So that is 20 chicks, I assume practically all of them are ordered as pullets so probably only a couple of males. I think that makes a difference, mostly females.
I went to school up the road from you at TTU many decades ago. I think I have a fair idea of your climate. Your chicks will be about five weeks old around April 1st. You should be able to put them in the coop then with no supplemental heat. They grow awfully fast, age when they go outside is important as to how much room you need.
I've raised 28 chicks, mostly female, in a 3' X 5' brooder until they were 5 weeks old. It was getting pretty crowded but they were OK. I also raised 21 chicks, almost all male, in that same brooder until they were 5 weeks old. Again it was getting a little crowded. If you will commit to getting them out of the brooder at five weeks or so, I'd suggest a 3x5 or 4x4 as a good minimum size. If you keep them in much longer though I think you will find it to be getting pretty crowded. A little larger is better if you can swing it. That gives you a little more flexibility.
I like being married to my current wife so I also brood chicks in the coop. To me there are three potential issues. They can be kind of noisy. If they are in a room with no disturbances it usually isn't bad but if someone walks in to look at them they can get excited. It's usually not that bad but some people find it annoying.
The second issue is the dust. They shed bits of skin and down, called dander. They scratch bedding into a powder. Any dried poop gets scratched to a powder too. You want to keep the brooder dry which means that dust with all those ingredients can get all over everything. A lot of people regularly raise chicks in their house but the dust is a main reason some people really want those chicks outside as soon as possible. Hopefully no one in your family is allergic to chicken dander.
The third potential issue is the smell. As long as the brooder is dry it should not smell. If it gets wet it will, plus a wet brooder can be an unhealthy brooder. That moisture might come from spilled water or if their poop gets too thick it can stay moist. Chick brooders don't have to smell but it does take some maintenance. A lot of people regularly brood in their house in bedrooms, dining rooms, or dens. Some use a spare bathroom totally devoted to the chicks. We all do these things differently in our own way for our own reasons. You might want to side with your wife on this one and start them in the basement.
Wherever the brooder is there is one basic idea to make your life easier. That is to keep one area warm enough in the coldest conditions and an area cool enough in the warmest conditions. I find that as long as the chicks have an option they are really good at self-regulating heat straight out of the incubator or from the post office. There are all kinds of different ways to provide that warm spot. Incandescent bulbs and heat lamps have been successfully used for over a century. The ancient Egyptians piped in hot air from a fire thousands of years ago. You can use heat plates, heating pads, emitters, and who knows what else. They can all work safely if they are set up properly. If they are not set up properly any of them can have problems.
I use heat lamps so I'll give some of my safety suggestions. First throw away the clamp that comes with it so you are not even tempted to use it. Wire that lamp in place so you, any one else, or anything else cannot knock it down. Do not use string or plastic that can burn or melt, use wire. Use a bulb suitable to the location. One risk is that the brooder gets too hot. Heat can be worse for the chicks that a little cool. In your basement a 75 watt bulb should be sufficient. In the coop I use 250 watt bulbs in winter. In the summer it will probably be a 125 watt bulb. Have sufficient ventilation up high so excess heat can bleed away. Don't worry about the far end of the brooder getting cold as long as the warm end stays warm. Some winter mornings I have iced in the far end of my brooder but the other end is toasty.
One of the big issues with brooding outside is the temperature swings. I can have single digits Fahrenheit one night and two days later be in the 70's. Your heat source needs to take that into consideration.
You can buy all kinds of waterers. Those vacuum ones with the red bowls are very popular and readily available. The trick with them is to make sure they are very level or they will leak. Another issue is that the chicks scratch a lot. They can and will scratch bedding into the water so you wind up changing it regularly. It's a good idea to have a very level platform in the brooder to set it on that is raised a little so they scratch less into it.
I use a black rubber pet bowl set in some plywood as shown. It's raised up some with a hole in the plywood to sett he bowl in. For baby chicks I fill it with rocks so the chicks can walk on water and get back out without drowning. They will poop in it so you have to change it regularly to keep the water clean.
Some people use nipples and really like them. A potential issue with them is that they can leak and get the brooder wet, but if you can get them installed without them leaking they can be a great option. Like everything else there are different ways to go about watering them.
That's enough for now. Welcome to the adventure, it should be a fun ride.
I see you posted while I was typing, I'll hit post any way.
