Got my chicks! Now have a ?? :)

[chicnchic]

I got my chicks not quite a week ago (last Thursday) from the local feed store

....4 NHR's, 4 BO's, 4 PBR's, 3 SLW, and 3 Araucaunas (no CLUE what that abbreviation would be!)...then asked my hubby to stop by the next day and got 10 more..

....and he came home with meat birds.

While I am glad that he's now "on board" with the whole idea of chickens,

I am concerned that the meat birds seem to be growing much faster than the rest.

Do I need to separate them? Will the bigger birds bully the others?

(They seem more aggressive as well, maybe roos?)

When I sent him back for 10 more, I expected he'd get 10 more like what I bought....{{{chuckle}}} should have known better

Thanks in advance for your advice....it's SUCH a comfort to have this forum available!! I can scream "Help" and someone actually responds!

(wisdom/sage, not old!)

THANKS!!

PS finally got a few pics up of the Purple Hen House...the color in the pics isn't true...it's more purple than that, but it's getting there!

Almost done!

 

[cterbizan]

They honestly should be fine yet if he got Cornish x then they will get pretty much be full grown by 45 days( supposedly they are only suppose to live 45 days) but mine are about a year old and still head of the pack. Yet if you feel that they are a bit more aggressive that you would like I would separate them.

 

[chicnchic]

{{{chuckle}}} ya I may separate them

I have no clue what the "meat birds" are, just know they're white, and bigger then the first batch. lol

Maybe I should check with the feed store manager to see what kind they are...lol...thanks for helping me come to that revelation!

 

[acid_chipmunk]

You should separate them. We had our meaties in with our layers and the layers couldn't get any food. Your layers should have access to food 24/7 where after 2 weeks, the meaties should be fed 12 on/12 off or they will get too big, too fast. Soon the meaties will over take the size of the others because they grow so fast. And, yes, most of the probably are roos. Out of 12 that we got only 3 were girls.


Good luck!

 

[newchicksnducks]

I've never had meaties, but I've heard they each much more, and eliminate (poop!) much more. I would try to keep the groups seperate if possible. And get used to the idea that in 8 weeks or so you'll be needing a lot of freezer space!

 

[gryeyes]

Ummmm.... if they were purchased within the last 2, 3 days, perhaps the feed store will take them back? I mean, if you wanted more like what you already have! Some feed stores understand "mistakes" like that.

The meat birds are ready for processing within 60 to 90 days. DAYS. They seldom live past 18 months.

 

[chicnchic]

Quote:
Thank you sooo much!!

I had no idea that I needed to ration the meaties

....but I sure will, and I'll be separating them TODAY!