A DIY chicken brooder is the best way to keep your chicks warm and comfy. A homemade brooder is not only super easy to make, but it’s also really cheap as well. You probably already have everything you need to build one, and it will cost you next to nothing to complete.
Ready to give your birds the home of their dreams on a budget? We provide you with several DIY chicken brooder ideas for flocks of any size. Whether you’re raising just a few chicks or dozens at one time, we’ll help you provide a safe space for your baby chicks.
Basic Requirements for a DIY Chicken Brooder
A brooder is essential for raising healthy chicks. It provides warmth, shelter, safety, and security for your new little arrivals. Although you can buy pre-made chicken brooders, a DIY chicken brooder can be a very affordable alternative that requires few tools and supplies and little experience.
Baby chicks need warmth, water, and feed to grow healthy and develop all their feathers. When they are young, they aren’t able to regulate their temperatures. A heat source in the brooder keeps your chicks warm.
How Long Do Chicks Remain in Brooders?
It depends on several factors, including the breed and weather, but usually, chicks stay in the chicken brooder box for around 6-8 weeks or until they are fully feathered. Once they can handle cooler temperatures, they can move into the chicken coop.
After about 4-5 weeks, young chickens may be allowed to go outside if it’s warm enough. During this time, your baby birds will have some feathers but mostly be covered in down, which does not retain heat. Don’t take them out if it’s snowing.
Chicken Brooder Supplies
Regardless of the type of brooder you own or make, it needs a few basic components, including heat, food, and water.
DIY chicken brooders will vary in size, shape, and materials, but here are a few of the most essential parts of a brooder. We’ll go into each component in deeper detail in the sections below.
- Container
- Heat source
- Thermometer
- Chick feed
- Water
- Feeder
- Waterer
- Bedding
Container
Making your own brooder box for your little chicks is easier and cheaper than you think. The perfect chick brooder can be as simple as a cardboard box. A small box may be good when your chicks are small, but they may need a bigger space as they grow.
Here are a few DIY chick brooder ideas:
Stock Tank
Stock tanks are some of the most affordable and durable brooder options out there. You can get them at any Wilco Farm Store or local farm supply store. These robust stock tanks provide some of the best protection from predators and pets.
You can add a hardware cloth or chicken wire on top of the stock tank. You can use a couple of C clamps to clamp the heat lamp to the stock tank’s side.
Behlen, 2 x 2 x 4 ft. Stock Tank 103 Gallon, 50130028
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Plastic Tub
You can’t go wrong with the classic plastic storage tote to raise your young chicks. Use an external brooder lamp hanging over the container to provide enough heat.
You can cut a square out of the lid using a utility knife and add some hardware cloth over the cut-out portion to provide proper airflow and let the warmth come through.
Add strips of ½ inch plywood as a frame around the hole on the lid and drill poles through the strips and plastic. Add 1-inch bolts and nuts to secure the frame and hardware cloth.
Pet Crate
If you or a loved one have an extra pet crate, you can repurpose it or buy a new one to create your DIY brooder. To prevent drafts and keep the bedding tidy inside the cage, add some cardboard around the inside and zip-tie it together. In this brooder design, a panel heater works best over a traditional heat lamp.
An extra large dog crate is about 42 inches long, 28 inches wide, and 30 inches tall. This brooder could be good for about 20 chicks during the first 4 weeks and 14 chicks after 4 weeks when they need more space.
Wooden Box
Building your own DIY chick brooder with wood is affordable and easy, depending on the size of your brooder. All you need is a few sheets of plywood, eight-foot long 2-by-2s, some screws, and a few other woodworking tools to make your own chick housing. They just need to be tall enough to keep the chicks inside.
There are many different wooden brooder box designs available online, each designed for a certain number of chicks. The design can be as simple or elaborate as needed. For example, this DIY brooder box made from wood can house 10 chicks.
Kiddie Pool
If you’re not using the kiddie pool this season, it can double as a chick brooder. However, this option might be a bit short, making it easy for chicks to jump out. You’ll need to add some taller sides to keep them in their temperature-controlled habitat.
You can also use two kiddie pools and some hardware cloth to create a more complete brooder. Start by washing the kiddie pools. The first one will go on the ground. Cut some hardware cloth to go around the pool’s perimeter. You can use cable ties to join the hardware cloth ends.
Once you’ve set up the hardware cloth around the first kiddie pool, you can add the second one on top of the cloth. This project is ideal for an outdoor chicken brooder. You won’t need the kiddie pool on top if you keep your chicks indoors since they don’t need rain or sun protection.
Appliance Box
Using a large appliance box, preferably a refrigerator-size box, is an affordable way to keep your chicks safe and warm without spending too much on materials. A refrigerator box can hold about 25 chicks.
You can reassemble the box with baling twine to replace the packaging strapping. Then, you can cut openings in the appliance box at the top to get the lamp through and on the side to act as a window where you can easily access the inside and ventilation.
Once assembled, lay the box on its side, with the largest surface on the floor. Add a few evenly spaced boards under the box to provide more airflow and keep the bottom dry.
Hang the heat lamp from a chain, so it passes through the middle slit in the top flap. Your lamp should be about 18 inches above the floor.
Dresser
You can repurpose an old dresser into a brand-new home for your chicks. Drawers can function as storage, but you’ll need to remove some of them to add the bedding and install lockable mesh doors.
Remove the drawer runners or dividers to create an open space for your chicks to call home. Then, you can add a DIY door using cut-out pieces of wood as frames, an angle bracket, and brackets.
You will cut out mesh big enough to cover the inside of the door and staple them into the wooden door frame. Finish off the door with a few hinges for each door and attach a knob or handle.
Placement/Location
Small brooders can be placed indoors in a quiet space. A good location can maintain an appropriate temperature for the chicks without any significant fluctuations. Avoid placing brooders in rooms that are too drafty or get too hot.
Chicks can also be raised outside in a warm and predator-proof location. This could be a shed, garage, doghouse, rabbit hutch, or barn, as long as there are no drafts and there is protection from common predators such as rats.
Space
The size of your chick brooder will depend on how many chicks you’ll be raising. Generally, chicks require about half a square foot during the first 4 weeks. For the next 4 weeks, they require about three-quarters to one square foot of space.
Temperature
Your newly hatched chicks need some help regulating their body temperature without feathers or a hen. You need a safe and effective heat source to keep your brooder warm and cozy.
A traditional heat lamp features a strong bulb with a metal shade and can be moved up or down when suspended from a chain. An alternative to the classic option, a modern electric panel uses heated plates to provide warmth.
The ideal brooder temperature ranges between 90-95º F for the first week. Every week after, you will reduce the temperature by 5 degrees. Heat lamp temperatures can be controlled by raising or lowering the lamp.
If you are using a thermometer to regulate temperature, keep it at ground level, the same height that your chicks will be. Keep the thermometer just under the light on the bedding.
Most homesteaders only use the thermometer to set up the brooder before they bring in the chicks. This helps you get a base temperature going. The true test of temperature will be your birds’ behavior.
Although a thermometer can help you keep track of the brooder’s temperature, you want to base your temperature changes on your chicks’ behavior.
- Chicks that are too cold tend to huddle together near the heat lamp.
- Chicks that are too warm will move as far away from the lamp as possible.
- If the brooder is drafty, they will move to the warmest side of the brooder.
- Your chicks are warm and healthy if evenly distributed across the brooder. You’ll hear their happy chirps and see them pecking around.
Regarding the brooder bulbs, chicks need infrared bulbs instead of the traditional white bulb. Chicks need periods of darkness to stay healthy. Using white bulbs could lead to behavior problems such as excess pecking.
For about 25 chicks, you can go with a 250-watt infra-red bulb. Cover the lamp’s bulb with a bulb guard to protect your chicks and yourself.
A ceramic heat lamp is made of porcelain and does not produce light. Although they cost more, they may last longer than other options. Ceramic heat lamps do not produce as much heat as infrared lamps but can be lowered or raised to provide the right amount of heat.
Electric panel heaters are a good option if you’re caring for a few chicks indoors. Unlike a heat lamp, you don’t need to worry about catching fire. Electric panel heaters often run cheaper than brooder heat lamps, are safer, and don’t require hanging.
Electric panel heaters are more expensive than traditional heat lamps. In addition, they may not be able to provide sufficient warmth for the youngest of chicks. You may need to start with an infrared heat lamp and transition to a panel heater or use a ceramic heat lamp.
Another thing to consider about an electric panel heater is that chicks may use it to perch on. In some cases, the chick droppings can get the heater messy and bake on the surface, making it hard to remove.
10" Aluminum Heat Lamp Brooder, 300W
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Westinghouse, 250W Clear R40 Infrared Heat Lamp, 0391048
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Thermo-Poultry Brooder
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Water
To keep your chicks happy and healthy, they always need access to fresh and clean water. For a complete brooder, you need the right size waterer for your chicks. You can use two 1-quart waterers for every 25 chicks.
For young chicks, a narrow-lipped waterer can keep them from getting the water too dirty, getting themselves wet, or drowning in the water. An open container of water increases the likelihood of all these hazards.
In terms of height, the waterer should be just about the size of the chicks, allowing them to drink from the container but not get into it.
Little Giant, Complete Plastic Poultry Fount, 1 gal.
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Double-Tuf, Plastic Poultry Waterer, 1.5 qt
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Feed
Provide at least 4 linear inches of feeder space for each baby chick. You can use clean egg cartons as a feeder, allowing young chickens to easily access their feed without spilling too much. Once they outgrow these, you can use trough feeders.
Chick feed is different than feed for adult chickens. Chicks’ starter feed comes in non-medicated and medicated options, with medicated formulas containing an additive that prevents Coccidiosis, a parasitic infestation.
Your chick starter feed should have 24% protein, the right amount to jumpstart your chicks’ growth. It should also have amino acids, prebiotics, probiotics, and all the necessary vitamins and minerals for healthy chick growth.
Chick starter feeds include Purina Start & Grow, Purina Start & Grow Medicated, Purina Flock Raiser, and Purina Organic Starter-Grower.
We recommend setting your waterer and feeder on a separate surface away from the heat source or creating a suspended level to keep the water and food from ending up on the bedding. Do not place the waterer and feeder level too high, though.
Purina, Start and Grow Medicated Crumbles Premium Poultry Feed
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Little Giant Plastic Flip-Top Poultry Feeder
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Little Giant Metal Slide-Top Poultry Ground Feeder 12 in.
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Bedding
Bedding in the brooder absorbs moisture and can be replaced to provide your chicks with a dry home. Bedding materials come in different shapes and sizes and include pine shavings, straw, shredded newspaper, and sand.
For newly hatched chicks, you can use a non-slip bedding material to prevent spraddle leg, a condition that makes their legs splay out to the sides, making them unable to walk. A grip-top shelf liner covered with paper towels keeps your brooder clean and chicks from getting hurt.
After a few days of the first type of bedding, you can replace it with about 3-4 inches of absorbent wood shavings to keep your brooder dry, clean, and free of odors. Untreated pine shavings are a good choice because they are cheap, widely available, and can be composted after.
Bedding should be changed at least once a week or more depending on how many chicks you’re raising and how messy it gets. As your chicks get older, you may need to clean your brooder more frequently.
Nature's, Bedding Pine Shavings, 10 Cu. Ft.
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Separating Layers and Meat Birds
If you plan on raising meat birds and layers, we recommend providing separate chick brooders. Although meat birds and layers can be raised in the same brooder, the meat birds will eventually have to be moved due to their size and feeding requirements.
Generally, meat birds grow faster and eat more than layers. If you keep them in the same brooder, your meat birds may eat the layers’ food. Meat birds also eat a different feed than the layer chick feed.
Meat birds may also crowd out layers, preventing them from getting enough food and water. Not to mention, meat birds are usually messier than layers.
Purina, Meat Bird Non Medicated Crumbles, 40 lb
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Shop Brooder Supplies at Wilco Farm Stores
If you need chick brooder supplies, check out Wilco Farm Stores. You’ll find everything you need to get started raising chicks, including healthy feed and the highest quality supplies.
We have everything you need to hatch and care for chicks, including heat lamps, water bottles, and feeders. Find everything to start with at Wilco Farm Store today!
