Off-grid chicken brooder

Chickens are good to have around a homestead for multiple reasons: eggs, pest control, nitrogen-rich fertilizer, garden bed prepping, and entertainment--chickens are hilarious. The pest control is noticeable. Before we put our little flock of six out I was finding a tick on me about every other day, in the last two weeks I've found three.

the hover doubled as a roost

Conventional chicken brooding practice stipulates the use of a heat lamp to keep chicks at a constant of around 90 degrees. We run a generator during the day to charge my laptop, cell phones, and to run power tools-- when the generator stops so does the electricity. Our inability to run a heat lamp almost kept us from getting chicks this year but I found several sources online suggesting heat lamps are too hot, that's why chicks in the store so often lay themselves out flat on the ground and don't move, they're too hot.

We came up with a two-prong heat solution that worked perfectly for our baby barred rocks. I built a hover (upside down box for chicks to go under to get warm) out of a cardboard box, lined the inside of it with mylar (aluminum foil would probably work as well), and stuck a hot water bottle (can be purchased at most pharmacies or this one on amazon is really heavy-duty and reliable) wrapped in a hand towel under it. The chicks ducked under the hover when they got cold and came back out when they were too warm.

they out-grew this brooder by week three

From what I've read, heat lamps could also be to blame for the delightfully named "pasty butt." According to backyardchickens.com, an excellent resource for the novice chicken raiser:

"Chicks are prone to a condition called "pasty butt" where dropings stick to their vents and clog it up, making it impossible for them to relieve themselves. If left untreated this can kill them. Check your chicks' bottoms every few hours, especially during the first 2 weeks. If you find a pasty bottom carefully soak and remove the plug, pat the area and dry and apply a little vaseline or vegetable oil to the area. Organic ACV (apple cider vinegar) in their drink water is found to really help prevent this condition. A ratio of 3-4 tablespoons to a gallon water is recommended."

Pasty butt was not a problem with our barred rocks, not once.

There are two downsides to brooding this way: the hot water bottle needed to be refilled three times a day, more effort than plugging in a heat lamp, and the hand towel got pooped on so it could be a little messy. Even so, I prefer this to dealing with pasty butt and I would bet the heat from the water bottle felt more natural (like a mama hen) and more comfortable for the chicks.

What I've learned from chicken brooding: 1. Chicks are excellent communicators, they let you know in no uncertain terms that they are in need of something, and it's not hard to figure out whether it's food, water, or heat. 2. Chicks are hardier than much of the literature suggests. I had them outside for 30-45 mins a day after their first week home, with outside temperatures of high 30's and low 40's.

I'm not suggesting that my experience with six chicks has made me an expert who can now lay waste to all previous chicken brooding conventions. But, as any generalist knows, sometimes specialized knowledge (the expert way of doing things) can get in the way of intuitive innovation backed up by thoughtful observation.