Brooding: Getting the First Two Weeks Right
More batches are lost in the first fourteen days than in all the weeks that follow. Temperature, chick paper, water and the checks that catch problems early.
A day-old chick cannot regulate its own body temperature for about the first two weeks. Until then the shed has to do it. Nearly every problem that shows up at week four traces back to something that went wrong here.
Before the chicks arrive
- Clean, disinfect and rest the shed. Do not shorten the rest period to fit a batch in.
- Lay dry litter 5–8 cm deep. Damp litter at placement is a coccidiosis outbreak scheduled for week three.
- Pre-heat for at least 24 hours. Heating the air is not enough — the litter and floor must be warm. A chick loses body heat into cold litter through its feet no matter how warm the air is.
- Set out chick paper under the brooder and scatter feed on it, so chicks find feed by walking on it.
- Fill drinkers with water at room temperature — not cold — an hour before arrival.
Temperature
| Age | Temperature | Relative humidity |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1–3 | 33–35°C | 60–70% |
| Day 4–7 | 31–33°C | 60–70% |
| Week 2 | 29–31°C | 55–65% |
| Week 3 | 27–29°C | 55–65% |
| Week 4 | 24–26°C | 50–60% |
Measure at chick height, not at your own. A thermometer hanging at chest level tells you very little about conditions 8 cm off the floor.
Water and feed
- Chicks must drink before they eat. Dip the beaks of a few birds into the drinker; the rest follow.
- Keep drinkers at back height and raise them as the birds grow.
- Feed on chick paper for the first 3–4 days alongside the feeders, then withdraw the paper gradually.
- Never let feed or water run out in the first week. Interrupted access at this stage costs final weight.
Crop fill — the check most farms skip
Eight hours after placement, pick 30–40 chicks at random and feel the crop. It should be full, soft and rounded. Target at least 80% of birds with a full crop at 8 hours, and 95% or better by 24 hours. A low crop-fill score tells you the chicks are not finding feed or water — and tells you on day one, while you can still fix it, rather than at weighing on day seven.
Light and space
- Provide 23 hours of light for the first 2–3 days so chicks can locate feed and water, then reduce progressively.
- Expand the brooder guard gradually from about day 4 as the birds grow.
- Give roughly 40–50 chicks per square metre inside the guard initially, reducing as it expands.
Watch for
- Pasty vent — droppings stuck around the vent, usually a chilling sign. Clean gently and check the temperature.
- Dehydration — shrivelled shanks, listless birds. Check drinker height and water availability.
- Mortality above 1% in week one — investigate immediately rather than waiting to see if it settles.
- Uneven weights at day 7 — almost always feeder or drinker access, not the ration.