Making a DIY brooder box for baby chicks.

But what is a chicken brooder? What size should it be, and what must it contain to keep chicks safe, warm and healthy?

What exactly is a brooder?

• The definition of "a brood" is a pretty simple one: 'offspring', 'little ones' or 'children'.

• The definition of the noun "to brood" is also straightforward: it means to take care of, or to raise, offspring. 

• When we use it in relation to a "broody" hen, the meaning becomes more specific: to sit on and hatch eggs.

• In relation to "brooding" chicks, it means in general taking care of chicks while they're very young.

• A brooder is simply a place where very young chickens can be properly cared for.

• My own definition is this: "A brooder is a place of safety where baby chicks are kept warm, fed, watered and cared for until they are able to care for themselves".

Brooder size.

There are all kinds of calculations – which vary wildly – about the space growing chicks need, and obviously this changes as the chicks grow.

The general consensus is around 6 square inches per chick immediately after hatch.  

A large tote box is a good size for up to six chickens for their first two or three weeks. Depending on the breed size, you may have to move to a "Stage 2" brooder after that.

But the best way of calculating size is to watch your chicks' behaviour.

If you see an increase in feather pecking (all chicks peck a little at first, as they explore their surroundings and their brothers and sisters) and bullying, and the bedding is becoming dirty very quickly, it's time to increase the space.

There are two possibilities to allow sufficient space.

If this is your first time with chicks you'll be surprised how quickly they grow. Below are two of my Wyandotte chicks, one aged one day, the other one week. The week old already has the start of his wing feathers.

That's how fast they grow.

In terms of somewhere for your chicks to live, you have two choices :

• Use a small brooder box initially, knowing that you'll need to exchange it for a larger one within two or three weeks at most.

• Use a large container which will suit them from the time they leave the incubator until they're ready to go out with the big girls.

Personally, if I'm hatching up to six or seven chicks, I use a storage box to begin with (I call this "Stage 1") and move to a large one, or two joined together, later ("Stage 2"). 

Where to place it?

Whichever size you decide on and whatever you use, your container needs to be in a safe place. For the first few weeks your chicks are vulnerable and will need protecting from cold, draughts, disturbance and the over-enthusiasm of young children and pets.

Make sure you have a setting where :

• you can see the chicks easily so you're able to check for potential problems

• the room temperature is at least 10ºC (50ºF)

• it won't be in direct sunlight, the temperature does not fluctuate wildly, or can be controlled to be fairly stable (for example with adequate ventilation in hot weather or a radiator in cold)

• it won't get knocked over by enthusiastic children or pets - and pets, in particular cats, cannot reach inside to "play" with the babies

• you don't mind dust - chicks create a lot of it!
  

I use a spare bedroom with the tote box for the first week, then move them into a large container or puppy pen in my utility room until they're ready to go outside with the main flock.

Bear in mind that chicks will start to explore their surroundings very quickly if they're allowed to.

Either your container should have a top, or you have to accept that your room will end up looking like my spare bathroom did when I once used it (never again!).

What makes a good Stage 1 brooder?

I've used various things over the years and come to these conclusions:

• Cardboard boxes: Cost nothing and are easily composted after use. Also excellent in terms of growing with the flock - just cut a 'door' at the same point in each box and attach them with some gorilla tape. 

• Cons: cardboard retains the fluid from poop (chicks produce a lot of it) and there's a danger that the brooder then becomes a health hazard. Not good if you use heat lamps – too much of a fire hazard. Finally, chicks eat anything, and cardboard is no exception. 

• Rabbit hutch: If you've got one which is lying around doing nothing this can be a great option. Good in terms of size and can be re-used once cleaned. 

• Cons: once bedding is down the chicks have a nasty habit of kicking it out through the holes. This can be helped by placing some cardboard round the edges to provide a solid border.
  

• Bath: Free - if you've got one! 

• Cons: too slippy for baby chicks, but works if you place a non-slip matting on the base. Expect the bath to be in dire need of cleaning once the chicks leave it.

• Tote (or storage) box: Inexpensive and can be reused. I like it to have transparent sides like this one, which gives the chicks an early view of the world outside whilst protecting them from it.
  

• The solid sides means it's free from draughts, it's easy to fix something on top to stop them flying out - I use a spare grill from the barbecue - and easy to attach a water bottle to the sides or top. 

• Very easily cleaned when no longer needed as a brooder: mine doubles up as a storage container for my incubating and hatching equipment. Its lid is able to tightly latch to prevent some very expensive equipment from spilling out and breaking.

• The major drawback of a tote box is that chicks will outgrow it within two or three weeks - depending, of course, on the size of the box and the size and number of chicks!

• It is also slippy and, like the bath option, must have a non-slip liner on the bottom.

Brooder bedding for the first few days.

Important: Whatever else you decide to use as your starter bedding, don't use newspaper. It's much, much too slippy and your chicks won't be able to stand properly. Their tiny legs need something to grip with when they're little.

If they don't have that, there's a real danger they'll develop splayed leg. Splayed leg is usually easily dealt with, but it's far better to prevent it in the first place.

So, on the bottom of your container lay some non-slip matting. I use inexpensive shelf liner bought from a supermarket - it's much less expensive than buying from a pet store and it does exactly the same job. It's the same liner that I have in my incubator at the point of hatch.

For the first few days the best bedding to have on top of the liner is plain kitchen paper roll. I buy a large roll from a supermarket which lasts for several clutches of chicks.

Simply line the base of whatever you're using - in my case the tote box - with the paper on top of the liner.

Using white paper enables even the tiniest babies to discover food. The sight and, in particular, the noise of sprinkling a little chick feed onto the paper will encourage them to investigate.

Pecking it will inevitably tell their taste buds "this is good" and they now recognise what food is. 

It's exactly what a mother hen would do in the farmyard.

The other advantage is that it's very easy to see, against this background, whether there are any chicks with problems walking.  If there are, they need dealing with.

You'll discover that chicks can poop very well from a very young age, so obviously the paper will need changing at least twice a day. That last thing you want is for the paper to become wet and messy with poop - it's a sure way for your young flock to develop illnesses.

Once they're used to their food and you're sure they're all walking properly, it's time to move them on to different bedding. I usually change after three to four days, but that's a matter for you and your assessment of your own circumstances.

Bedding after the first few days.

Pine shavings for the chicken brooder.

I have always used pine shavings, which is the bedding of choice for many people. It's easy to find, relatively inexpensive, warm for the chicks especially in the colder months of winter and early Spring, and it smells nice (as long as it's cleaned out regularly, of course).

It's also a natural solution: it composts down (slowly) when it's finished with.

• The drawbacks are mainly the mess it can make – it will get kicked all over the place. That's not a problem if you're using a tote box, but will be if you're using something like a dog crate or rabbit hutch. 

• You'll also find that, if you're using food and water trays placed on the ground, they will end up covered in shavings.

• I normally put a couple of inches of shavings in the brooder initially, still keeping the non-slip matting on the bottom. Every day I stir it up and add a little more, in the same way as I use the deep litter method for my adults' chicken coop. 

• The brooder will need cleaning out completely every week or so, depending on how many chicks you have in the box.

Sand as bedding in the brooder.

My baby chicks in the small brooder box, using sand to dust-bathe!

Keeping chicks warm in the brooder.

I have a detailed article about the ideal temperature for baby chicks in the brooder. Find it here.

So far we have dealt with keeping chicks safe, making sure they avoid problems like spraddle leg by using non slip materials initially, and choosing the best bedding materials to make a comfortable home in your particular circumstances.

Time to look at one of the most critical issues in the brooder - warmth. Chicks can chill very easily, and their lovely downy coats don't keep them warm enough. Chicks need help to sustain a healthy temperature during their first few weeks of life, until their feathers take over. 

Using brooder lamps.

We need to provide what a mother hen would: a warm place under which baby chicks can nestle.

I choose not to use a standard heat lamp because of the danger of fire. Instead, I use Brinsea's radiant heat lamps which are risk free.

Click to read my review of how they work and why they're best for chicks in the brooder.

Food and drink.

Finally, we need to provide baby chicks with the appropriate food and drink which will carry them through the first few weeks of life.

The growing chick has nutritional needs which change as they get older. For detailed information about what that means, take a look at this article which covers what chicks eat from 0 to 8 weeks.

You'll inevitably want to spoil your chicks - who could resist those appealing little fluffies?! But not all treats are good for very young ones. So here's an article about what treats are best for them during these early days.

And to drink? It's important chicks have clean water available to them all the time. They know instinctively when to take it.

The trick is, as you'll discover if this is your first time brooding chicks, how to keep it clean.

For tips and tricks about what chicks should drink and how to stop them kicking bedding into the containers, take a look here.

Larger DIY chick brooders.

The basics – bedding, heat, food and drink – remain the same in the larger, "stage 2" brooder. What changes is simply the need for a container to ensure your chicks have enough room as they grow.

I have used two: the large container you saw in my bathroom (also below), and an expandable puppy pen.

Of the two, I highly recommend the puppy pen. 

Here are some features to look for:

• make sure you can increase the size as the chicks grow by adding panels

• the height should be at least 36", preferably 40". Chicks start to experiment with flying  after just a few days!

• a door is very useful to be able to get in and out easily. It's also useful to have when cleaning the brooder.

This is the type of pen I use.

It's big enough to add perches, both at ground level and slotted into the bars. Feeders and waterers can be easily hung from the bars to avoid poop and bedding being kicked in.

You'll find you need to add a covering on the outside, to a height of about 6", to stop bedding being kicked out onto the floor. I simply use old curtains but if you have a smaller pen, something like cardboard or an old bed sheet with elasticated sides would work.

Apart from that, there are few drawbacks to using a puppy pen. This is by far my preferred option for my large, stage 2 brooder.

As with the storage box brooder, this puppy pen brooder needs an early flooring for new chicks of non-slip material with kitchen paper on top.

Once the chicks have adapted, the bedding is changed for pine shavings or sand.

And that's your DIY chicken brooder in place!

Your chicks now have everything they need to begin a happy, healthy life in your DIY chick brooder box. Congratulations!

Don't forget, though, that as they grow, their needs will grow with them. Use the links to the articles below for more information.

Want more information about the care of new chicks?