Make sure it’s something that allows for air exchange. A top (for when chicks start flying or you have a curious cat/toddler).I use a 75 watt standard bulb, but specialized heat bulbs are available. A heat lamp (with a bulb that produces enough heat to warm to 95º).Other than the box, there isn’t much more that you need: A massive box with only a few chicks because it makes it harder for them to regulate their temperatures in such a large space.
A tiny box with 50 chicks because it will smell nasty in minutes and not provide much space or stimulation. The size of the box needs to correlate with the estimated size of your hatch. My brooder is a big 20 gallon Rubbermaid, but any box ( from cardboard to plywood and everything in between) will do. I use day 18 as an excuse to get the brooder setup, if only to distract me from checking the incubator every two minutes. I am happy to announce that all fourteen are doing great now and there have been no more mishaps. It was quite the emotional roller coaster. Before I knew it, they were all in there shimmying away. An hour later I peeked in to see where the levels were at and there was an egg, wiggling away. I thought it was a lost cause, but I still had a meager thread of hope. When it got about right, I put the eggs back in. I cranked up the heat to dry it out ASAP. I used up hundreds of paper towels ( without a single care for the environment or cost) and soaked up all the water. Quickly grabbing up eggs, I laid them out on a towel. It only took a moment before I realized that the water reservoir had sprung a leak. The temperature read 86☏ and the eggs were sitting in about 3/4″ of water. I woke the next morning and peeked into the incubator looking for more egg wiggles. Eggs were wiggling and I was getting very excited for the big day. I added a second water reservoir to up my humidity levels. I honestly thought that today I would be posting tragic news and asking your forgiveness for putting off this post until I felt up to it. Incubating chicks is not for the faint of heart.
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