4’x4’ brooder enough room for up to 22 chicks?

Toothpick

Crowing
8 Years
Aug 15, 2016
720
1,343
267
TN
I’ve been driving myself nuts with this brooder thing. Put it in the coop, don’t put it in the coop. Build one, it’s to small, build a larger one, still maybe to small. Arrrggg!

The incubator holds 22 eggs, I’m sure not all will hatch. But just in case - what size brooder should I have? Is a 4ft by 4ft enough?

I have 14 eggs in there now but the next hatch I’ll load it up to full capacity. I need to know the size of brooder i need for potentially 22 chicks.

Thanks!!
 
Maybe. At what age do you plan to let them out of the brooder? Really important! Full sized or bantam chicks? A strange question, what sex? Since you are hatching you won't know but I think it matters. Cockerels take up more room than pullets, even that young.

My first brooder was a 3' x 5'. I kept 28 chicks in it until they were 5 weeks old with no problems. But practically all of them were female, I think 6 were male. One time I kept 22 chicks in it until they were five weeks old, but all but maybe 5 were male. In both cases that brooder was getting really really full. I don't think I could have gone any longer with either group. They were all full sized fowl.

When I built my permanent brooder in the coop I made it 3' x 6' to give me a bit more flexibility. I've raised as many as 25 in it, again to 5 weeks of age.
 

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