Many people purchase chicks from their favorite hatchery, place them in a nice box in the kitchen and adore the little balls of fluff for at least one week. After that people tend to get less close to the biddy creatures as the unmistakable odor and sight of copious amounts of wet, fetid droppings make their presence known. It sticks to their feet and stains dishes- I could go on but if you are on this site you already know exactly what I'm on about here.
Here are a few hints that the conscientious backyard hobbyist can put into place to help get droppings under control by absorbing ammonia and moisture from the manure before it is produced by the chicks.
Wet sticky droppings with a strong acrid scent represent the % of nutrients the chicks have not digested completely. In other words, you are wasting feed and while the chicks are not starving to death, the design of the typical chick starter is formulated for factory and utility breed chickens. These birds are not intended to live very long or productive lives. In other words, it doesn't really matter how much the birds are digesting properly in the commercial husbandry model- because their reproductive health is not a focus. Their integument is not an issue. Their digestive tracts are only developing to the point that the birds can lay eggs to the greatest productivity or if they are broilers, butchered in a few weeks.
So here are a few things you can do to help increase the nutrition uptake of your chicks and reduce wet fetid droppings:
1. utilize seeds
a. sesame
b.quinoa
c. fennel
d. celery
e.can
f.finch
- this is going to be something for folks with a few chicks- but the % of seeds to mash can be quite low- so it needn't break the bank.
I prefer to leave out a bowl of tiny seeds
add seed gradually -with a bit of grit- just sprinkle a few pinches per bird over the top of their seed bowl- .
Additionally, I'm going to shill a product I created to specifically deal with this problem. Its called the Babycake (Foragecakes.com)
One Babycake is all you'll need for a dozen chicks for eight weeks - unless they are broilers- if you are rearing broilers -you will want to increase this supplementation.
This product may seem pricey at first glance, but given its efficacy in controlling manure odor and enriching behavior- its well worth the cost. Additionally, the % of chick starter the chicks consume will decrease as well.
So enough shilling of product- I used to just prescribe remedies and people would write to tell me they needed less guess work- so I designed these solutions- but I don't like feeling like Im only here trying to sell my products.
My primary objective is to educate the hobbyist farmer and help them make more informed decisions.
So try adding ~ 30% -50% seed to mash- ( smallest seed is best) and make sure that you increase a bit of grit- not too much - just a bit- like pepper and salt- no more no less-
and- if the moment of odor wafting in from the brooder box moves you- go out and buy a babycake.
Here are a few hints that the conscientious backyard hobbyist can put into place to help get droppings under control by absorbing ammonia and moisture from the manure before it is produced by the chicks.
Wet sticky droppings with a strong acrid scent represent the % of nutrients the chicks have not digested completely. In other words, you are wasting feed and while the chicks are not starving to death, the design of the typical chick starter is formulated for factory and utility breed chickens. These birds are not intended to live very long or productive lives. In other words, it doesn't really matter how much the birds are digesting properly in the commercial husbandry model- because their reproductive health is not a focus. Their integument is not an issue. Their digestive tracts are only developing to the point that the birds can lay eggs to the greatest productivity or if they are broilers, butchered in a few weeks.
So here are a few things you can do to help increase the nutrition uptake of your chicks and reduce wet fetid droppings:
1. utilize seeds
a. sesame
b.quinoa
c. fennel
d. celery
e.can
f.finch
- this is going to be something for folks with a few chicks- but the % of seeds to mash can be quite low- so it needn't break the bank.
I prefer to leave out a bowl of tiny seeds
add seed gradually -with a bit of grit- just sprinkle a few pinches per bird over the top of their seed bowl- .
Additionally, I'm going to shill a product I created to specifically deal with this problem. Its called the Babycake (Foragecakes.com)
One Babycake is all you'll need for a dozen chicks for eight weeks - unless they are broilers- if you are rearing broilers -you will want to increase this supplementation.
This product may seem pricey at first glance, but given its efficacy in controlling manure odor and enriching behavior- its well worth the cost. Additionally, the % of chick starter the chicks consume will decrease as well.
So enough shilling of product- I used to just prescribe remedies and people would write to tell me they needed less guess work- so I designed these solutions- but I don't like feeling like Im only here trying to sell my products.
My primary objective is to educate the hobbyist farmer and help them make more informed decisions.
So try adding ~ 30% -50% seed to mash- ( smallest seed is best) and make sure that you increase a bit of grit- not too much - just a bit- like pepper and salt- no more no less-
and- if the moment of odor wafting in from the brooder box moves you- go out and buy a babycake.
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