DIY Brooders: Simple Solutions to Create an Easy, Affordable Brooder for Your Chicks

If you are raising or caring for chickens, finding a good brooder setup is important to keep them safe, happy, and healthy. But you don’t need to spend a lot of money on something fancy. Instead, a simple DIY brooder is a good alternative that can be cost-effective and customizable. Here are some must-haves for a simple DIY brooder as well as things to consider when selecting materials and design.

What Is a Brooder?

Maybe you’ve had some experience with chickens before. But even if you are new to taking care of little chicks, the basics of a brooder are easy to understand. As babies, young chicks need a warm and dry habitat. They cannot regulate their own body temperatures and also don’t have much in the way of feathers to help them do so. The characteristic fluff on chicks makes them adorable but also makes them require some help to stay warm. This is where a brooder comes in.

In the wild, this is provided both by the mother hen and the season and environment in which they hatch. If it is too cold, wet, or exposed, the chicks can get sick and even die. A brooder makes sure that this doesn’t happen by keeping things warm and dry. Once they are old enough, the chicks can move from the brooder to the larger coop. Most of the time this happens around 6 weeks old but they should have a full body of feathers before they are ready to make the big transition.

What Do I Need for a Good DIY Brooder?

The basic materials needed to build a brooder for your chicks are pretty simple. You’ll need a place to contain them and a way to control the climate.

Brooder Space for Chicks

You can use just about any containment space for a brooder but it should be the right size for your new friends. Plastic totes are often a good choice because they insulate well and have sides that are high enough to keep the curious little birds contained.

If you opt for something that is really large, you may need to add mesh or other containment materials inside to keep the chicks where they need to be. This is called a brooder guard and makes sure that the chicks are directly under the heat source. This is especially important during the first few weeks of life. Don’t let them have too much space to roam or they might venture too far away from the most important part of the brooder, the heat lamp.

They should have enough space to escape the heat when they need to as well as move around without bumping into their brothers and sisters. After the first week, you might be able to remove the brooder guard as long as the chicks are growing and remain healthy.

Keeping Things Warm

Just like an incubator keeps chicken eggs warm, a brooder is also needed for baby chicks after they hatch. Baby chicks need constant heat to keep themselves warm and safe. An infrared heat lamp is by far the best way to provide this. Not only is it affordable and easy to set up, but you can find them at just about any farm supply or feed store. Most heat lamps clip onto the side of a bin, tote, or other brooder space. Just plug them into a nearby outlet and let them start heating the area for your little chicks. You might want to add a brooder hood to direct the heat down. If it escapes in other directions, it’s not actually doing any good for the chicks. A brooder hood can keep things efficient.

Adding a thermometer or periodically checking the temperature will ensure that you are alerted to any issues with your heat lamp if they come up. The University of New Hampshire recommends keeping the brooder between 90 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Each week, you can decrease the temperature in the brooder by about 5 degrees as the chicks grow and mature.

A Soft Place to Rest

Chicks also need some comfort under their tiny feet. This litter also provides a place for their waste to collect. It makes it easy to change out and keep things clean. Newspaper is a good option for litter that is cost-effective and easy to change out. You’ll likely only need one or two layers to contain everything. Wood shavings are another cheap alternative that can be purchased at most farm supply stores.

Hay or straw is an option but try to avoid really large pieces that the chicks may trip over as they explore the brooder. Shiny magazine-type surfaces are also not a good option because the chicks can slip on them.

It is important to consider the height of the heat lamp relative to the bedding inside the brooder. Make sure that they do not touch or get too close, which can be a fire hazard. When you add in water and food (which you should do right away), make sure to keep those well clear of the heat lamp as well. Chicks are still learning how to drink, eat, and do all of their normal chick things. Taking a tumble in the water bowl isn’t uncommon and can result in splashing. Make sure that the heat lamp won’t get wet if this happens.

When Should I Set Up a Brooder for My New Chicks?

Ideally, you’ll have a brooder already set up and ready to go when the chicks arrive. You can get chicks that are only one day old from most agricultural or feed stores during the spring. You can even order them online and have the tiny birds shipped right to you. Before you bring them home, make sure that you have the right setup to care for them. This means having the brooder set up as well as testing all of the equipment, especially the heat lamp. These little chicks need the right environment from the moment they arrive at their new home.

How Do I Know If My Brooder Is Working?

Aside from the thermometer monitoring, observing your chicks is the best way to see if your brooder makes them comfortable. If they act unusual or don’t seem to be growing and thriving, reassess your setup and see if anything needs to be adjusted. If they are cold, they’ll probably compete for space under the heat lamp and might even huddle next to each other for warmth. If they are hot, they’ll try to avoid the space right under the lamp where it is the warmest.

What Do Chicks Eat?

Even from a young age, chicks need feed and water in their space. You can set these up within the brooder. A chick water tray is a good option and you should show the chicks where it is as soon as they get to their new home. You can place each chick next to the water and gently direct them to explore it with their beaks. You should have more than one place for food and water so that the chicks can all eat and drink as needed without waiting for their brothers or sisters to get out of the way.

A good budget-conscious way to put feed in the brooder is to use individual egg carton cups. Just cut up a sturdy cardboard egg carton into individual spaces and put chick feed in them. These are an ideal height for even tiny chicks to access. If you notice that the chicks are having trouble, it is also easy to cut the sides down as needed to help them out.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Toa55/iStock via Getty Images