{"id":1833,"date":"2026-10-12T13:39:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T13:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/?p=1833"},"modified":"2026-10-12T13:39:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T13:39:49","slug":"best-supplies-for-new-chicken-keepers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/best-supplies-for-new-chicken-keepers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Supplies for New Chicken Keepers (An Honest List)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My first flock was three Buff Orpington chicks from Tractor Supply, a prefab coop that looked sturdy in the store, and a shopping cart full of things I didn&#8217;t need. I bought a treat dispenser shaped like a rooster. I bought a feeder that dumped half its contents on the ground by Thursday. I did not buy hardware cloth, and a hawk took one of those chicks in week six.<\/p>\n<p>Six years and about thirty neighbors&#8217; first flocks later, I can tell you which supplies earn their place and which ones just fill the garage. If you&#8217;re planning to order chicks for spring, now is a good time to sort the list, because the supplies you can buy this month are the ones you won&#8217;t be hunting for with peeping chicks in a box on the kitchen floor.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll also tell you what I haven&#8217;t linked below, and why. A few of the things you need I either buy locally or haven&#8217;t settled on a favorite yet, and I&#8217;d rather say so than point you at something I don&#8217;t stand behind.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"cmg-supplies\"><p class=\"cmg-supplies__title\">The short list I&#039;d start with<\/p><div class=\"cmg-supplies__body\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B016AO5GAI?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nipple-and-cup poultry waterer<\/a> \u2014 water stays clean, so there&#8217;s less to scrub and fewer sick birds<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B00EORGCXY?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galvanized double-wall fount (3-gal)<\/a> \u2014 the backup and the winter workhorse; it takes a heated base<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B075SP4X2W?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hemp bedding<\/a> \u2014 absorbent, low-dust, and it composts well<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B00GRTA6AC?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Electrolytes (OTC)<\/a> \u2014 for shipping stress and hot days, from the first-aid shelf<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B000HHQDPM?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Heated waterer base<\/a> \u2014 only if your winters freeze, and only under a metal fount<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><\/aside>\n<h2>Water comes first<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/best-supplies-for-new-chicken-keepers-02-water.jpg\" alt=\"The Best Supplies for New Chicken Keepers (An Honest List) \u2014 water\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>If I could only fix one thing for a new keeper, it would be water. Chickens drink a lot, they foul an open dish within the hour, and dirty water is behind more flock trouble than people expect.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B016AO5GAI?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nipple-and-cup waterer<\/a> is the one I&#8217;d buy first. The birds peck a little cup to get a drink, the water stays out of the shavings and away from the droppings, and I&#8217;ve gone from scrubbing a waterer every day to doing it about once a week. The honest downside is training. Some birds take to it in an afternoon, and a few stubborn ones stand there looking at me for two days. I tap the cup with my finger and they catch on. It also asks a little more of you in a hard freeze, which I walk through in <a href=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/nipple-waterer-vs-galvanized-fount-for-winter\">nipple waterer vs. galvanized fount for winter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s where the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B00EORGCXY?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">galvanized double-wall fount<\/a> earns its spot. It holds three gallons, it doesn&#8217;t crack in the sun, and it&#8217;s metal, which matters because a metal fount can sit on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B000HHQDPM?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">heated base<\/a> and a plastic one can warp. I&#8217;ll say it plainly: if you live somewhere that doesn&#8217;t freeze, skip the base. Knoxville freezes often enough that I bought mine my second winter and haven&#8217;t cracked ice since. My summer notes are in <a href=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/best-chicken-waterers-summer\">best chicken waterers for summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Bedding that doesn&#8217;t fight you<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/best-supplies-for-new-chicken-keepers-03-bedding.jpg\" alt=\"The Best Supplies for New Chicken Keepers (An Honest List) \u2014 bedding\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>I&#8217;ve tried pine shavings, straw, and a few other things in my coop. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B075SP4X2W?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hemp bedding<\/a> is what I settled on. It soaks up more than shavings do, it&#8217;s far less dusty, which is easier on your lungs and the birds&#8217;, and a bag goes a long way. It also breaks down quickly in the compost pile, which my garden appreciates. I wrote up how I use it in <a href=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/how-to-use-hemp-bedding-for-a-warmer-winter-coop\">hemp bedding for a warmer winter coop<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The catch is that it isn&#8217;t the cheapest option at the feed store, and it can be harder to find locally. If your budget is tight, pine shavings are fine. Just never use cedar. The oils are rough on a bird&#8217;s lungs.<\/p>\n<h2>The first-aid shelf<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/best-supplies-for-new-chicken-keepers-04-firstaid.jpg\" alt=\"The Best Supplies for New Chicken Keepers (An Honest List) \u2014 firstaid\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Keep a small first-aid kit before you need it. For a new keeper, I&#8217;d start with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B00GRTA6AC?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">electrolytes<\/a>, which are an over-the-counter product and the one thing I reach for when chicks arrive stressed from shipping or the girls are panting in July. Follow the directions on the label. I&#8217;m not going to tell you how much to give, because I&#8217;m not a vet, and your birds&#8217; situation is your own.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t link medications here. Anything stronger than electrolytes and a wound spray is a call to a chicken-savvy vet or your county extension office, and I&#8217;d rather you have that number saved than an Amazon cart. My full list is in <a href=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/chicken-first-aid-kit-essentials-otc\">chicken first-aid kit essentials<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>What I didn&#8217;t link, and why<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/best-supplies-for-new-chicken-keepers-05-skip.jpg\" alt=\"The Best Supplies for New Chicken Keepers (An Honest List) \u2014 skip\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Hardware cloth.<\/strong> This is the one that matters most, and I buy it locally by the roll at a farm-supply store so I can see the gauge. It must be hardware cloth, with a half-inch weave, not chicken wire. A raccoon will peel chicken wire like a banana. I explain it at length in <a href=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/predator-proofing-the-run-hardware-cloth\">predator-proofing the run with hardware cloth<\/a>, and I&#8217;d put it above everything else on this list.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Feeders and feed.<\/strong> I haven&#8217;t settled on a feeder I&#8217;d put my name to, and feed is better bought fresh from a local store. Layer feed doesn&#8217;t go in the cart until the girls are around eighteen weeks old, and chick starter before that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The coop.<\/strong> A coop is a whole decision of its own, and I&#8217;ve seen good ones built and bought. Whichever you choose, the lock matters more than the paint. Use a cam-lock latch that a raccoon&#8217;s hands can&#8217;t figure out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A brooder lamp.<\/strong> Skip anything that hangs from a cord over a bed of shavings. I raised my last batch without one and wrote about it in <a href=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/raising-chicks-without-a-heat-lamp\">raising chicks without a heat lamp<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Where to spend and where to save<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/best-supplies-for-new-chicken-keepers-06-spend.jpg\" alt=\"The Best Supplies for New Chicken Keepers (An Honest List) \u2014 spend\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Spend on water, predator-proofing, and a coop latch that actually works. Save on everything decorative, and on anything shaped like a rooster.<\/p>\n<p>And be honest with yourself about cost. Between the coop, the run, the birds, feed, and gear, a first flock costs real money, and the eggs will not beat the grocery store on price for the first year and a half. People keep chickens for the fresh eggs, the garden compost, and the quiet pleasure of a hen scratching in the yard at dusk, not for savings. If you&#8217;re still deciding which birds to start with, my notes on <a href=\"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/best-chicken-breeds-for-small-backyards\">chicken breeds for small backyards<\/a> are a good next stop.<\/p>\n<p>I go a lot deeper on all of this, from the first week of chicks to the first egg, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0H2LN9Q9L?tag=almanachouse-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Raising Backyard Chickens for Beginners<\/em><\/a>. The supplies are the easy part. Knowing your birds is the real work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The chicken keeping starter supplies I&#8217;d actually buy for a first flock, what I&#8217;d skip, and what to get locally. An honest list from a Tennessee keeper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-1833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-backyard-chickens","tag-affiliate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1868,"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833\/revisions\/1868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/confluencemediagroup.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}