Brooding

It’s my preference to hatch chicks in the late summer/early fall and grow them out through the winter.  While this process comes with its own challenges, the benefit is pullets that reach laying age right around the time the days are long enough for laying season to kick in. Regardless of the time of year you choose to grow out chicks, they still need a brooder setup that will provide them with adequate heat, proper temperature gradients, clean bedding, and fresh food and water.

After messing around with different brooder setups, with varying levels of frustration and challenges, I designed a brooder that will not only comfortably house the maximum number of chicks I can hatch in my Nurture Right 360 Incubator, but it makes their daily care easier for me. 

Benefits are: 

• A hook that will support the weight of a 5-quart waterer. (Hanging their water source helps keep it clean. Hanging a 5-quart water source means you don’t have to refill it multiple times a day)

• A hook to support a hanging feeder (keeps the feed free of debris, and prevents them from scratching it all over the floor, which means less waste).

• A level, hardware cloth top to support the heat source and protect the chicks.

• A long footprint for a wider heat gradient, so they can self-regulate their temperature needs. 

• Hutch-style doors on the front (no moving all the things off the top to get in), and dual access means you can reach in to change food and water, but they can’t jump out the other half. 

• The frame lifts off the base, which can then easily be cleaned out of dirty bedding and replenished with fresh. When possible, I do these quick bedding changes on a warm day so the chicks can forage in the run of the Halfway House while I do this. Otherwise, I just place them in a cardboard box in a safe place for a few minutes while I replenish bedding.

Heat Requirements:

• Chicks need a starting temperature of 95 Fahrenheit for the first week.

• The temperature should be reduced by 5 F each week until the chicks are fully feathered and can move out of the brooder and into a grow-out pen (generally 5--6 weeks of age).

• Temperature zones - in addition to a spot to get warm and cozy, they need to be able to walk away to cool off if they start to get too warm. Below, I discuss how to set up your brooder to give them a proper heat gradient so they have warm and cooler areas to explore and self-regulate their body temperatures.

Brooder Setup:

Heat Source Options :

Red Heat Lamps:

Red bulb heat lamps providing deep, muscle penetrating heat in the cooler months, without sleep disrupting light. To use one as safely as possible, I put the bulb into a shop lamp, placed on top of the brooder, and connect the shop lamp to a digital thermostat  and a 300W dimmer switch (It is important that the switch has a Watt rating greater than or equal to the wattage of your bulb. An incandescent heat lamp is rated at 250W).

Cons: These can get really hot, and can start fires if proper precautions aren't taken.

How to set up:

A day or two before you move your chicks into the brooder:

Once the lamp is in place, the thermostat probe is hanging under the bulb, and everything is connected, set the thermostat to 95 F, turn on the lamp, and dim the bulb until the thermostat reads at 95. It is best to do your initial setup in the morning, then increase the brightness (heat) of the bulb) once the temperatures drop after dark.

Using the dimmer switch allows you to control the heat output of the bulb and reduces the number of times the bulb switches on and off (lengthening its life).

Using a thermostat adds an extra layer of safety - if the temperatures get too high, the thermostat will shut off the bulb until the temperature drops to 3 degrees below the setpoint.

Ceramic Heat Emitters

A Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) screw into a regular shop lamp, just like a standard lightbulb. Unlike a lightbulb, switching the on and off does not reduce their lifespan.

How to set up:

The CHE should be used in conjunction with a digital thermostat programmed to the needed temperature. With a CHE, they have 24 hour heat without the risk of fire that comes with red heat lamps. Use a CHE with a minimum of a 150W rating, and, as always, make sure the lamp you're using has a minimum rating greater than or equal to that of your bulb.

Cons: Even 150 watt CHE's do NOT put out ample heat for colder months in a larger brooder. When you first use them, they can have a bit of a smell. It's not something I've experienced, but can bother some individuals.

Heat Plates

The electronic equivalent of a mama hen, heat plates give a warm, safe shelter for baby chicks to warm up in-between recon missions for food and water. These are a great choice for smaller brooders (that don't have as much of a heat gradient), or for when using lamps, thermostats, and dimmer switches just feels like more than you want to take on.

The biggest mistake those new to brooding make with heat plates is not setting the plate low enough. These are designed to provide the proper heat to chicks when there is just enough room underneath for the chicks to stand. The chicks should be touching the heat plate when they walk under. As the chicks grow, you should raise the plate just enough to accommodate their taller size.

Brooder location:

Brooders should be placed somewhere sheltered and out of the elements. Chicks STINK, so I don't recommend keeping them in your house. A garage, shed, or barn, are great options. I keep my brooder on my covered front deck (right outside my living room window), where I can keep an eye on the temperature readout of the thermostat.

Once they’ve grown all of their feathers in, around 5-6 weeks old, I move them to the Halfway House (more coming soon on this particular coop).

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases if you use my links to purchase the items, at no extra cost to you, which is a small way that you can support my little business. I do NOT however recommend these products because of the kickback- I recommend them because they make my chicken adventures So. Much. Simpler.