My darling husband has finally agreed to begin The Chicken Project. We decided to get chicks this weekend and begin construction on The Coop while they are still in The Brooder. Now that the reality of acquiring chicks is hitting me, I feel vastly unprepared. I've read countless book/blogs/threads, etc but now I need specifics from real people, namely, y'all. So,here goes:
Can I keep 6 chicks (not Bantams) in a ~6 sqft brooder? Is that enough space? I would like to use a roughly 25hx"25d"x38w" open wooden cabinet which I will screen in for a brooder. Then I will convert it to nest boxes in the coop. My other option for a brooder is an aquarium which has roughly the same measurements but I would be a bit concerned about ventilation, humidity, and temperature control.
How long can I keep them in that amount of space?
Is it possible to use Sweet PDZ as brooder bedding for odor control? Or a mix of that and wood shavings? Or is Sweet PDZ too fine for them to be breathing?
I cant tell you much about the bedding questions but as far as spacing i might have some input. when i got started i had the same questions and was informed to start with 1 sq ft per bird, and that should be enough room for them until they are ready to go outside. i live in the south, so the cold temps are just about gone for us and these little guys will be heading outside at about 5 weeks or so. i have some 3.5 weeks olds in my brooder now that are feathering nicely and look to be right on pace for a 5 week relocation.
This is what i use for my brooder. I also have a rubber-made tub that i use in a pinch if im running 2 brooders. There are 9 chicks in this brooder as we speak, 3.5 weeks and have not had any spacing issues with them. mine are all LF birds too, if you get bantams then obviously you can account for their smaller size with fitting more into a given space. this trough here (from TSC) is about 3'x2' = 6 sq ft so i have a little less that 1 ft per bird but mine are doing fine.
I remember the stress i had when it was "D-day" for the babies and still wasnt confident with my brooding set-ups! this set up works for me as i dont plan on having more than 10 or so per batch! good luck and congrats on the babies!
Hens go broody when you don’t want them to… and won’t go broody when you do. 
