Build Your Own Brooder
Beauty of Birds Editorial Team
September 16, 2021 · Updated January 16, 2023 · 2 min read

Build Your Own Chick Brooder – Instructions
Useful Information: Breeders’ Resources (covers everything from handfeeding to potential breeding / chick problems) … Incubation Information … Information on Housing Chicks, Temperature Requirements, etc. … Caring for Poultry Chicks from Day One to Independence
Relevant Tools / Products: Egg Candling Devices … Full-spectrum Lights … Nesting Boxes … Feeding Formulas and Feeding Utensils … Need Eggs? Suppliers of Hatching Eggs (many will ship!) for a listing of egg suppliers in the United States and United Kingdom

What you will need (as seen on the graphic to the right):
- Cord, dish, product-packing box, three-wavelength 20W bulb, socket, newspaper for lining the brooder
- A low and heavy dish is good (to prevent water from spilling even if the chick steps on it.)
- A bulb, a socket, and a cord can be purchased at a hardware store.
Open the box and make a hole as indicated on the graphic:
Caution: Be sure to use a three-wavelength 20W bulb. If you use a bulb over 20W, temperature goes up, possibly killing the chick or causing a fire.
Tip: Refer when making a hole.
No. 4 = bulb; No. 1, 2, 3, 5 = air holes
Very cold place: Make a hole only at No. 1
Cold place: No. 1, 2 Warm place: No. 1, 2, 3
Very warm place: No. 1, 2, 3, 5
Insert the screw of the bulb in the hole inside the box and then put the socket outside the box and fasten it.
Caution: Be sure to install the bulb without putting a plug in a socket.
Or you can get a shock.
Cover the bottom with newspaper, place the dish in the corner and add a little water
Caution: If there is too much water and a chick falls into water, its feathers will get wet and it can die of loss of body heat. If this happens, dry the feathers with a hair dryer, etc.
About a day after the chick hatched, place it in the box and close the cover.
Put the plug in the socket and turn the light on.
Tip: About two weeks after a chick hatched, it has well-grown feathers and can be removed from the brooder and kept in a cage.
Gaurav is an animal enthusiast. He lives in beautiful Ontario with his energetic family. As a part of his work at beautyofbirds.com, he has been working with ace parrot trainer, Cassie Malina to understand bird behavior and learn more about how he can train his feathered companions.
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