Key Points for Successful Brooders

Brooding your chicks properly is one of the most important things you can do to ensure they thrive into adulthood! Keeping the proper temperature, using the right bedding, and offering the right feed can make all the difference. 

Temperature

The most important thing you can do for your baby chicks when they arrive is to verify their brooder is at least 95 degrees, but no higher than 100 degrees. Each week, you want to reduce the temperature by 5 degrees, until they reach 6 weeks or are fully feathered.  If you are using a heat lamp, the temperature can be easily adjusted by raising or lowering the lamp.  If you are using a heat plate, you can raise and lower it as needed. It is essential to ensure that your heat plate is at an angle, allowing chicks to select the temperature that works best for them. Ambient temperature is also important when raising baby chicks, especially when using a brooder plate.  You want to ensure the room is at least 50 degrees for the plate to be able to keep up. If it is not, add an additional heat source. Adding a thermometer to your brooder is highly recommended to monitor the temperature at all times.

Bedding

Using the proper bedding is another crucial aspect of brooding baby chicks.  The most commonly used bedding in the brooder is pine shavings.  This is a great option, and often people will use the larger flakes to discourage chicks from eating the shavings.  Another great, low-dust option would be hemp bedding.  Although it is a little pricier, having less dust is always wonderful!  Disposable puppy pads are another acceptable form of bedding while the chicks are young.  Just be sure to watch the chicks and make sure no one is slipping and sliding on it.  Aspen shavings are also an acceptable form of bedding in the brooder. 

Feed

Providing a high-quality chick starter feed is vital for the growth and development of your new chicks.  We recommend a chick starter feed for the first 7 weeks of life, with an 18-20% protein content.  A healthy starter feed should be filled with complete proteins, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Your chicks should eat starter feed until they are introduced to grower feed around 7-8 weeks of age.  It is personal preference whether you use a medicated or unmedicated feed.  Just keep in mind that you don’t want to offer a medicated feed to chicks that have been vaccinated for coccidiosis.  This will negate the effect and cancel out any benefits the medicated feed could provide. 

Space

Providing enough space for your chicks is necessary to ensure proper growth and to help prevent picking behavior.  We recommend at least ½ square foot of space per chick in your brooder.  This allows the chicks enough space to run around and explore, without being cramped. The right amount of space assists with preventing injury and disease, allows chicks to regulate their body temperature better, and gives them the room they need to practice natural behaviors before moving out to the coop. You are able to enlarge the brooder as chicks grow, to make sure they continue to have adequate space.

Brooding your new chicks can be a fun and exciting experience.  Give your chicks their best chance at growing up to be happy and healthy birds by following proper brooding instructions, and reach out to our knowledgeable staff with any questions you may have!