This is an "advanced level" article, covering some lessons that I learned about raising baby chicks which you won't find in books or in other "Raising Chicks 101" online articles. 

If you've read the entry level articles, you already know that chicks should be fed special chick food, that they should start out at 95-100 degrees which is lowered by 5 degrees a day, and that they need fresh water available at all times.  Those are the basics, and if you do nothing further, your chicks will grow up fine. 

LOCATION

On the one hand, you want your chicks to be relatively convenient, so that you can check on them easily.  On the other hand, they will be producing an appalling amount of noise, dust, and smells, so you don't want them right in your living area.  I live in a cabin with an open floor plan, so I had no choice but to plunk them right in the middle of everything.

A spare room, a heated garage, or even a closet would work well.  Just be sure that it isn't too stuffy, because chicks' respiratory systems are very sensitive.

WATER

During the weeks they are in the brood box, your chicks will tip over their waterer approximately once every 36 hours.  This will dump up to a liter of water into the brood box.  You have to clean the box immediately, because dampness breeds the coccidia disease. 

The dampness will also seep into the brood box, and through it onto the floor beneath.  Let's just say that my carpet will never be the same.  I recommend placing the brood box on a tarp, a drop cloth, or even a big black garbage bag. 

MESSY FOOD AND WATER

As a rule of thumb, the food and water dishes should be at the same height as your chicks' backs.  This means that as the chicks grow, you will want to gradually raise the feeder and waterer.  (I set mine on a series of incrementally larger plastic tubs.)  When the dishes are too low, the chicks will fling shavings into them, and even poop into them.

When poop (or shavings which might contain poop) get into the food or water, it has to be thrown away, and the container has to be washed with soap and hot water.  For this reason, I never filled either one with more than a day's supply. 

PERCHES

All of my books say that you can introduce perches at the fourth or fifth week.  I introduced small perches (sized to fit the chicks) on the third day, and they began using them immediately.

BEDDING

Don't use just newspaper for the first few weeks.  It's too slick, and the chicks can hurt themselves when their feet slide out from under them.  Shavings give them traction, and absorb moisture and poop.  And as your chickens grow, they give your chickens something to scratch in. 

I purchased a gigantic bale of wood shavings from the feed store.  For the first two weeks I laid down a layer of newspaper, then added about an inch of shavings.  I gradually reduced the amount of shavings over the third and fourth week.  By the end of the fourth week, I was using a layer of newspaper with just a few handfuls of shavings.

Note: DO NOT use cedar shavings.  The cedar fumes can harm your chicks.