Raising Baby Chicks: Brooder Setup and the Week-by-Week Temperature Schedule

Q: What temperature does a chick brooder need?

Start at 95°F under the heat source in week one and lower it 5°F each week until you reach about 70°F or room temperature around week five or six. Huddling chicks are too cold; chicks pressed to the edges are too hot.

Q: How long do chicks need a heat lamp?

Until they are fully feathered and the brooder temperature has been walked down to match the outdoor low, typically five to six weeks. Warm rooms finish sooner, cold springs a little later.

Q: Can I get sick from handling baby chicks?

Yes. Chicks routinely carry Salmonella even when they look healthy. Wash hands with soap right after handling them or their equipment, never kiss or hold them to your face, and keep them out of food-prep areas, especially around young children and immune-compromised people.

Q: What should I feed baby chicks?

An 18-20% protein chick starter, available around the clock, from day one through roughly eight weeks. Constant fresh water is just as important, since chicks that go dry can fail quickly.

Updated July 2026 · Editorial team · Topic: chickens

Raising Baby Chicks: Brooder Setup and the Week-by-Week Temperature Schedule — Chickens

A box of peeping day-old chicks is one of the great small joys of homesteading, and also a countdown clock. For the first six weeks these birds can't regulate their own body heat — they rely entirely on you to hold a warm, dry, draft-free spot and then walk that warmth down at exactly the right pace. Get the temperature curve wrong and you either chill them into a pile or cook them into panting. The good news: it's a schedule, not a guess.

Short answer: Start the brooder floor at 95°F in week one and drop it 5°F every week until you reach about 70°F or the room temperature, usually around week five to six when the chicks are fully feathered. Give each chick 0.5 sq ft at first, expanding toward 1 sq ft by week four, feed a 18–20% protein chick starter, and never let the water run dry. Let the chicks' behavior — huddled versus spread out — fine-tune the heat.

Reviewed by the BackyardStead Lab editorial team. We publish real ROI, plain numbers and USDA/extension data so you can judge for yourself — we run the math, not a farm. Educational information only: backyard-chicken and livestock rules vary by city, home canning must follow USDA/NCHFP-tested methods (botulism risk), and mushrooms should be grown only from a known-species kit — never foraged on our word.

The temperature schedule, week by week

The number below is the temperature directly under the heat source at chick level, not the whole room. The single most reliable guide isn't the thermometer, though — it's the birds. Chicks piled under the lamp are cold; chicks pressed to the far corners are too hot; chicks scattered evenly and cheeping softly are exactly right.

Week	Target temp (under heat)	Chick stage
1	95°F	Fragile, sleep constantly, need warmth always nearby
2	90°F	First wing feathers, more active
3	85°F	Feathering out, short bursts of play
4	80°F	Mostly feathered, testing roosts
5	75°F	Nearly fully feathered
6	70°F / room temp	Feathered; ready to transition off heat

Once the brooder temperature matches the outdoor low and the chicks are fully feathered — usually week six — they can move to the coop. Do it gradually if the weather is cold, giving them a few daytime trips out before the permanent move.

Data note: The 95°F start and 5°F weekly step is the standard brooding curve from poultry extension programs, and it's a starting point, not a law of physics. A warm July garage may let chicks wean off heat a week early; a cold spring shed may need the lamp longer. Always read the birds first and treat the thermometer as the tie-breaker, not the boss.

What goes in the brooder

The gear list is short, and a couple of the choices are safety choices, not preferences:

Heat source. A radiant heat plate is safer than a heat lamp — it can't spark a fire the way a clamp lamp near dry bedding can, and clamp-lamp failures cause coop and barn fires every spring. If you use a bulb, secure it two independent ways.
Bedding. Pine shavings, never cedar — cedar oils irritate chick lungs. Paper towels for the first few days so chicks learn feed from bedding.
Feeder and waterer. Chick-sized, cleaned daily. A shallow waterer with pebbles prevents drowning in the first week.
Feed. An 18–20% protein chick starter, available at all times; the full age-by-age plan is in what to feed chickens.
A thermometer at chick level, plus walls tall enough that feathered chicks can't hop out by week three.

Safety note — handling chicks: Baby chicks and ducklings commonly carry Salmonella on their down and feet even when they look perfectly healthy, and live-poultry outbreaks send people to the hospital every year. The CDC guidance is direct: wash hands with soap right after touching chicks, their feeder, or the brooder; don't kiss or snuggle them against your face; and keep them out of the kitchen. Children under five, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system should be especially careful. It's a real illness, not a formality.

Common mistakes, in numbers

One temperature for all six weeks. Holding 95°F into week three overheats feathering chicks; they pant, crowd the corners, and stop eating. Walk it down 5°F a week.
A brooder too small too soon. Below 0.5 square foot a chick, they pile and pick. By week four they want a full square foot each, so size up or you'll be moving them mid-brood.
Cedar shavings to save a dollar. The aromatic oils irritate developing respiratory systems. Pine or paper only.
Trusting a clamp lamp on one clip. A lamp that falls into shavings is a barn fire. Heat plates remove the risk entirely, and where they're used, spring brooder fires largely disappear.

FAQ

What temperature does a chick brooder need?

Start at 95°F under the heat source in week one and lower it 5°F each week until you reach about 70°F or room temperature around week five or six. Watch the chicks: huddling means too cold, scattering to the edges means too hot.

How long do chicks need a heat lamp?

Until they're fully feathered and the brooder temperature has been walked down to match the outdoor low — typically five to six weeks. In a warm room they may finish sooner; in a cold spring, a little later.

Can I get sick from handling baby chicks?

Yes. Chicks routinely carry Salmonella even when healthy-looking. Wash your hands with soap immediately after handling them or their equipment, never kiss or hold them to your face, and keep them out of food-prep areas — advice that matters most for young children and anyone immune-compromised.

What should I feed baby chicks?

An 18–20% protein chick starter, available around the clock, from day one through roughly eight weeks. Fresh water at all times is just as important; chicks that go dry even briefly can fail fast.

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Educational information only, not veterinary advice. BackyardStead Lab keeps no commercial flock; figures here are compiled from USDA, university extension and published poultry data. Backyard chicken laws vary by city and county, so check your local ordinances before buying birds. Costs, lay rates and egg prices vary with breed, climate, feed prices and management.