Build a 200-Chick Brooder for $20 in Two Hours

One of the biggest challenges to keeping to flock of chickens is raising baby chicks successfully every time, especially when the weather doesn't cooperate -- and does it ever?

The biggest single thing you can do to ensure successful with baby chicks is to build a chicken brooder that really does the job. Overhead heat lamps use a lot of electricity but don't keep the chicks as snug as you'd like. Sheet-metal brooders don't work at all in unheated rooms unless you have a guaranteed run of warm weather. Since the brooders on the market don't get the job done, you need to build one yourself -- one that keeps the chicks warm, is easy to build, and is insulated to save electricity.

My book, Success With Baby Chicks, devotes two whole chapters to insulated electric lamp brooders, using infrared heat lamps, floodlights, or ordinary light bulbs, depending on how big the brooder is and how cold it is outside. These brooders are very easy to build and have a great reputation among those who use them.

These baby chick brooders are built mostly from plywood and can be put together by anyone who can drive a nail one time out of three. They use two lamps, which means your chicks will be okay even if one burns out. Thermostats are not used (and aren't desirable) in this kind of brooder, so there are no controls to set. It's all very simple and foolproof. Millions of chicks have been raised with brooders of this design.

You can read the original 1942 Experiment Station bulletin on this type of brooder here. My book has plenty of additional material about chick brooding. Buy Success With Baby Chicks today, and learn how to brood chicks year-round with no problems!

Just click the "Add To Cart" button or go to my main Success With Baby Chicks page.

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