How to Prepare a Brooder for Chicks

A brooder is a place where newly hatched chicks are kept until they have enough feathers to live outside or in a chicken coop. When you prepare a brooder for chicks, you need to provide an environment that will keep the chicks warm and dry. You also need to provide abundant water, food and space for the chicks.

Things You'll Need

  • Brooder
  • Brooder cover
  • Water container
  • Chick feed container
  • Heat lamp
  • Chick perches
  • Bedding
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Instructions

    • 1

      A brooder can be any type of container, in any size or shape. You can buy a pre-built brooder online or from the feed store, or you can make your own. If you are making your own brooder, you can use a large plastic bin, cardboard box or any other container that will be large enough to accommodate your chicks.

    • 2

      Provide adequate brooding space for the chicks. Young chicks (0-4 weeks) need at least ½ square foot per chick, chicks 4-8 weeks of age need 1 square foot each, and chicks 8-12 weeks old need 2 square feet each.

    • 3

      Prepare a comfortable brooder for chicks by lining the bottom of the brooder with pine shavings or other comparable bedding. Do not use straw or other slippery bedding, because it can cause the chicks to develop permanently splayed legs. Avoid cedar shavings because the cedar oil in the shavings can irritate the chick's skin.

    • 4

      Keep the chicks warm by providing a heat lamp. Young chicks without feathers need a warm, draft-free brooder that is about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. You should use a heat lamp with a red bulb because it will reduce how much the chicks peck at each other. Hang the lamp above the brooder and watch the chicks. If they cluster under the lamp then it is too far away and the chicks are too cold. If the chicks are plastered against the brooder walls panting, the lamp is too close and they are too hot. Adjust the heat lamp accordingly. As the chicks get bigger and develop feathers, they need less heat.

    • 5

      Purchase a waterer for the chicks that provides fresh water 24 hours a day. Special chick waterers are better than containers found around the house; dishes of water can become fouled with droppings and promote disease.

    • 6

      Prepare the chick brooder by purchasing a feeding tray in which you can put the chick starter feed and grit. Chick feeders are designed to discourage chicks from soiling the feed. Chicks should have plenty of food available at all times, so you need a tray that holds sufficient food to last between feedings.

    • 7

      Make or buy a cover for your brooder. Around 2 weeks of age, the chicks begin to experiment with flying, and they may be able to escape the brooder if it does not have a cover. Use a breathable cover made out of chicken wire, lattice or any other material you may have on hand.

    • 8

      Prepare your chicks for life in the chicken coop by providing perches. As the chicks grow, they will want to roost on perches. Provide small perches only a couple inches off the ground for the chicks to learn to roost on. Raise the height of the perches as the chicks grow.

    • 9

      Read about the needs of the breeds of chicks that you will be caring for. Different breeds grow at different rates and may have slightly varying needs. There are dozens of useful websites and books that will provide you with adequate information regarding raising chickens.