backyardmomma
In the Brooder
Hello this is the first real year i am starting my backyard homestead. I have been around and worked with live stock off and on most my younder years. We spent 3 years co raising chickens for my old neighbors. I did most the work. Miss it so. In a day or two i am fostering a duck, a rooster, and four hens. For three days best case and months worse case. My friends are in a crisis and i am the only experienced friend they got. I have shared my knowledge the whole time. The hens are fairly close in age a mixed flock and been laying 12+ eggs a week. I get to keep all eggs and am making a incubator and a brooder. So i can set up my flock for free. Now i haven't raised chicks or incubated before. I am planning on raising meal worms starting next week and will look into fodder system before hatching as well. My goal is to by little to know commercial feed. So far the now chicken pen which is 2/3 asphalt and 1/3rd dirt has tall grassy area in the dirt. I covered the asphalt with deep leaf litter today made sure there was plenty of fine gravel. I have tons of it around my house. I have sand i can spead out as well or should i save it for my future chicks? And area will be covered. They have food and water dishes and straw feed and strach. Have i forgotten anything and what are your general thoughts. I know thats a lot but still learning the site and i don't have much time. But i am all about doing right.