This past June I had aquired by lovely hens when they were all 1-2 weeks old. I've raised many chicks in the past years using the traditional means of brooders and heat lamps and high electric bills.
With this new flock I was raising I wanted to do something different. I had been reading non-electric ways if raising chicks.
So that's what I did. I used a small animal (guinea pig) cage. Consisting of two water bottles, 2 socks, a feather duster and towels. I also utilized my chick thermometer.
By filling the bottles with hot water and covering them with the socks I created a small "nest" area in the corner of the cage. I than tied a feather duster just above the bottles to allow the chicks to snuggle into the feathers between the bottles and help retain the heat. I then covered the cage with 2 towels.
During the first couple weeks I changed out the water as it cooled several times during the day. In the morning when I woke up, when I got home from work, in the evening and right before going to bed. And if I worried I'd change the water in the middle of the night.
But as they got bigger it was mainly in the morning, after work and bedtime.
At night the towels would be completely covering the cage to help keep the warmer air in. By day I would open the front so they could get daylight and see the coming and goings of the house.
I kept the thermometer near a bottle. The temps weren't as high as recommended, but when snuggled up between the bottles, h see the feather duster and with each other they were just fine. After the first week or so they spent more time away from their nest...if they were chilly, they'd go and lay against a bottle and nap.
All 9 of my chicks remained healthy and are all now beautiful 5 month old hens and roosters. I hope this had been helpful!!