Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chick Brood Box
When you first get your baby chicks from the feed store, mail order, or local rancher, you can
house all your chicks in a plastic tote. This “brood area” can be as simple as a box in the back hall-
way, or as elaborate as a climate-controlled subsection to a large chicken house. For most backyard
farmers trying to raise a few chicks, you can start the chicks in the house and move them outdoors
when they have feathered out and can better tolerate changes in climate.
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You may see pictures of chicks being started in cardboard boxes; however, I do not recommend it. I prefer
to use a large plastic tote (which is easier to clean) or a metal dog crate out in a sheltered area of the shed.
The cardboard box is also a fire hazard if the heat lamp over the box falls into the box.
For raising baby chicks you need the following:
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Brood box.
Whatever kind you choose should have walls that are tall enough to shield the
chicks from any drafts.
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Heat lamp.
You need to provide heat for the chicks. The temperature should be within 90°F
to 95°F.
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Chick feed and feeders.
The feeders with holes on top help keep the chicks from soiling the
feed and wasting it.
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Water source.
I highly recommend getting an actual chick waterer (rather than using a water
dish) to prevent accidental drownings or tipping over of the water dish. If chicks don't find
the water dish on their own, you'll need to dip the tip of their beaks into the water.
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Bedding.
Pine chips, straw, shredded newspaper, or mulched hay can be used successfully.
A flat, slippery surface can hurt the legs of your chicks, so make sure the bedding is at least
an inch thick.
One of the easiest ways to monitor the temperature of your chick brood box is to simply leave the
heat lamp hanging above it in such a way that you can raise it or lower it as needed. Place your
heat lamp to one side of the box, not in the direct center, and then watch your chicks and adjust as
needed. If the chicks are all huddled together in the corner under the lamp, they are cold and you
should lower the heat lamp a little. If they are pushed to the far side away from the lamp, you need
to raise the lamp as they are too hot. You'll know you have it right when the chicks are scattered
about—some eating, some flopped over as if dead (don't worry, they are just sleeping), some here,
some there.
