Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Yard full o' rocks]

Hi,
I need some advice from experienced breeders, please.
I am not quite sure the best approach to a developing situation. In 10 days, the 7 eggs hatch in the Brinsea. I have two choices:
1. Take the 7 chicks and set up the brooder in a warm room in the vacant apartment. Let them grow up there for 6 weeks until
it is time to put them in the grow-out pen. ( By then, March's chicks will be re-homed or moved to the big coop.
2. Move the chicks whom March is currently raising ( they will be 6 weeks by then) from the big coop to the grow out house
( 3x4 coop with 4x8 yard). Give the 7 new chicks to March to raise? Will she even accept them?
I am finding it difficult to get all the timing right on shifting all the birds around. It is harder than dogs because we never had
litters this close together and never had to make the transitions the incubator to brooder to grow-out pen to big coop
with overlapping groups of births.
Thanks for our help!
Karen

Karen

I'm in North Ga so the weather here is certainly different. BUT, I hatch all my chicks early in order to get them more mature when the brutal heat sets in down here. I found in the past that if I hatched chicks in April/May that they had a lot of difficulty with our July/August heat. I hatched all of mine this year the last week of Dec and first week of Jan. I brood mine outdoors in a 4x4 brooder box with lights for heat for about 4 weeks. I then move them to a "grow out pen" adjacent to my grown birds. They have a covered outdoor run that is about 10x10 attached to a 4x6 coop that I put a low wattage bulb in for the really cold nights (I think I used a 100w bulb this year). I removed the light around mid Feb. So far I've had NO losses at all this year, birds are a little larger and everyone seems to be quite healthy and thriving. In the past 2 weeks I began introducing them to the grown birds with little more than an occasional "peck" from the older hens.

I've only been doing this for about 6-7 years....but that's what seems to work for me

Scott

 

[Fred's Hens]

International Society Of Curmudgeons


http://grumpy-people.com/Article/11/What is a Curmudgeon

Money quotes:


"A curmudgeon often has a black sense of humor. They don't just complain about things, they do it with flair, style, panache, satire, and a sardonic view of life! That's what makes them memorable. They also, deep down (very deep down), believe that by saying something about it, life will change. Saying even more about it will hopefully make life change faster and sooner."


"All it takes to change the world, making life the way it used to be, is for people to pay attention. Instead of running around like a bunch of chickens with no heads, people — particularly young people — should spend a few hours listening to curmudgeons. Then they'd know what the real world is all about."

 

[Fred's Hens]

And these:


"Another defining aspect of a curmudgeon is the sure and absolute knowledge that the cause of all of life's problem is young people.
Aside from being too young to know anything, young people also are a principle cause of progress. Everyone knows that progress causes things to get worse, so young people are clearly making everything worse."

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:

They say "ku-ku-ri-ku" or something very similar in most of the world's other languages.

Quote:
Pretty sure Jesus spoke Aramaic and not English so his use of the word 'cock' is HIGHLY suspect.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Entry forms here have not explained how to enter so I did have to call for help. The curmudgeonly "old-timers" that make up the entry forms here (in Canada) apparently assume that no one new will ever attempt to enter so no explanation is necessary. And even then, several times, including at my first show, I've had cage tags filled out incorrectly even though I had the entry correct that caused me to be disqualified. And I've seen it happen to others. That was particularly disappointing.

 

[Texasmja]

They say "ku-ku-ri-ku" or something very similar in most of the world's other languages.



Pretty sure Jesus spoke Aramaic and not English so his use of the word 'cock' is HIGHLY suspect.

I am pretty sure he spoke Hebrew.

 

[thedragonlady]

Karen

I'm in North Ga so the weather here is certainly different. BUT, I hatch all my chicks early in order to get them more mature when the brutal heat sets in down here. I found in the past that if I hatched chicks in April/May that they had a lot of difficulty with our July/August heat. I hatched all of mine this year the last week of Dec and first week of Jan. I brood mine outdoors in a 4x4 brooder box with lights for heat for about 4 weeks. I then move them to a "grow out pen" adjacent to my grown birds. They have a covered outdoor run that is about 10x10 attached to a 4x6 coop that I put a low wattage bulb in for the really cold nights (I think I used a 100w bulb this year). I removed the light around mid Feb. So far I've had NO losses at all this year, birds are a little larger and everyone seems to be quite healthy and thriving. In the past 2 weeks I began introducing them to the grown birds with little more than an occasional "peck" from the older hens.

I've only been doing this for about 6-7 years....but that's what seems to work for me

Scott

That's very similar to what I do Scott. The only thing I add is a creep feeder space when I introduce the juveniles to the main flock. This is a 6 x 8' pen with a door rigged so only the juvies can get in and out of the main run. They have their own medicated feed and water there, which cuts down on the pecking and bullying by the older birds, and insures that the young ones have plenty to eat .The medicated feed insures that the stress of being moved does not let coccidia get a hold. In about a month, the older birds have accepted the young ones, and are amazingly tolerant of the young hoodlums.

 

[HEChicken]

.... the older birds have accepted the young ones, and are amazingly tolerant of the young hoodlums.

That has been my experience as well, as long as there is plenty of space. I think the problems arise in a crowded situation where the older birds jealously guard what little space there is, against the newcomers.

My system is similar to Yard Full of Rocks'. My grow-out pen is inside the chicken yard so there is interaction through the fence. Once the chicks are accustomed to the grow out pen, I will often open the door to let them out into the main yard while I am there. They enjoy being out for an hour or so and then they're ready to go back in and get a refill from their feeder. As time goes by I increase the amount of time they are out until they start following the older birds into the main coop at night and looking for roosting space there. Transitions really go so smoothly this way - I almost never see more than the occasional peck of an older bird towards a youngster that is not showing due respect to its elders.

I let my broodies raise their brood right in with the flock and have never lost a chick. I put broodies into a "broody" coop, also located inside the chicken yard, so that they can brood in peace without hens adding eggs to the nest. After the chicks hatch, I leave them there for the first few days while the chicks get established eating and what-not. Then, when Mama Hen starts to pace the gate of the broody pen looking for a way out, I open it up and let her join the flock. The other hens show almost zero interest in the chicks by that point, and integration into the flock is seamless. Usually Mama Hen will return to the broody coop with her brood, to sleep at night at first, but once the chicks are old enough to get up on the roost, she will transition them to the main coop herself.

 

[Chris Herzog]

That's very similar to what I do Scott. The only thing I add is a creep feeder space when I introduce the juveniles to the main flock. This is a 6 x 8' pen with a door rigged so only the juvies can get in and out of the main run. They have their own medicated feed and water there, which cuts down on the pecking and bullying by the older birds, and insures that the young ones have plenty to eat .The medicated feed insures that the stress of being moved does not let coccidia get a hold. In about a month, the older birds have accepted the young ones, and are amazingly tolerant of the young hoodlums.

Vickie,
How do you have this door set up? I was thinking about doing something along the same lines with a door but with Juveniles that are of different ages but that are in one big grow out pen together. I want the younger birds to be able to retreat to a safe zone with food and water in there for them but also be able to venture out into the large run with the slightly older birds.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Fred's Hens]

Laying pens, breeding pens, grow out pens, brooders, JDC's, all these different facilities is what are often underestimated by the beginner when they first get into keeping/breeding. I don't discriminate against beginners, but I sure do interview them about their available facilities. These are teaching moments, as they say.