100 Broilers and Fermented Feed Project

[larry529]

Please click the link if anyone wants any advice on brooding tips. I think no matter how much one person thinks they know, there are many ways to do things and get the same results. But when I started out, I followed this websites advice as they are 10 miles from me, and I could always call and ask questions and I did just that at times and asked for Kay. Great lady, and very knowledgeable!

http://www.eaglenestpoultry.com/brooding.htm

 

[foreverlearning]

Try this

Why didn't I think about that? That would help with the too small to scoop issue!

 

[foreverlearning]

They pretty much always have food. No toys or anything to distract them. So grit is ok at such a small age/small frame? I see probiotics at TSC. I have a bunch of stuff at home. I"ll have to see what I have. I have leaves that I could try with them.

They sell chick grit that is smaller. I had congestion in a few and narrowed the reasons to both the pine shavings dust and over eating. When I reduced the feed and threw out the shavings they were fine. The problem with the sand is in the brooder and caused by both the poop being too small to scoop and the looseness of it. Once they have larger more solid movements you should be able to use it. They do poop more so there is more to keep up with.

 

[aoxa]

Why didn't I think about that? That would help with the too small to scoop issue!

Genius idea I must say

Not my own though.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I've had broodies show up for breakfast with chicks in tow-- hard to know how long they have been pecking at everything. ( Man are they fast and hard to catch! lol)

Quote: Yes, use a smaller grit.


PS That scoop is a work of art!!

 

[Evangelina]

At three weeks they weight .5lb

 

[Bitterroot]

Ok, now I have to come up with another plan to use the sand but that's ok. Boy I tell ya, I'll surely be ready next year. This is definitely a trial run for me but it's fun learning what to do on this scale.

I hope that my broiler project will help the next person be it a small group of broilers or large group of broilers in having their own successful broiler project.

And you're right, no sand is tossed at all when using sand. I would only toss the poop that I scoop as I would when I clean cat litter boxes. The only thing, I don't know how the itty bitty poop would work with the sand. I think I may buy some sand this week and experiment with about 10 birds. I buy sand on a large scale. I have 1 - 2 dump trucks that deliver sand to my yard, so I don't know if they sell on small scale. I guess I could ask them if they would fill up about (3) 5 gallon buckets of sand for starters. That would give me something to go by. Now you all have me curious about sand.

Yes, it is helping! My first batch of meaties will be showing up in March, and I'm getting ready for them. I love reading others' experiences.

I used sand in my layer brooder last year, and am not sure if I'd use it again. Or at least, not by itself. I purchased 50 pound bags of it from Lowes, and ended up using approximately 400 pounds of it in a 4x8 brooder. Downsides were that it's so incredibly heavy - killed my back hauling it in, and killed it hauling it out too. Also could be difficult to get everything scooped out to the point it felt "clean" again after they managed to get it to a certain point of nastiness. It was also quite dusty. But that's what I get for brooding chicks in the house, right?

I'm intrigued by the peat moss idea. Anyone got some pictures of what it looks like being used in a brooder situation? Would also love to hear some more experiences with it. How much you add to a brooder, how often if ever that you stir or scoop, etc.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Update:


All of the broilers are doing good. No losses. I am still hearing congestion when they breath but no rattling of the chest. This is really puzzling me. Maybe they are just eating too much. Seems that other people have this same problem but no one can pin point exactly the problem.


I started a new batch of FF last night. I added organic buttermilk and organic oats. I made sure that the sides of the container were nice and clean, so that I do not see any more mold.

I picked up one of the broilers and weighed it and it weight 7.8 ounces. I ordered my plucking fingers for the chicken plucker. I hope they will be here by the weekend, so I can get the chicken plucker built. When it comes time to process, I will also document the process and how long it takes to process so many birds.

 

[kuntrygirl]

At three weeks they weight .5lb

 

[kuntrygirl]

I wanted to mention the cons (for me) as far as using the shavings.

This may sound picky but for me every second and every minute that I waste doing something else (that can be avoided), has an impact on the chores with my animals because those seconds and minutes add up. I say that to say that now I am having to take the waterers out of the brooders and get the shavings out of there. There are so many shavings in there and I don't want the shavings to be in the way of them drinking, that I have to clean it out twice a day. In a normal situation, I would simply walk outside the garage door and empty the water out. BUT since there are shavings in the water, I can't dump the water filled with shavings in the yard because shavings (littered yard) will be everywhere. So, I a bucket that I carry back and forth to both brooders and I tilt the waterer over so that I can pour the water in the base part out or swipe my fingers around the base, multiple times, to remove the shavings. This takes time because I have 4 gallon waterers total in all of the brooders. Same thing for the FF. Before I was using the shavings, I was scraping out any uneaten FF and giving to the animals in the chicken yard. Now, I can't do that. There are shavings in the FF and I'm afraid to feed this to my other animals because I know they will eat the shavings. Not sure what eaten shavings would do to them but I don't want to find out.

So, that's another thing that I will add to the PRO/CON list of raising my broilers at the end of this project.

Learning process.