How to Build a Chick Brooder

Welcome to page 2 of our article How to Build a Chicken Coop . Now that you’ve decided to build your own chicken coop, here are some tips to know about how to build a chick brooder for your coop.

These are easy preparations that you will only need to do when the chicks are young.

Click here for Do-It-Yourself professional plans to building a chicken coop brooder. 

Below are some quick tips for making sure you know how to build a chicken coop that includes a chick brooder.

You will need a heavy water dish that will not tip over. Choose one that is about 1” deep to make sure chicks can access the water. You will also need chick starter feed. It’s easy to put the chick feed in empty egg-cartons on the floor. However, choose cartons that can be wiped clean to disinfect them, such as Styrofoam or plastic. You will need to clean both the water and feeders often to prevent sickness and disease.

Get ready for your chicks by cleaning the chicken house, all feeders and watering equipment and the heat lamp. Disinfect all surfaces and allow to dry thoroughly.

Prepare an area on the floor of the chicken coop for the brooder for the young chicks. For 10 chicks you would need approximately 2 ft by 2 ft space. You can use a cardboard box, or just create a square of wire.

The chick guard is a small enclosure for the chicks within the brooder that will be removed after about 3-4 days. Inside this brooder, create a smaller enclosed space, about 12” square. This is the chick guard.

Make sure the water and feeder are placed within the chick guard. You can also place the chick starter feed on small squares of cardboard placed near the water. You can remove these after the first week or when you notice the chicks are eating from the feeders.

Install the heat lamp in one corner of the chick guard. This is so the chicks learn where to find the heat source. After you remove it, the chicks will move about the area and return to the heat source when they need it.

Clean the water dish and feeders every day. It is important to keep the chicks healthy in the early days of their life.

Prevent disease by keeping the floor shavings clean and dry, and check water and feed levels a few times each day. Soon you will see your chicks grow and prosper and you will enjoy watching them grow up!

 Here are the plans I settled on:

They really worked for me and I got the chicken coop I wanted within my budget and my building skills. I highly recommend you check out Building a Chicken Coop. 

Building a Chicken Coop is the ultimate guide to planning and building your own coop in your backyard. In includes drafts of plans, dimensions, materials lists and sources to everything you need to build a sustainable chicken coop.