Chicks should go straight from the box into a brooder that is already warm, with food and water waiting. Set it up the day before pickup and run the heat for 24 hours so you know it holds temperature.
What you need
- A draft-free box or tub. Plan on about half a square foot per chick for the first two weeks, and roughly double that by week four. Solid sides keep drafts off them.
- Bedding. A few inches of pine shavings. Skip cedar (the oils are hard on young lungs) and skip newspaper, which is slippery and can lead to leg problems.
- Heat. A brooder lamp or heat plate at one end only, so chicks can move closer or farther away. Aim for about 95°F right under the heat the first week.
- A chick feeder filled with chick starter.
- A chick waterer. Shallow and stable; for the first days, a few clean marbles or pebbles in the tray keep tiny chicks from falling in.
Heat lamp safety
Heat lamps are the most common cause of coop and garage fires. Hang the lamp with two separate supports (the clamp and a chain or wire), keep it well away from bedding and walls, and check it daily.
Before you leave for the store
Thermometer reading about 95°F under the lamp, cooler at the far end, water out for a few hours so it's room temperature, and feed in the feeder. Then come see us Friday at 8:30.