Homemade Brooder Box Ideas

If you don't have a hen to do the brooding, you can improvise and do the caretaking yourself. Setting up a homemade brooder involves a minimum of supplies to keep the baby chicks warm, fed and safe. If you have a small number of chicks, it is best to set up the brooder inside the house rather than a barn. This is the safest and easiest location as the babies require quite a bit of supervision and cleaning.

  1. Cardboard Box

    • Purchase a cardboard box from a supply or mailing store. Use a leftover box from a previous purchase as cardboard brooders are the simplest and most convenient to use. Fold over or remove the flaps from one side of the box. Allow around 6 square inches per chick depending on the breed. Choose a box for small hatches and for ease of cleaning as the boxes are light and practical for moving around to various locations. Recycle the box at a local center when the chicks have grown.

    Plastic Containers

    • Use or purchase large plastic containers. Remove the lids or cut out the center of the lid. Hot glue a screen to the remaining edges. Wash the plastic containers with soap and water for cleaning, as these are the easiest brooders to clean thoroughly. Add paper towels to the floor of the box before putting in the chicks since the plastic floor is slippery and can injure chicks. Add paper towels under shavings as well to ensure a firm footing.

    Cardboard Ring

    • Purchase a strip of cardboard and bend it into a ring, called a "chick corral." Chick corrals are available for purchase from feed stores and poultry supply merchants. Make sure there are no gaps in the seam. Use newspaper, paper towels, cardboard or thick paper as the floor of the brooder. Be sure to tape, glue or seal any gaps between the wall and the floor of this ring brooder. Chicks can catch a foot or a head in a gap and injure themselves or suffocate.

    Plywood Frame

    • Cut plywood to make a brooder box. Screw the sides together. Cut a piece of plywood for the brooder's floor and screw that to the box. Be sure there are no sharp edges, splinters or gaps that the chicks can catch a toe or head in. Choose this type of brooder for multiple hatches as it is sturdy and reusable. Select different lengths of plywood to adjust the brooder to the needed size, but large boxes of this type are quite heavy. Consider the storage and weight issues of this type of brooder, as it may be too heavy or complicated to construct for "one-time" chick raising or small hatches.

    Amenities

    • Set up the heat source, such as a bulb or heat lamp. Use great caution with heat lamps or bulbs as they can cause fires. Add the feeders and chick waterers. Use paper towels for non-slip footing, or provide wood shavings (switch to wood shavings only after the first week). Prepare screen covers for the chicks as they will begin to try jumping out of their brooder. Use sturdy screens if there are household pets that are predators (never allow pets, such as dogs or cats, near chicks unsupervised).