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Brooder Calculator.
Brooder & Hatchery Calculator
Brooder space, heat, feed, water, and timeline for raising chicks, ducklings, poults, goslings, and quail. Plus when to move to outside pasture.
Critical brooder rules
- Heat from one end of the brooder, not the whole space. Birds need to choose their temperature — too hot under the heat lamp drives them away. If they're huddled directly under, they're cold; if they're at the corners, they're hot; if they're spread across, it's right.
- Lower temperature 5°F per week. Start at species-specific target; reduce week-by-week until ambient air temp matches outside conditions at move-out.
- Drown-proof water. Especially for waterfowl — ducklings/goslings can drown in shallow water before they can swim. Use marble-filled or nipple waterers for first week.
- Pasty butt watch (chicks). First-week chicks can become blocked by dried droppings. Check daily; clean with warm water if needed.
- Water before food. Birds dehydrate in shipping; offer water for 1-2 hours before feed when arrived.
- No heat lamps over deep bedding without a guard. Heat lamps are the leading cause of barn fires. Use radiant heat plates instead — safer, more even, more efficient.
- Brooder predator-proof. Cats, rats, snakes, and weasels can wipe out a brooder overnight. Top + bottom hardware cloth.
Heat plate vs heat lamp
| Heat plate | Heat lamp | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy use | ~50W (radiant) | ~250W (heat lamp), 100W (LED brooder) |
| Fire risk | Very low | High (especially in straw bedding) |
| Even heating | Excellent (radiant from above) | Hot spots; cooler edges |
| Bird behavior | Birds duck under as they would a hen | Birds approach the light spot |
| Cost (initial) | $50-90 | $15-40 |
| Lifetime | 10+ years | ~6 months hard use |
Heat plates are the modern best practice. Heat lamps remain useful in extreme cold (below 0°F barns) where additional radiant heat is needed.
Feed reference
| Species | Starter feed | Grower | Finisher / Layer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chick (meat) | 22-24% protein, 0-3 weeks | 20-22% protein, 3-6 weeks | 18% finisher, 6-8 weeks |
| Chick (layer) | 20-22%, 0-8 weeks | 18%, 8-18 weeks | 16-18% layer, 18+ weeks |
| Duckling | 22%, 0-3 weeks (no medicated) | 16-18%, 3-7 weeks | 16% layer/maint., 7+ weeks |
| Turkey poult | 28-30%, 0-6 weeks | 24-26%, 6-12 weeks | 20% finisher, 12+ weeks |
| Quail | 26-30% gamebird starter, 0-6 weeks | — | 20-24% gamebird layer |
Important: Never feed medicated chick starter to ducklings or geese — the amprolium dose can be toxic at high feed-intake rates.
Free under CC BY 4.0. Cite as "OAT Brooder & Hatchery Calculator (openagriculturetechnology.com)". Standards from extension publications and small-poultry production literature.