one of our fan favourites. Season 6, Episode 10: Big Harvests from a Small Space with a Vertical Vegetable Garden.