GabrielBane
Songster
Hi there folks!
So I'll be doing a pretty sizable order of poultry soon, and well, it's not ideal to have so many babies running around at once, but, we want to be guaranteed getting all the producers we want for our first year of operations, so it looks like we'll need to brood approximately 40 chickens (6 being incredibly expensive Ayam Cemani, meaning, i'd love to give them the absolute best at a good start at life, since I do plan on breeding for SOP as well as for supplemental income~) , 12 Poults, A trio of geese, and between 6-12 Muscovy ducklings.
I do plan on using a several brooder system (Possibly dividing them up by geese/ducks in one, and poults and chicks in another, with a third mini brooder for my Ayam's) and using half of our two car garage with over-head lamps and digital thermometers (We purchased heat lamps that work wirelessly with thermometers to guarantee a steady temp. Once they arrive, I'll share pics, they are a gift from our parents!) , however, in the past I've owned exhibition poultry, I've sort of rigged brooders out of deep kiddy pools, shavings, and a custom made "lid" that prevented the chicks for jumping out of the brooder. I'm concerned that the poults and goslings will out-grow this fairly quickly (We're ordering NNs, so the slow growth of the breed may be my saving grace here), what are your thoughts about designs / what set up works best for you when indoor brooding several species? I know it seems ambitious, but a degree in Poultry Sciences has gotta get me somewhere, right?
ETA: I hope this is in the right place! Please feel free to move if otherwise! I originally posted in coop/run design, but got no feedback on the subject, figured I posted in the wrong spot!
ETAA: I'm so sleepy I forgot to mention that we'd love to invest in something we could use permanently as brooders, but while we figure out what think we'd like best, we'd want something more "disposable/able to be re-purposed", and moderately priced, since it'd be for a initial brood or two~
So I'll be doing a pretty sizable order of poultry soon, and well, it's not ideal to have so many babies running around at once, but, we want to be guaranteed getting all the producers we want for our first year of operations, so it looks like we'll need to brood approximately 40 chickens (6 being incredibly expensive Ayam Cemani, meaning, i'd love to give them the absolute best at a good start at life, since I do plan on breeding for SOP as well as for supplemental income~) , 12 Poults, A trio of geese, and between 6-12 Muscovy ducklings.
I do plan on using a several brooder system (Possibly dividing them up by geese/ducks in one, and poults and chicks in another, with a third mini brooder for my Ayam's) and using half of our two car garage with over-head lamps and digital thermometers (We purchased heat lamps that work wirelessly with thermometers to guarantee a steady temp. Once they arrive, I'll share pics, they are a gift from our parents!) , however, in the past I've owned exhibition poultry, I've sort of rigged brooders out of deep kiddy pools, shavings, and a custom made "lid" that prevented the chicks for jumping out of the brooder. I'm concerned that the poults and goslings will out-grow this fairly quickly (We're ordering NNs, so the slow growth of the breed may be my saving grace here), what are your thoughts about designs / what set up works best for you when indoor brooding several species? I know it seems ambitious, but a degree in Poultry Sciences has gotta get me somewhere, right?
ETA: I hope this is in the right place! Please feel free to move if otherwise! I originally posted in coop/run design, but got no feedback on the subject, figured I posted in the wrong spot!
ETAA: I'm so sleepy I forgot to mention that we'd love to invest in something we could use permanently as brooders, but while we figure out what think we'd like best, we'd want something more "disposable/able to be re-purposed", and moderately priced, since it'd be for a initial brood or two~
)
