New at this - starting with 4 baby chicks

[FriscoRaven]

Hello all! I am brand new to backyard chickens and am getting started with my first chickens in the next few weeks. I am planning to start with just 4 baby chicks and see how that goes before diving into the big leagues!

I have a few questions, the first being about the brooder. What size does it need to be to keep the chicks in? I plan to keep them in my garage (it is not heated but has power so heat lamps won't be an issue). I also don't want to spend a signficant amount of time/money on the brooder since I don't know if I will be getting more chicks down the road.

Any advice, recommendations, or comments?

Thank you!

 

[Gypsy Blue]

Well a Tupperware tub from walmart works well, or do as we did and use a really big cardboard box Of course we have 18 fuzzy butts. There's tons of strings with all different methods and they all seem to work. Oh and beware chicken math... my 6 = 18 lol....

Brooder, heat, water, food and lovies... If you've got that it's a good start!

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC!

We have a few nice brooder designs here for you to look at: Chicken Brooders The recommended size for chicks are:

Up to 2 weeks: 0.5 sq ft per chick
2-4 weeks: 1 sq ft per chick
4-8 weeks: 2.5 sq ft per chick
Over 8 weeks: 4 sq ft per chick

Make sure you have a brooder with a cover of some sort as chicks are amazing little escape artists! They can fly from a surprisingly young age and once they are out... They can run fast too!

 

[Gypsy Blue]

Welcome to BYC!

We have a few nice brooder designs here for you to look at: Chicken Brooders The recommended size for chicks are:

Up to 2 weeks: 0.5 sq ft per chick
2-4 weeks: 1 sq ft per chick
4-8 weeks: 2.5 sq ft per chick
Over 8 weeks: 4 sq ft per chick

Make sure you have a brooder with a cover of some sort as chicks are amazing little escape artists! They can fly from a surprisingly young age and once they are out... They can run fast too!

See? Lots of people with lots of knowledge here