Brooder size please help

[mrstodd]

Hi everyone, I have a clear sterilite box that in using as a brooder for my six buff orpington chicks. I plan to put them outside to live when they are 4 or 5 weeks. My question is, is my brooder box big enough to keep them until I move them outside? It's 33 inches long by 20 inches wide. Thanks

 

[Fred's Hens]

No, and here's why. Chicks grow incredibly fast. They will amaze you in their growth, mobility, flying ability, running, jumping and playing. This all takes space, lots of it. Then? There is the heat issue. The birds need a large brooder because making the supplemental heat precisely right is impossible. The birds adjust themselves by moving toward the warm circle or away from the heat circle. This is critical. Hot chicks die.

Finally, the brooder needs to be big enough to hold a feeder and a waterer. Those thing take space away from the mobility space.

So, find a large cardboard box, the kind an appliance comes in, or a watermellon box from a market. That's the kind of size you will need within just a few days. It is amazing you much fun it is to watch them grow up so quickly.

 

[mrstodd]

Hi! Thank you for the reply! I suspected it wasn't going to hold them for much longer. I don't have a heat lamp, I have a brinsea Eco brooder for them that works amazing! So, I think tomorrow ill head out and try to get myself a giant box! Thanks!