8 Supplies for Setting Up Your First Chick Brooder

The post office just called, and that tell-tale peeping sound means your day-old chicks have arrived. This is the exciting, and critical, first step in raising a healthy flock. Your success over the next six weeks depends entirely on one thing: having a safe, warm, and well-equipped brooder ready and waiting.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

What to Know Before Your Chicks Arrive

Your brooder should be completely set up, warmed up, and stocked with food and water before you bring your chicks home. The journey from the hatchery is stressful, and they need to be placed immediately into a stable environment to recover. Choose a location for your brooder that is safe from predators (including house pets), free from drafts, and somewhere you can check on them frequently without major disruption. A garage, mudroom, or a spare room are common choices.

Remember that chicks grow astonishingly fast. What looks like a spacious home for a dozen fluffy chicks will feel cramped in just two weeks. Plan for at least a half-square-foot of space per chick to start, and be prepared to expand their area or move them to a larger brooder as they grow. Cleanliness is not optional; it’s your primary defense against disease. You will be cleaning the brooder frequently, so an accessible setup is crucial for your sanity and their health.

Brooder Container – Behrens 100-Gallon Stock Tank

Your first decision is the brooder itself, the container that will be your chicks’ entire world for six weeks. While cardboard boxes and plastic totes are tempting, they are quickly outgrown, difficult to sanitize, and flimsy. A galvanized steel stock tank is a buy-it-once solution that provides a durable, safe, and easy-to-clean environment.

The Behrens 100-Gallon Stock Tank is the ideal choice for a backyard flock of up to 25 chicks. Its round shape eliminates corners where chicks can pile up and suffocate one another, a common and tragic problem in square brooders. The galvanized steel is impervious to pecking and scratching, and it can be scrubbed clean and disinfected between batches, ensuring a healthy start for future flocks. A stock tank is an investment, but its utility extends far beyond the brooder; it can later serve as a garden bed, a water trough, or a feed bin. This is for the keeper who values durability and wants equipment that will last for years.

Heat Plate – Brinsea EcoGlow Safety 600 Chick Brooder

Chicks cannot regulate their own body temperature for the first several weeks of life, making a reliable heat source the most critical piece of brooder equipment. Traditional heat lamps are a significant fire hazard, with countless coop and garage fires attributed to their failure. A heat plate is a much safer, more natural, and more energy-efficient alternative.

The Brinsea EcoGlow Safety 600 Chick Brooder provides radiant heat from above, allowing chicks to huddle underneath for warmth just as they would with a mother hen. This design lets them self-regulate their temperature by moving in and out of the heated zone, which promotes healthier development. The EcoGlow 600 is fully adjustable in height to accommodate growing chicks and runs on a low-voltage power supply, dramatically reducing fire risk and electricity costs. It’s the right choice for anyone who prioritizes safety and wants peace of mind, especially if the brooder is located in a garage or outbuilding.

Pine Shavings – Standlee Premium Western Pine Shavings

Bedding in the brooder serves three purposes: it absorbs moisture, provides insulation, and gives chicks a surface to grip and scratch. Pine shavings are the gold standard. Avoid cedar shavings, as their aromatic oils can cause respiratory damage, and never use flat newspaper, which is too slippery and can lead to a crippling leg deformity called spraddle leg.

Standlee Premium Western Pine Shavings are an excellent choice because they are low-dust and highly absorbent. A deep, 2-to-3-inch layer of these shavings will keep your brooder dry and reduce ammonia odor, a key factor in preventing respiratory illness. The flake size is small enough for tiny chicks to navigate easily. This product is for any chick raiser who understands that a dry brooder is a healthy brooder. You’ll need at least one compressed bale to get started and to have extra on hand for spot-cleaning.

Chick Feeder – Harris Farms Plastic Flip-Top Feeder

You need a feeder that gives chicks easy access to food without allowing them to waste it or soil it. Chicks are masters of scratching feed everywhere, and a poorly designed feeder will lead to significant waste and a messy brooder. A long, trough-style feeder is the best design for the first few weeks.

The Harris Farms Plastic Flip-Top Feeder is a simple, effective, and inexpensive tool for the job. Its red color attracts chicks to the food source, and the narrow trough with individual feeding holes prevents them from kicking feed out or sitting in it. The flip-top design makes daily refilling and cleaning incredibly easy. At 20 inches long, one of these feeders is sufficient for about 25 chicks. It’s the perfect no-fuss feeder for getting your flock through the brooder stage.

Chick Waterer – Little Giant 1-Quart Poultry Waterer

Constant access to clean, fresh water is non-negotiable for chick health. Dehydration is a swift killer of young birds. The challenge is providing water in a way that prevents chicks from drowning, getting chilled, or fouling the water with droppings and bedding.

The Little Giant 1-Quart Poultry Waterer is a classic for a reason. Its small size is perfect for the brooder, ensuring you’ll be providing fresh water at least once a day. The shallow water trough is crucial for safety, as it’s nearly impossible for a chick to drown in it. As with the feeder, the red base attracts the chicks and encourages them to drink. For the first few days, you can place marbles or small, smooth stones in the trough to make it even shallower and prevent a wet, chilled chick. This is a must-have, foundational piece of equipment for every single person raising chicks.

Starter Feed – Purina Start & Grow Medicated Crumbles

For the first 8 weeks of their lives, chicks need a complete feed formulated for their specific nutritional requirements. A high-protein starter feed is essential for proper growth and feather development. The choice between medicated and non-medicated feed is a significant one.

Purina Start & Grow Medicated Crumbles is a reliable and widely available option that gives your flock a strong advantage. The "medicated" component is amprolium, a coccidiostat that helps prevent coccidiosis—an intestinal parasite that is one of the most common causes of death in young chicks. The crumble form is perfectly sized for their tiny beaks. Choosing a medicated feed is a proactive measure that acts as an insurance policy, especially for first-time chicken keepers. This feed is for the pragmatist who wants to minimize the risk of a common, devastating disease. Note: If your chicks were vaccinated for coccidiosis at the hatchery, you should use a non-medicated feed.

Chick Grit – Manna Pro Chick Grit with Probiotics

Chickens don’t have teeth. They use a muscular organ called the gizzard to grind their food, and to do this, they need to consume small stones, or "grit." While a complete starter feed doesn’t technically require grit for digestion, it’s an essential supplement if you offer your chicks any treats at all, even a few blades of grass.

Manna Pro Chick Grit with Probiotics is the right tool for the job. The granite grit is appropriately sized for chicks, and the added probiotics help establish a healthy gut microbiome from an early age. Simply offer it in a small, separate dish (a jar lid works well) so the chicks can take what they need. A small bag is inexpensive and will last a very long time. This is for the keeper who plans to offer their chicks treats or wants to ensure optimal digestive health from day one.

Electrolytes – Sav-A-Chick Vitamin & Electrolyte Mix

The first 24-48 hours after your chicks arrive are the most critical. Shipping is an exhausting and dehydrating experience for them, and giving them a boost upon arrival can dramatically increase their survival rate and overall vigor.

Sav-A-Chick Vitamin & Electrolyte Mix is a simple and effective way to support your chicks during this transition. This water-soluble powder provides key vitamins and electrolytes that help them rehydrate and recover from the stress of travel. You simply mix one packet into their first gallon of water. It’s an easy, inexpensive step that gives your new flock the best possible start. This is an essential supply for anyone receiving shipped chicks.

Setting Up Your Brooder for Safety and Comfort

With your supplies gathered, the setup itself is straightforward. Start by placing the brooder tank in its final, draft-free location. Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of pine shavings, making it level and fluffy. Place the heat plate in the center, setting it to its lowest height; you can place your hand underneath to feel for gentle, consistent warmth.

Position the feeder and waterer on the opposite side of the brooder from the heat plate. This separation is important. It prevents the heat from spoiling the water and encourages the chicks to move around. It also helps keep the food and water cleaner, as chicks will spend most of their time sleeping under the heat source. For the first day, you might dip each chick’s beak into the water as you place them in the brooder to show them where it is.

Monitoring Temperature and Chick Behavior Closely

A thermometer can give you a baseline reading, but the chicks themselves are the best indicator of a comfortable temperature. Your job for the first week is to be a constant observer. If the chicks are all huddled tightly directly under the center of the heat plate, they are too cold. Lower the plate slightly. If they are all scattered to the far edges of the brooder, avoiding the plate entirely, they are too hot. Raise it up.

The ideal state is seeing chicks spread evenly throughout the brooder. Some will be sleeping under the plate, some will be eating and drinking, and others will be exploring their space. This indicates they can comfortably regulate their own temperature. As the chicks grow and feather out, you will need to raise the heat plate weekly and eventually turn it off completely about a week before they move to the coop.

Graduating Chicks from the Brooder to the Coop

Around 6 weeks of age, your chicks will be fully feathered and looking like miniature versions of adult chickens. They will also likely be making a huge mess of your brooder and are ready for more space. However, you can’t just move them straight into the coop. They need a gradual transition to acclimate to outdoor temperatures.

Start by turning off the brooder heat plate for a few days while they are still inside. If the weather is mild (above 65°F), you can begin taking them out to the coop and run for a few hours during the warmest part of the day, bringing them back into the brooder at night. After about a week of these "field trips," they should be ready to move into the coop full-time. Ensure the coop is secure, draft-free, and ready with adult-sized feeders and waterers.

Setting up your first brooder is a foundational skill in chicken keeping. By starting with the right equipment, you create a safe and healthy environment that minimizes stress—for both you and your chicks. This careful preparation is the first and most important step toward raising a thriving, productive backyard flock.