im new and need help

[goosecrane]

okay this is my plan stop me where i screw up. well i have 15 chics i got from a local gebos. 6 rhode island reds, 2 ducks, and7 bantams. i have 100 roaster chics that will be here anyday. i want them all together. can i put them all together. i have had these chics one week. my broasters will be here anyday. at what point can i or should i put these togehter

 

[Indiana hens]

Too many could present a piling problem. Duck especially! I don't prefer over 50 in any one brooder.
They can pile because they are scared or because of temperature. Duck wins on either case!

 

[Kelly G]

I wish I could help you!!! But hang in here - don't give up! There are a lot of knowledgeable people that will be along shortly!!! I promise!

 

[birdlover]

I have never raised meat birds but, from what I've read, you need to keep them separate because their feeding needs are different. They are supposed to be given food twice a day whereas the others should have food available 24/7. Please, somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, I agree with the other poster. That sounds like too many birds to put together. What kind of a brooder do you have? If it's big enough for all of them, then I would just make a second brooder for the ones you have now. You don't need anything that terribly big - a very large cardboard box, or a rubbermaid tote, or a child's play pen (that's what I used and I loved it) are a few ideas. Why do you need/want to put them all together?

 

[goosecrane]

i have plenty of brooder room. thats not an issue. what im worried about is diisease. i have read not to mix birds. thats my question.

 

[Indiana hens]

I have ducks and chickens together. Ducks win on any issue.

 

[goosecrane]

okay i can see im not asking the right question. i have 15 1 weak old birds in a brooder with room for all of them, plus the 100 i have coming. my question is if i put the 100 birds in with the 15 birds i already have will i have problems"? with disease or whatever? but again i have room. they will all be in the same huige pen oneday. my question is when can i or when should i. thank you

 

[chubbydog811]

I did the broilers this past year. As someone else mentioned, they should be kept separate mainly because of feeding needs.

As stated by Welp hatchery - "You feed them normally for the first 5 days of age. At 7:00pm of the 5th day, make sure the broiler chicks are completely out of feed. That means there is positively no feed from 7:00 p.m. of the 5th day of age until 7:00 a.m. the following morning. You want them out of feed for 12 consecutive hours. Water, yes, but no feed for 12 hours. Continue this "minor feed restriction" program, removing the feed every night, until time of slaughter. Failure to follow this feeding program may result in heart attacks."


I also found, besides the feed restriction program, that they are very dirty compaired to the standard chickens. They eat more, so they poo more. That's the way it is. I only had 20, with more than enough room. Their coop/run got cleaned at least once daily...And it still stunk horribly, and I could barely keep the birds clean. The meat was great, but the raising them part was a pain.


Hope this answers your question.

 

[goosecrane]

i went to that site and read that. i dont have cornish rocks though, and t healthy the place i got them doesnt say anything about that. i dont know how to feed them now....

 

[CityClucks]

I know it would be easier to put them together, but I think it would be safer for the clucks for you to put the roasters in a different brooder than the 15 you have now. You're getting them from different sources and until you see who might have what disease, would be safer just to keep them separate. Also be careful about the ducks, banties and standards all together. Ducks will crowd out the banties for sure.