How to Brood a Chicken

Hens provide heat for their chicks by keeping them close to their bodies during the critical stage of early development. As many commercial and hobbyist farmers purchase chicks from farm suppliers, the young chickens cannot obtain the warmth needed for safety and growth from their mothers. The process of brooding involves establishing a protected area with a strong heat source to substitute for the mother's body heat. Brooding chicks is an important process for guaranteeing that young chickens make it safely and healthfully to adulthood.

Things You'll Need

  • Brooder box
  • Newspaper or paper towels
  • Wood chips
  • Shielded lamp
  • Feeders
  • Waterers
  • Thermometer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Purchase or build a brooder box. This box should have a non-slip floor so that the chicks can walk safely around it. Use a cardboard box or plastic baby pool, or build your own from wood. The walls should by high enough to protect the chicks from drafts and to confine them inside the box.

    • 2

      Place the brooder box in a safe, sheltered area that is in proximity to an electric supply. The location should be such to ensure that the brooder lamp and the chicks will not get wet. Again, keep the brooder box away from drafts. If you are setting the brooder box up outside, avoid doing it in an area easily accessible to predators.

    • 3

      Line the bottom of the brooder box with newspapers or paper towels. Replace the newspapers or paper towels with wood chips, if you want, after the first few weeks, once the chicks have learned to eat from the feeder. This precaution helps ensure the chicks will not have a chance of mistaking the wood chips for food.

    • 4

      Hang a shielded lamp above the brooder box so that there is a concentrated circle of light in the middle. Allow the lamp to warm up the box for a few hours, then take the temperature in the circle of light. Adjust the height of the lamp to achieve a temperature of 95 degrees by raising or lowering it. There should be some parts of the brooder box that are not heated to allow the chicks to move from warm to cooler areas.

    • 5

      Place water bottles and feeders into the brooder box, then introduce the chicks to their new home. When the chicks need warmth, they will sit along the outside perimeter of the light circle.

    • 6

      Elevate the lamp slightly once a week so that the temperature is lowered by five degrees. Monitor the chicks' behavior and adjust the lamp and location of the brooder box accordingly. For instance, if the chicks stay at the outside perimeter of the brooder box, the heat source is too hot. If the chicks tend to huddle in one corner of the box, there is a draft, which can be remedied by placing the box in a more sheltered location.

    • 7

      Keep the chicks in the brooder box for the first five weeks of their lives. Keep the bottom clean by replacing the paper towels, newspapers or wood chips as they become soiled. Provide the chicks with plenty of food and water.