Easy Chick Brooder | Our First Vlog!

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This post was originally published on July 15, 2018 on The Red Rock Flock.

Hey guys! Guess what! I made a video.

Now you get to watch me up close and personal being my awkward and chicken-nerdy self on YouTube!

How exciting for you.

I’m hoping to incorporate both blogs and vlogs into the website so if you wanna read, you can read, and if you wanna watch, well, you can do that too.

Since I just got *another* shipment of day-old baby chicks, I figured it would be appropriate to show y’all how I set up my chick brooder. It’s a super simple how-to, but it’s very in depth because I always have a hard time finding videos on YouTube that go over E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Some videos simply gloss over things that might seem really easy, but for someone getting chicks for the first time it might be helpful to see exactly step-by-step how it gets set up.

Anyways, pardon any terrible editing because this is like the 3rd video I’ve ever made in my life, they will get better, I pinky promise! (I also said “um” between almost every statement I made… you don’t realize these things until you watch yourself – it’s so cringey!) But I hope you enjoy and find it informative. Feel free to comment or ask any questions – it’s always super helpful to hear how others like to do things!

I’m also going to go ahead and link some of the items I’ve used below the video in case anyone is interested in buying them.

So to summarize:

• Get yourself a big plastic tub, or a big cardboard box, or SOMETHING that is large enough for your chicks to be able to roam around a bit.
• Fill with pine shavings ~2″ deep (I had the fine variety but the thick flake is fine too.)
• Dust shavings with ~1/4 cup food grade diatomaceous earth (optional). Helps keep cocci and other bugs away.
• Set up heat source where you want brooder. Either a heat lamp or heat plate will do. Day old chicks like it 95-100 degrees F for the first week then decrease 5 degrees F every week.
• Obtain feeder + waterer. Fill with your choice of chick starter (medicated or unmedicated, your decision). Fill with water + 1/4 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp sugar (for new arrivals).

Add chicks and have fun!