Chick Brooder Ideas for Healthy Chicks and a Tidy Home

A good brooder needs four things: a draft-free spot with a little room around it, enough floor space per chick, grippy bedding, and a safe heat source. Style comes after that, and it's easier than you'd think. A plain plastic tote works, but you can do better.

It's very common to bring chicks home and realize within days how much dust and noise 'cute fluff' makes. Below are ideas that keep the chicks healthy and keep the mess from taking over your house.

Save

Where should you put a brooder?

Pick a room with a steady temperature, no drafts and some fresh air. A heated garage, a mudroom or a utility room all work. I'd keep it out of bedrooms and living areas, because growing chicks shed a surprising amount of fine dust.

Leave about 3 feet of clear space around the brooder. You'll be changing water and bedding often, and a tight corner makes that chore easy to skip.

Think about sound too. Peeping carries easily through standard drywall, so avoid a shared wall with a bedroom or a nursery. Heavy textiles or a bookcase between the brooder and that wall will soften it a little.

Can you turn old furniture into a brooder?

Yes, and it's a good option for renters who can't build anything permanent. An old buffet, cabinet or dresser with the doors removed can look like a deliberate piece of furniture.

Choose solid wood over particle board, which swells when it gets wet. If you do use composite material, seal every surface with a water-resistant finish.

Replace glass panels with 1/4-inch hardware cloth. Skip chicken wire if you have a cat or dog, since it's flimsy and paws can push through it. Remove drawer slides and any rough interior hardware where small legs could get caught. Line the bottom and the lower sides with sheet vinyl or linoleum and caulk the seams so you can wipe the whole thing down.

Save

How big should a brooder be?

Crowding leads to feather picking and faster spread of disease, so size for the chicks' full brooding period, not for day one. A common guideline is about 0.5 square foot per chick for the first couple of weeks, growing to about 2 square feet per chick by eight weeks. Your hatchery's advice for your breed is the better guide.

Make the walls at least 24 inches tall, because chicks start hopping and flapping well before they leave the brooder. If you're having a carpenter build one, I recommend melamine panels inside. They're white, non-porous and easy to scrub.

Plan ventilation from the start. As an architect, I'd put openings high on the enclosure so ammonia from droppings can escape without a cold draft hitting the floor, where the chicks sleep.

A removable floor tray is the best built-in feature I can suggest. Slide it out, dump it in the compost, rinse it and slide it back.

What flooring and bedding are safest?

Slippery floors like bare plastic or newspaper can lead to spraddle leg, where the legs slide out sideways. A non-adhesive rubber shelf liner under the bedding gives better grip. If a chick's legs look splayed, call your vet or hatchery for help.

• Large-flake pine shavings are absorbent and too big to eat.
• Hemp bedding is absorbent and low in dust, though it usually costs more.
• Avoid cedar, whose aromatic oils can irritate birds' airways.
• Avoid fine sawdust, which chicks may peck at like food.

If you like the deep litter method, add fresh bedding on top every few days instead of emptying everything. Give the brooder a lip of about 8 inches so the growing pile stays inside.

Save

How do you heat a brooder safely?

I recommend a radiant brooder plate over a clamp-style heat lamp. A plate works like a small table the chicks can nestle under, and it's much less likely to start a fire if it gets knocked into the bedding. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for height, and let the chicks tell you if the temperature is right: huddling means cold, panting and hugging the walls means hot.

Chicks also need darkness to rest. In a windowless garage, a small LED on a timer gives them a regular day and night.

Keep an outlet within reach so you don't need a long extension cord across the floor. Cord covers along the wall tidy the look and keep dogs and cats from chewing on wires. For anything beyond plugging into an existing outlet, hire a licensed electrician.

Save

Finishing touches that keep it good-looking

• Use low-VOC or zero-VOC paint outside and let every coat cure fully before chicks move in. If you can still smell it, wait.
• Fit a hook-and-eye latch or barrel bolt. Raccoons and house cats can open a simple magnetic catch.
• Match the hardware finish to the room so the brooder reads as built-in.
• Cut a viewing window in a solid box, staple hardware cloth on the inside, and cover the cut edges with trim.

Save

Frequently asked questions