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I have read books that say: "Every chick needs __._ kg of __% starter for the first ___ weeks, complemented by ___mg/L of super booster for the first ___ days" And they go on. Well, for me, it's a lot simpler than all that. Below is my list of items needed to raise 25 chickens through to maturity:
- 25 kg (what's that, 55 lbs?) bag commercial medicated chick
starter.
- 25 kg bags commercial pullet or chick grower.
- Heat lamp and 250 watt red "hard glass" bulb. The clear bulbs are not hardened, so they are more likely to break if water is splashed on them. I have also read and found through experience that use of a red bulb makes a great difference in the occurence of cannibalism. For some reason, white light seems to cause cannibalism.
- Plastic 1 gallon water fount. After the brooding stage is over, a plain rubber tub/pan can replace the small fount.
- 24 inch metal feeder (It's a good idea to screw a couple of six inch 1"x4"s to the bottom of these feeders perpendicular to the length of the feeder in order to keep the chicks from tipping it over and spilling feed.)
- A quantity of straw. I have found that straw is preferable to shredded paper because it is much less slippery, and therefore less likely to cause leg problems to develop. Any organic, absorbent material will work - use what's available cheaply.
-1 chicken tractor, depending on its size, complete with two 5-gallon tubs for feed and water, and a small can or pail for grit.
- Local supplier of home-grown grain. I don't usually bother to buy concentrates or get the feed mill to make up a special order. I raised 25 lb.+ (dressed weight) turkeys on bromegrass pasture with old oats. They tasted great! Don't worry about a specific quantity; give them what they will eat. Make sure, though, that they are still consuming grass and legumes (broad-leafed, tender plants are most easy for the birds to eat). Grain is most efficiently used by poultry when rolled or milled. Do not attempt to raise birds exclusively with homegrown grain if intensive pasturing is not used. Many pastured poultry people use natural but complete rations such as the one produced by the Fertrell Company. I would suggest that a beginner try these fortified rations, first. Experimenting with the homegrown grain and pasture method should only be done once you have some experience raising poultry successfully. I have heard from some people that feeding homegrown grain as the sole broiler ration has been highly unsuccessful, and from others that this method works well. Except for higher expenditures, it can't hurt to buy the "real" feed to start with, then in the future, be a little daring with a few birds, trying other feeding and management systems.
- Grit. I once drilled small holes in the bottom of a 3 gallon pail, filled it with road gravel, and shook it to glean my own grit for the birds. Run some water through your pail to take out the sand and finer particulate. You can buy commercial grit, but according to Joel Salatin, the irregularity of minerals and shapes found in "home-grown" grit is good for the birds. I agree, because the birds must have some choice as to what type of grit they wish to consume. Grit particle size is usually between 1/16 in. and 1/8 inch in diameter. Test some out on your birds. If the grit is too coarse, they won't eat it; if it's too fine, they will be consuming great amounts of it. It is recommended that even small chicks be given access to chick-size grit when they are just a week or two old. This would ensure proper gizzard development. Remember, grit is what replaces the chickens' non-existent teeth.
Brooding is as simple as a waterer/fount, feeder, heat lamp, bedding, and a warm corner somewhere. My neighbours have started their chicks in their farm shop, and if you have a special place that has a steady temperature, it would likely make a good brooding area. Keep out draughty air, moisture, interfering rodents, cats, dogs, and unsupervised children. (You've just have to let the kids see the chicks, but in my experience, smaller brothers/sisters like to try to catch a chick to "pet" it. This chasing can cause leg problems, or "pile-ups" of chicks in brooder corners. Pile-ups can result in suffocation of the chicks on the bottom of the pile.)
Keep the feeders full at all times. Remember, chickens' metabolic rate is much higher than ours, so they need a continuous stream going through them.
Refill the waterer before it goes empty.
Keep the proper heat at chick level with the hanging heat lamp,
or brooder. The simplest and best temperature guaging method works
by watching the chicks. If they are trampling each other in attempts
to get closer to the heat lamp, lower it, or turn up its thermostat.
If they are staying away from the lamp, raise it, or lower the
thermostat. At a perfect level, the chicks will be mingling around,
under, and away from the brooder (heat lamp) as if it were not
there. This means that they can maintain a good body temperature
in a large area, not just right under, or away from the brooder.
(The scientists among us want you to know that the first week
of the chick's life should be in a 90 degree Fahrenheit environment,
so aim for that level when preparing for the birds' arrival.)
I usually place the feeder and waterer on opposite sides of the
brooder so that the chicks get some exercise. This is a guard
against leg problems. The broilers grow so fast that sometimes
their legs do not mature as fast as their upper bodies, so the
chicks can "go off" of their feet. Soon they can become
stationary blobs, and they will likely die from what would appear
to be a mixture of trampling and starvation.
Another detail in the brooding area is that there shouldn't be any acute angles (less than 90 degrees). If all inside angles are of a measurement greater than 90 degrees, then the birds can't pile up as easily.
Depending on the current weather, the birds can be moved outside into the tractor(s) when they are about 4 weeks old. Remember, though, that if the birds are not completely feathered-out, or not yet accustomed to the tractor, they must be shut into the covered area when inclement weather reveals itself. Some people say that the birds should be moved into the tractors during night's darkness to prevent unnecessary stress from occurring. I don't know. I guess we'll just have to find out if chicks are afraid of bright sunshine or afraid of the dark. In the past, I haven't waited for sundown or got up early enough to move the birds in darkness. The birds have yet to complain to me about this method. Please visit Pasturing Basics to learn the in-depth details about pasturing - forages, tractor designs, and other information.
When you run out of the starter feed, switch to the grower, and then, subsequently to the grain. It is easier on the birds if you mix off half of the last bag of grower with that grain, so that the transition is less sudden. When feeding of the rolled grain ration is begun, grit is a necessity.
The above list includes all necessary components for raising chicks until they are grown. After that point, butchering will take place in the case of commercial broiler breeds (6-9 weeks old), and the layers will continue maturing until, in the fall, they need to be put in the laying house for the winter if your climate dictates. If you are raising pullets for egg laying, see Management of the Laying Hens for further instructions. Broiler growers can visit the only photographically-illustrated poultry butchering page on the internet, right here at Mulligan Creek Poultry Farm.
