Before day-old chicks arrive, the house must undergo a strict sanitation cycle: dry cleaning, washing, disinfection, and a 14-day downtime. Spread pre-warmed wood shavings litter to a depth of 5-10cm. Pre-heat the concrete floor to 32°C and ambient air to 33°C at least 24 hours before chick placement, aligning with our week-by-week Brooding Climate Guide.

Drinker & Feeder Setups: Flush water lines to clear bio-films and adjust pressure. Set drinker heights so nipples are at chick eye level. Provide paper sheets covering 50% of the brooding area, spread with starter feed crumbles to encourage immediate foraging.

Chicks are poikilothermic for the first 7 days, meaning they cannot regulate their own body temperature. Keep relative humidity (RH) at 60-70% (monitored by our Brooding Climate Tool) to prevent chick dehydration. Monitor Crop Fill: check 100 chicks at random 24 hours post-placement; >95% of crop checks should be soft and rounded, indicating rapid intake of feed and water.

Step-Down Heating Profile: Start air temperature at 33°C (91°F) at Day 1. Gradually decrease the temperature setpoint by 0.5°C daily, reaching 21°C (70°F) by Day 21 as the birds develop feathers.

Lighting programs regulate metabolic rate, skeletal growth, and welfare. Provide 23 hours of light and 1 hour of dark for the first 7 days. Thereafter, implement a dark period of at least 4-6 hours. This dark period reduces the incidence of metabolic disorders such as Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) and Ascites, while allowing physiological rest.

Ventilation Cycles: Minimum ventilation must operate on automatic cycle timers to remove metabolic moisture, CO2 (<3,000 ppm), and ammonia (<20 ppm) without causing drafts. Tunnel ventilation is activated later in the cycle to generate convective wind-chill velocity during hot weather, sized with our Ventilation Fan CFM Calculator.

Water is the most critical nutrient in poultry production. Broilers consume roughly twice as much water as feed by weight. Water lines must be chlorinated to maintain a free chlorine level of 2-3 ppm at the end of the line, keeping bacterial counts at zero.

Chemical Parameters: Water pH should be maintained between 6.0 and 6.8. A pH above 7.0 drastically reduces the sanitizing efficacy of chlorine, while a pH below 5.0 is corrosive and bitter, reducing water intake. Monitor Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP); an ORP of >650 mV ensures instant destruction of viral and bacterial pathogens.