Setting up your Brooder for Baby Chicks

Your home from the farm store and it’s time to get busy setting up your brooder for baby chicks. If you don’t have a broody hen, chicks need a brooder – a heated house of some sort. There are many options for a brooder and you probably have something in the garage or shed that will work.

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What can you use for a brooder for baby chicks?

A brooder is temporary. The chicks only need to be in there for six to eight weeks. I’ve seen aquariums, plastic tote bins/tubs, dog crates, and kiddie pools used. A lid isn’t necessary at first, but I would highly recommend some type of wire cover or mesh screen. This serves two purposes. It will keep the chicks from jumping out when they get a little bigger plus act as a barrier for the heat lamp if you choose to use one.

Make sure to secure your heating solution! I’ve read horror stories of the heat lamp falling and catching the bedding on fire. 

We used an old guinea pig cage. Our daughter loves animals. We’ve had mice, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, and fish. If she had her way, we would have sheep and horses too. 

The old guinea pig cage was a perfect solution. We really lucked out.

How big does the brooder for baby chicks need to be?

The brooder needs to be big enough for the chicks to stay in for six to eight weeks. It’s recommended to have six inches per chick for the first two weeks then 1 square foot per chick until they move to the coop.

My husband, Herb, purchased four chicks from our local feed store. If you didn’t read my first blog on how this came about, you can read it here.

You want to keep the brooder somewhere away from other pets and where you can supervise young children. We placed ours on our dining room table and attached the heat lamp to the chandelier. 

What temperature should I keep the brooder at?

The temperature in your brooder should be 95 degrees Fahrenheit for their first week of life. Place a thermometer in the brooder so you can monitor the temp. Place it close to the bottom where the chicks are running around.

When chicks are cold, they will huddle together or pile on top of each other trying to stay warm. If this happens, the heat lamp may need to be placed closer to them.

When too hot, they will move away from it. Make sure they have a place to get away by placing the heat lamp on one side of the brooder. Chicks can die from overheating.

Each week you will raise the heat lamp a few inches to decrease the temperature by 5 degrees.

There are several options for a heat source. We’ve used a heat lamp with a red bulb or you can also use a 100-watt bulb. As I said earlier, many people lose their entire flock due to heat lamps. Because of the fire risk, I’ve read where people have used hot water bottles. However, a lot of people are moving towards the Eco-Glow Brooder. It’s a metal heat plate that provides ambient heat where chicks can get under when needed.

Bedding in your brooder for baby chicks.

After a recommendation from the store clerk, we purchased bedding pellets. I didn’t really like them. The babies would spill their water and it expanded creating quite a mess. They are supposed to be absorbent (which I guess they are) but it just wasn’t working for me.

A little more research and I found several other bedding options.

• Pine shavings
• Cedar shavings
• Shredded paper

There are many opinions on what type of bedding to use. Each one has pros and cons.

The oils in cedar shavings are thought to be toxic to chicks, although there are no formal studies on it. Cedar does repel some insects but for me, why risk it. The shredded paper option seems strange. I know newspaper isn’t recommended if it’s slick due to the risk of spraddle leg.

So, I choose pine shavings because I like the way they smell (not very scientific), plus it’s readily available and an inexpensive option.

You want to have 2-3 inches of bedding in the bottom. This helps absorb the moisture from the poop. 

Feeder

We purchased the small round chick feeder. Chicks need 2 inches of feeder space per chick. I nearly purchased the larger one but glad I didn’t. As the chicks grew, they began to sit on top of it and inevitably pooped in it. I think I’d have wasted more feed with a larger one. 

You want to clean out frequently. After the first week, we placed it on a small 2×4 to elevate it and try to keep the chicks from scratching their bedding in it. This helped some. 

The small feeder can also be used in your sickbay when your chickens get bigger. At some point, everyone’s chickens will get sick or injured so it’s great to have something on hand.

Waterer

Again, we purchased the small chick size. If you decide on the larger waterer, it’s a great idea to put marbles or small rocks in the bottom. This will help prevent the babies from falling in and drowning. 

If you purchased from the feed store the babies should be eating and drinking without any help. I still dunked the beak in the water to make sure they knew where it was. 

Field Trip

A few days later, I decided to take them outside on a field trip. My husband constructed a small run with some temporary fencing. It was sunny and 80 degrees but I was still afraid it may be too cool for them. They ran around exploring everything and were already scratching for bugs.

I was a nervous Mother Hen so after 20 minutes I took them back inside. We did this every day after school when my daughter got home, extending the time each day. This allowed them to stretch their wings plus gave me time to clean the cage. It’s not necessary to replace all the bedding. Just remove any that is soiled. I used a cat litter scooper.

Once I brought them back in, they face-planted in their brooder. The sweet things were so exhausted. It reminded me of when my children were little and would fall asleep eating. Just too tired to continue. This is normal chick behavior so try not to freak out when you first see it. 

We’ve got the first two weeks under our belt and all the girls are doing well and thriving. My husband is working on the hen house, which the girls are going to need sooner than later. They are growing so quickly. 

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