De-beaking?

[Wildsky]

Quote:
If you're only getting them in MAY - order day olds now...

You would be kinda encouraging the hatchery to keep these birds.. not like you would be buying those already born and giving them a good home.... they've not even been hatched yet.

Its not difficult to keep a few chicks in a brooder for a while - till you're ready to put em out in a coop.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[TammyD]

Hmmmm, which to do????? I'm getting new barn doors installed this week & then can start to figure out where I'd put birds in the meantime (til spring - which can be another 4 months plus, in NoCentral IL). McMurray's started pullets are $10.95/ea + shipping. Seems kinda steep to me, anyway. I bought my bantams from a farmer for $5 each & got 4 or 5 different breeds (I like to see all the colors & breeds - it's a rainbow <g>).

Hadn't thought of getting day-olds now because of the temps. But, I suppose if I can manufacture a secure place to put a brooder (that the barn cats can't raid) then, by summer, my own birds would be laying. Good point, thanks!!!

Another issue I have is whether to get bantams (straight run only, smaller eggs, super sweet temperament) or standards (can order just hens, bigger eggs, fewer chickens in the same area/space, do standards have the same sweet temperament that bantys do? Our banty hens were sweet.)

If I want to have fresh eggs @ the Farmer's Mkt 1x/week (with my equine stuff that I make), how many birds would I need to keep to have enought to sell? Only plan to do 1 Mkt/week. TIA

Straying off the subject of de-beaking & health/injury issues, sorry.

TammyD

 

[arlee453]

If you have a spare corner of the house you can keep a small number of chicks in a brooder in there until it warms up. Right now I have two brooders with 19 chicks total in my office over in the corner. As long as I keep the shavings changed out about every 4-5 days it's not horrible - the biggest drawback is the dust, which can be kept to a minimum by using the covers.

I have large rubbermaid type storage bins. I used a utility knife to cut a large opening in the lids. Then I cut a piece of hardware cloth the right size and used a drill to drill holes around the opening on the lid. lastly I used small machine screws and bolts with large fender washers to secure the wire to the lid. Total cost per brooder is less than $15 - about $13 for the container and a couple bucks for the screws. If you have just a few babies, then you could go even smaller.

For the first couple weeks, I just attach my brooder light to the rim of the container and aim it downward on one end. After a couple weeks they start thinking they can fly and then I put the lid on and just set the light on top of the wire part. (not the plastic part - it will melt the container)

To reduce the heat, I just lower the wattage of the bulb. I start with a 250 watt heat lamp and lower down to around 60-75 wt by the time they are 4 wks. After 5 weeks they are pretty much fully feathered out and they can go outside with a heatlamp in the coop for the next few weeks if it is winter time.

Here's a pic of my setup - ignore the feeders on top - it's time to refill the feeders

Also, one light is white because that's where i broadcast my webcam from at night. Otherwise I usually prefer a red light to minimize picking, especially when they are little.