Dixie Rainbow Growout Journal

[tyoung]

Breed: 100 Dixie Rainbow Chickens from S and G Poultry in Clanton Alabam.

Goal: Raise 100 Dixie Rainbow broilers to market weight in 12 weeks on only plant protein and no antibiotics.

Method: Movable Chicken Tractor Measuring 10'X12'X2' (Joel Salatin's Method)

Feed: Purina Mills Flock Raiser Sunfresh Recipe - Non Medicated. Will begin feeding from day 1.

In this Journal I intend to document my experiences with growing the birds to market weight.

For more information on the breed please see this link http://www.sandgpoultry.com/dixierainbow.html

 

[tyoung]

I am starting this Journal already 2 weeks into the project. I will use this post to re-cap the first 2 weeks of the project.

After a great deal of searching I found a small, relatively local, hatchery that really interested me named S and G Poultry. They raise and breed chickens called Dixie Rainbows that are intended to grow at a medium pace. They estimate that you'll have a marketable weight chicken at around 10 to 12 weeks of age. The breed seems very similar to the Colored Rangers or Freedom Rangers that I've seen around other places. They are a breed that is intended to be raised outdoors in a variety of conditions. I read about each of the 5 varieties that they hatch and finally landed on the Dixie Rainbow. I contacted the sales team and ordered 100. The sales team was great. They were very friendly and pleasant. I ordered them and 21 days later the chicks were scheduled to ship.

On day 22, the chicks weren't here. I called S and G to ask if the chicks shipped on time. They had shipped on time and S and G asked that I call them as soon as they arrived. Since S and G are within 3 hours of my house, I would have expected them to arrive the day after hatching. Unfortunately, the chicks didn't arrive on the first day, but they did arrive on the second day. All 103 were happy and healthy. S and G called me to make sure that the chicks arrived. To my surprise, S and G was as concerned about my chicks as I was. I can't say enough S and G. They were wonderful to deal with. As it turns out, the problem was with the post office. I suspect that the chicks had been misrouted.

Before I left for work, I noticed that the chicks were defecating green. After a bit of time on Google, I discovered that this was probably bile and it was normal when the chicks haven't eaten anything in quite a while. When I arrived home, I saw that the chicks were pooping normally. I've never been happy to see chicken poop before. That was definitely a new experience for me.

After the first week, I still had 103 happy healthy chicks. They're growing like weeds. I moved them from their initial brooder box into a new area that I constructed out of hay bales.

That brings us to week 2. I still have 103 happy healthy chicks. No losses at all. I am very surprised how much the chicks have eaten and how active they already are.


Chickens on day 1 - 50 chickens per box.

Chickens at the end of week 1: - All 100 Chickens

The rest of the 100 at week 1 - They were hiding from the camera...

 

[tyoung]

Chicks at 2 weeks of age:

I am 4/5 of the way through my 2nd 50 lb bag of feed. They're growing like little weeds.

We've had a bit of a cold snap here in north Georgia. The chickens are in a pile under the heat lamps to stay warm.

 

[tyoung]

Some great information here...That's where I got my idea for my Growout Journal

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=122611&p=1

 

[linebacker]

I have looked into the Dixie Rainbows earlier this year, and I look forward to seeing your results.

Brad

 

[tyoung]

I am sad to say that we lost one of the smaller birds today. We had a cold snap and the birds piled up on each other and I believe that one of them smothered. If the cold continues, I will separate them into smaller groups to keep them from smothering each other.

 

[dancingbear]

Smaller groups won't help much, you'll just have smaller piles of chicks. You need to lower the lights a little. They're too far away, the chicks are cold. Fewer chicks will just mean colder chicks. If you bring the lights down a little closer, they'll be warmer and will spread out more.

They look great though, I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out. I looked at the S & G website, they look like very nice birds.

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

Yes the lights do look at little high for enough heat to get to the chicks in that kind of a setup. Maybe even stack another bale on the sides to help block any cold winds and to help trap more heat.

If you are losing 'em now to the cold when they get bigger the looses will be greater,as they will weigh more.

I wish S&G took credit cards and accepted online orders as I want some of their barred rock looking broilers. maybe they will next year and I can try a batch or two but until them ......

 

[tyoung]

They're 250 watt bulbs so I was hoping that they'd stay a bit warmer. I'll take the advice and move them closer. I've still got 102 happy healthy chicks.

I live down in the south so, the weather is fixing to turn to spring. This is an unseasonably cool snap. Folks around here have already planted gardens and had to cover them up for this frost. It'll be 70 degrees tomorrow...go figure.

 

[exsia]

thanks for sharing, pls keep the posts coming I'm very interested in how your chickens grow out