Raising your own flock from chicks is always an exciting time, but it can be one that is fraught with anxiety if you don’t know what you’re doing. Chicks are really delicate and need lots of support at this young and vulnerable stage of life, and the only life they know for a time will be inside their brooder.
Accordingly, whatever kind of brooder setup you choose, it needs the right features and accessories to help keep your chicks safe, comfortable, fed, hydrated, and thriving. Read on, and I’ll tell you about 13 things that any good brooder should have…
Sturdy Screen Top
This is a critically important and – surprisingly – often overlooked addition.
A solid screen top, made of heavy-duty metal mesh or hardware cloth, is an absolute must for preventing pets or predators from getting into the brooder, something that will mean a slaughter for your defenseless chicks.
Never assume that your well-behaved pet won’t suddenly attack chicks. Likewise, if you have your chicks in the garage or a mudroom, it isn’t out of the question that something like a fox or raccoon could get to them…
Also, a good screen top might be the only thing that prevents disaster if your heat lamp or something else falls into the brooder. It can save your precious chicks from getting burned to death or crushed.
Bedding
Every seasoned chicken keeper knows that chicks go through tons and tons of bedding. Bedding provides insulation, comfort, and improved handling of waste since it absorbs moisture from poop.
Ideal bedding will be natural, non-irritating, and soft on chicks’ feet because they are especially vulnerable to bumblefoot at this young age. A thick layer of pine shavings or aspen flakes is ideal. Don’t use cedar despite it being so common because it can be a respiratory irritant. Whatever kind of bedding you go with, change it out regularly, and make sure it is dust-free to cut down on airborne particulates.
Heat Lamp
Even rookie keepers should know that chicks must have a heat source to stay warm during the first several weeks of their lives. The most popular and common option for this is a heat lamp, and it can provide both light and heat if set up properly.
You can use a lamp that’s on a stand, which can be positioned to provide the right amount of heat in an adequate hotspot, or one that is designed to clamp onto a brooder enclosure.
Whichever version you go with, take all precautions to ensure that it cannot fall down or that the bulb cannot come out. As I said, a heat lamp failure of this kind is usually disastrous for chicks.
Radiant Heater Plate
As an alternative to the heat lamp, or as a supplement to a very large brooder, you can install a radiant brooder heat plate.
Adjustable, safe, and able to provide a reliably warm area for your flock, they aren’t quite as flexible or as affordable as heat lamps, but they have advantages all their own.
A good unit will be specifically designed to completely prevent burns from occurring as long as chicks can freely move away from it or get off of it, and some are adaptable enough to be installed on a brooder wall or on the floor.
Any version you pick should be easy to clean and totally resistant to the attention of chicks.
Thermometer
Your chicks will be in trouble if they get too hot or too cold, so monitoring the temperature in the brooder will be a constant task for you. A good thermometer will help you do that.
You can go with the old-fashioned mercury version, but for my money and time, nothing beats a modern digital setup. It has a remote probe, easy-to-read display, and alarm functionality if the temperature gets too hot or too cold at any time.
If you’re serious about raising chickens, get one with a memory function that can show you a timeline of temperature fluctuations throughout the day or night. This can help you track down problems like drafts or figure out why your chicks are stressed.
Tim is a farm boy with vast experience on homesteads, and with survival and prepping. He lives a self-reliant lifestyle along with his aging mother in a quiet and very conservative little town in Ohio. He teaches folks about security, prepping and self-sufficiency not just through his witty writing, but also in person.
Find out more about Tim and the rest of the crew here.