There are a few options for heat sources these days, the most common are heat lamps and brooder plates. Newly hatched chicks can’t regulate their own body temperature, in the absence of a hen, an artificial heat source must be used. Things Your Brooder Should Have: Heat Source (preferably a non-flammable option– read more about that here) These chick brooder basics include a heat Source, chick feed, water, and bedding that will absorb moisture. No matter if you buy your brooder or decide to build one of these DIY chick brooders they will all need the same basic things. Basically, you’ll know it’s time to leave the brooder when the chicks look more like adult chickens than cute little balls of fluff and start acting like sassy teenagers. We keep our chicks in the brooder for around 6-8 weeks, or until they are feathered and seem savvy enough to avoid the dogs and barn cats. You can buy pre-made brooder boxes, but in 8 years of having chicks, we’ve never used one–its way too easy to put a simple DIY brooder together. While we were surprised by a hen who hatched her own chicks in the garden last year, most of our hens thus far haven’t been broody long enough to sit on eggs, so we are still reliant on the feed store. Even if it does make me out of breath sometimes.Ī brooder is simply a heated place or container that houses new chicks who aren’t hatched by a hen. I’ll never get tired of this beautifully crazy cycle of homestead life. The chirping of babies greets me whenever I open the door to the coop, which makes it feel like spring might really arrive. Been there, done that.Īnyway, the babies are doing well tucked away in their brooders ( we separate the layer chicks from the meat chicks to avoid trampling). At this point in the ol’ homesteading journey, racing around getting ready for chicks feels pretty much normal. The kids and I wrapped up homeschool and rushed outside to prep the coop. But who’s counting?) That’s pretty amazing self-control on my part, don’t you think? So he ended up bringing home 5 Cuckoo Marans (these are the ones that lay the dark brown eggs– eeeek!) and 5 Blue Laced Wyandottes. He arrived and bought out their entire inventory of Cornish Cross birds ( here’s why we like raising this breed for broilers), and then called to report they had a decent selection of layers, too. Do you want to swing by and see if they have any meat birds?”Īnd he agreed. I called Christian, who was on his way home with the stock trailer from delivering a steer to the butcher. They had a new shipment of chicks– hot off the truck. I’m just going to call it an out-of-body experience.Īnyway. I was supposed to be ordering chicks from Meyer Hatchery again. I called the feed store on a whim in the midst of a morning of homeschool to ask if they had chicks. It’s physically impossible for me to plan ahead when we buy chicks.Įven the years when I know we will be adding to the flock, I still seem to always jump the gun and run to the feed store last minute without much pre-planning.
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