Brooder

A brooder is an enclosed, draft-free space used to raise chicks from the day they hatch or arrive until they are fully feathered and ready to handle outdoor temperatures, usually around four to six weeks depending on the season and breed. At minimum it needs a heat source, absorbent bedding, a chick feeder and waterer, and enough headroom for chicks to move away from the heat when they get too warm.

Size needs to grow with the chicks. A brooder sized for day-old chicks gets crowded fast by week two or three, and crowding in a brooder tends to show up quickly as pecking, trampling, or chicks piling on top of each other near the heat source. Good ventilation matters just as much as warmth, since a sealed, stuffy brooder builds up ammonia from droppings faster than most keepers expect.

A common mistake is using a slick surface like newspaper as bedding, which can cause young chicks to slip and develop splayed or spraddle legs before their joints strengthen. Pine shavings or a similar textured bedding gives chicks better footing from day one, and swapping to a larger space or splitting a growing brood earlier rather than later prevents most crowding problems.