Would this terrarium make a (good) chick brooder?

[Chickeria]

Hi, I'm planning to hatch chicks.
I plan to lend an incubator from a friend.
So now I'm starting plans for a safe and appropriate brooder.
I do have a selfbuild terrarium from my tortoises when they were babies (long time ago). They now do live outside in an outdoor enclosure or are in their hibernating space since many years now but I kept the terrarium in case someone gets injured or sick or there is need for a quarantine area, which thank God never happened. Several times I thought about selling it, but perhaps I'm lucky now I didn't - looking at the terrarium I thought maybe it could be modificated as a chick brooder and wanted to ask you for your opinions.
(Please notice: the terrarium on the pictures is still set up for tortoises. I would never use the UV-lamp/neon tube for the chicks. I would not use the bedding and the stones and cork barks etc. for the chicks. The whole terrarium would be emptied and cleaned and desinfected thoroughly)

The inner dimensions of the terrarium are:
length: 1 m 37 cm = 54 inches
wide range: 65 cm = 25 inches
height: 70 cm = 27 inches

It is made of coated wood (good to clean and desinfect) and in the front are two big glass panels. Ventilation areas (perforated sheet) are on top and on front (I increased ventilation by leaving both glass panels open for about 0,4 inches if neccessary). I could change one glass panel for a frame with wirefence to have more ventilation for the chicks if this would be better.

I plan to use a brooder plate: https://brinsea.co.uk/bird-breeding-products/brooders/ecoglow-safety-600-chick-brooder/ so this would be the heat source for the chicks.
There is a ceramic bulb holder for a heat lamp on the right side in the terrarium, I could put a moderate light bulb there, perhaps covered with a little lampshade so the light would not be so harsh for them.
First week I plan to use puppy pads, afterwards wood litter or pine shavings.

Please tell me your opinions. Would the terrarium work as a chick brooder? Any advice is much appreciated ❤

 

[aart]

Oh trust me... eventually you will be punting them out the door one by one. We are running electricity out to our shed so I never ever have to have them on my back porch again. As they grow, they get feisty AF and super messy

All at once!
The dust!

First batch or two in the house are fun tho.

 

[Chickeria]

Update:
I cleaned and desinfected the terrarium and built a wired sliding frame to use instead of one glass panel to increase ventilation.
I got: brooder plate, chick food, grit, feeder, waterer, bedding (pine shavings and pine bark), sand, dried mealworms.
I need to get/make: puppypads, little lampshade (light bulb is a normal/old 40 Watt bulb of the times before LED, but according to my impression the light is a bit harsh and it is reflected from all the white walls), something to divide the space to make it smaller in the beginning so the little ones can find back the brooder plate easier.

 

[Chickeria]

Update:
I followed NatJ's advice and made a room divider out of a piece of cardboard.
The 'little lampshade' became a big lampshade, because I didn't have access to a smaller one, but it works well.
My 12 bantam Silkie babies hatched on April 2nd and April 3rd and are all doing fine.
Here is a picture of them in their ex-terrarium-brooder from the first days:

Then I upped the space as far as possible (big lamp shade was in the way at one point):

The babies became more and more and more active and confident and there was no more danger one could get lost in space, so I took out the room divider already. So this is how it looks currently at the terrarium-babies:

I planned to switch from the puppy-pads (which really were great for the first days, but now pooping becomes epic and the little ones obviously would love to scratch) to pine shavings in the area of the brooder plate and pine bark in the other half.
I'm concerned they will eat some of the shavings - they don't get grit yet (I searched for chick grit but couldn't get it in my country), only their chickstarterfood.
I bought normal grit, but it is very heavy, I think it is only for adults?
They are bantams and very tiny, so I'm afraid to do something wrong regarding the grit.

I will update how the brooder works when they get older. At the moment it works really well, cleaning for example is easy.

Thank you again to everybody helping me making the old terrarium a safe and comfortable space for my chicks

 

[Chickeria]

Terra-babies have since several days new beddings (pine shavings and pine bark), grit, a bowl with dirt, something to climb and to perch and will get a sod tomorrow:

 

[NatJ]

The inner dimensions of the terrarium are:
length: 1 m 37 cm = 54 inches
wide range: 65 cm = 25 inches
height: 70 cm = 27 inches

That size would probably be fine for about 6-10 chicks. I don't know how many eggs will fit in the incubator you will use, or how many of the eggs will hatch.

I could change one glass panel for a frame with wirefence to have more ventilation for the chicks if this would be better.

Yes, that would be better.

I think your plan sounds good!

 

[Aapomp831]

All at once!
The dust!

First batch or two in the house are fun tho.

Yes, all at once lol. Cute little a-holes

 

[aart]

I checked the package of the grit I purchased a little closer and it says it is suitable for chicken, quail, bantam quail and finches. It does have several sizes.

Do you have a link to the product?
I'm curious what it is.
I've purchased granite grit in bulk from the feed mill and sifted it all thru a 1/16" colander to get the smaller sized grit for the chicks.
I usually dig up a small piece of sod near the chicken run and sprinkle it with grit in the brooder at about 1-2 weeks old.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The ingredients are: Calcareous marine algae, calcareous shell limestone, calcium carbonate, quartz

Ok I will give them some sod, they are 9 and 8 days old now, thank you for your advice!

Main issue with this sort of pet bird grit is it has a lot of calcium components - the limestone, the calcium carbonate. The non soluble grit that's sold for chickens in the US is usually granite, so no extra calcium going into the system.

If the clump of dirt/sod has some tiny stones in the soil, the chicks can pick that out and safely use it as grit.

 

[Kakaruk]

What breed eggs you hope to get?

I ordered 8 Barred Plymouth Rock from a seller on ebay and I received 10 in the shipment. None were cracked. I just candled last night (about day 8) and it looks like for sure I have 7 growing, 3 look like not developing. Next time I candle, if they aren't growing I'll take them out.

The terrarium idea I think looks just fine but yes I think they will outgrow that pretty quickly. I agree, after raising chicks for years, it is so fun! However, getting them out pretty quickly is a good goal. They start jumping and flexing their wings pretty quickly!

I have used anything from cardboard boxes, to a make shift wooden box, a wash tub, and a dog kennel. As long as you have a heat source, dry bedding, food and water, the little critters are pretty hardy! My go to favorite is the old wash tub.