How to Keep Baby Chicks Warm Without Electricity

When you get your chicks home, normally you have a brood kit setup like the ones we sell online. This provides optimal area for your new chicks to grow and get ready for life with the your established flock.

The brooder kit is self-contained and has what you need to get you started.... just add chicks and chick feed. But what happens if the place your chicks are going doesn't have electricity?

When a heat lamp is not an option (like in a power outage in a snow storm, like the one we had during this interview), you will need to understand what is provided by the heat lamp and brooder kit, so you can provide this to your flock without it.

New Chicks: When a Heat Lamp is not an Option

When a chick comes home, they need a constant heat of between 90-95°F during the first week. This temperature is decreased by 5° every week until your chicks are able to be integrated with your current flock.

In the video below Erik gives some ways to insure your new chicks make it to flock integration successfully, even without electricity.

So what's the takeaway? If you are trying to keep your chicks warm and toasty WITHOUT a heat lamp, the best way to do that would be to mimic nature.

Mimic Nature: Keep Your Chickens Warm Without Electricity

Build them a well-insulated nest constructed of straw bedding, paper (or feathers if you have them) and put your chicks into a shelter. We have options for shelters online right here, but the general idea is to  keep your coop, and your chickens in that coop insulated.

Make sure you build your coop off the ground--read the article to find out why.

They will naturally huddle together and keep each other warm- with the help of the added nesting materials, you should be able to help them grow- even without a heat lamp!

If you have any questions, reach out to us below and we will work to get back to you within 24-hours.