What NOT to Include in the Brooder

The brooder supplies a chick’s three basic survival needs: heat, food, and water. Knowing how to properly set up the brooder is essential before you get chicks. However, you may know what you should include in the brooder, but do you know about some of the things you should not include in the brooder? This list of 7 things not to include in the brooder will help keep your chicks safe and healthy! I’m all for raising chicks naturally on the homestead, and these are items that I steer clear of when setting up the brooder for baby chicks!

three black chicks in front of two black farmhouse signs with some wildflowers

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#1. Dusters

You may have read somewhere to include a duster in the brooder for your chicks. The duster is supposed to replicate a mother hen’s feathers and give the chicks a dark, soft place to hide in and explore. However, this is not a safe option for replicating mama hen! Dusters provide these dangers in the brooder:

the curious chicks will yank and pull on the duster strands and pull the duster apart
this could lead to the chicks consuming parts of the duster (not a good thing to add to their diet!)
the strands can cause strangulation and entanglement, which could lead to choking or deprivation of food and water

These dangers are enough to keep me from including a duster in the brooder! Besides, there are healthier, more natural options for creating a cozy, natural replication of mama hen.

An Ecoglow radiant heater is one such option. The radiant heater sits low to the ground and provides heat, much like mama hen would. The chicks can scurry in and out from under the heater as they wish and can even jump on top of the heater as they grow older and more confident!

a Svart Hona chick on a wooden crate with yellow and white flowers

#2. Perches

This second one may surprise you! Don’t include perches!? But chicks love jumping up on objects and it’s fun to watch them learn how to perch! Don’t worry, you can still introduce perches, but just wait until the chicks are older.

When perches are introduced at too young of an age, the chicks can be prone to ailments such as bumblefoot or other foot and leg related issues. Also, since the chicks’ legs and bones are still developing and growing, the impaction of a fall or hop down from a high perch can cause bone and joint issues.

Generally, it is recommended you wait until the chicks are 4 weeks old before introducing fun perching options into their living space. Still, make sure you start off with small perches that are easy to balance on and make learning to perch easy for the chicks. Keep the perches low to the ground so the chicks don’t have far to fall if they lose their balance, and so that they are easy for short legs to get up on!

Avoid wooden dowels or rounded perches, since those can be slippery and hard to perch on for young chicks.

As your chicks grow older, develop stronger bones, become better coordinated, and expand their perching abilities, you can add variety to the perches in their living space and introduce more challenging objects that can provide entertainment too! Think… chicken swings, ladder perches, branches, balance beams….

black chicks standing on paper towel litter in front of a wood background

#3. Cedar Litter & Sawdust

When choosing a litter for your brooder (after using paper towel for the first few days), steer clear of cedar based wood shavings and sawdust. While there is a lot of debate out there on whether cedar shavings are safe for chickens or not, it is generally recommended you start with a safer litter option, especially if this is your first time raising chicks.

The reason why cedar shavings should be avoided is because of the cedar oil residue in the shavings. The residue contains a substance, that when absorbed by the body, can be toxic and cause respiratory issues. This residue can be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or consumed (if the chicks eat the shavings).

Also, keep in mind that chicks have a smaller body mass, which means it will take less of a dangerous substance to harm them than it would for larger animals or even full grown chickens.

While most evergreen woods contain this toxic residue, it is believed that cedar has the highest concentration. That means that pine shavings can also pose a risk, however, I have used pine shavings for years and never had a problem.

If you want to be totally on the safe side, choose a non-evergreen wood shaving, such as aspen shavings for the brooder litter.

a black chick standing in a wood food bowl

#4. Deep Dishes

Another thing you will want to avoid when setting up the brooder are deep dishes, bowls, or feeders. Even though baby chicks grow fast, starting off they will need shallow containers for their food and water that are easy for them to access.

Deep water dishes should especially be avoided along with any water system that has a large amount of open water surface area. Chicks can drown or get chilled if they get stuck in their water. It’s amazing how curious and adventurous young chicks can be and they can easily fall/jump into deep dishes or troughs. Even shallow bowls with a large open water surface can pose a hazard. Although the chicks are less likely to drown in the shallow water, they can get stuck in the water and become wet and chilled.

Either way, you want the water to be adequately protected but easily accessible. No bowls, troughs, or large open water surfaces. Sometimes raising a chick water slightly off the ground gives it just the height it needs to keep the chicks from falling into the narrow rim and getting wet. Poultry nipples are the safest route to keep all water enclosed but make it easy for the chicks to get a drink.

As for food, you still don’t want to use deep dishes or troughs. The chicks may have a hard time reaching the food, plus it allows other debris to get into the food and spoil it.

Overall, avoid anything deep or with a large surface area for both a water system and a feeder.

a fluffy yellow chick sitting in a large wooden spoon in front of a wood background

#5. 250-Watt Heat Lamps

Now, I went over comparing heat lamps to radiant heaters in my post Ecoglow vs Heat Lamp, so if you want to learn more about choosing the right heat source for your chicks, then check out that post. For now, let’s discuss heat lamps.

If you do choose to use a heat lamp as the primary heat source for your chicks, you will want to invest in a commercial brooder lamp. Commercial brooder lamps be will have a few extra safety measures and are designed to be used around chicks.

As for the actual bulb in the lamp, avoid 250-watt bulbs. While these do provide a lot of heat, that much heat is not necessary for brooding chicks. Choose a 125-watt or 175-watt bulb instead. You will be able to control the brooder temperature a lot easier and the heat will be less intense. Less intense heat is healthier for the chicks and safer for the surroundings.

Ideally, don’t include a heat lamp in the brooder at all! Instead, opt-for the more natural radiant heaters! Trust me, both my chicks and I love the radiant heaters way better than the heat lamps!

brooder set-up and chick care checklist printable

a young black chick standing next to a vase of wildflowers on a wood pallet

#6. Sawdust

Another litter consideration to keep in mind when choosing brooder litter is the litter size. You do not want to use sawdust or fine flake wood shavings in the brooder. The small particle size of these litters makes it easier for the chicks to accidentally (or purposefully) eat the litter. Consuming sawdust and small pieces of wood shavings is not healthy for your chicks! Amongst other issues, the wood fiber can cause blockages and be hard to digest for a chick’s sensitive digestive system.

Sawdust is also dustier than large flake wood shavings. Additional dust causes respiratory issues, so it’s best to avoid fine litter types.

When buying wood shavings, look for large flake shavings to use in the brooder.

a day old baby chick on some paper towel and surrounded by Easter eggs

#7. Other Hazards

Finally, I just want to touch on a few other hazards you will want to ensure are not in your chick brooder. These are hazards that may be present in objects within the brooder or may be a component of what the brooder is constructed with (especially for DIY brooders). Here are some things that you want to ensure are not in the brooder:

peeling paint
substances or objects that can be pecked apart
sharp or pointy objects
small objects that are not edible

If you are considering adding something to the brooder and it falls into one of those categories, don’t add it to the brooder! Everything in the brooder should be chick-proof and chick-safe.

Also, you will want to keep wetness out of the brooder too. Water spills, damp litter, overly saturated litter, and wet feed should all be removed from the brooder as soon as possible. Regular cleanings and proper maintenance should help prevent dampness from becoming an issue in the brooder though.

Natural Poultry First Aid Kit Supplies checklist

three black chicks standing on three small wood slice circles

Safe and Healthy

The brooder can be a safe, cozy place for your chicks when you are aware of these objects not to include in the brooder! Safety and health are the main factors when considering what to include in the brooder. Chick safe feeder and waters should be used, as well as proper litter and a safe heat source. Food, water, and heat… that’s really all your chicks need! Just make sure they are healthy for your chicks and serve their purpose effectively and safely!

And don’t forget, if you want weekly tips on raising your chicks into a homestead flock, make sure you become part of our weekly pioneer newsletter community! You will get our eboook on Raising Chickens Like a Pioneer plus tons of other helpful information provided every week! The Trading Post is also a great resource to check out for natural chick raising supplies!

by Alexa