JUNE - JULY HATCH-ALONG!!!!!!!

[jolenesdad]

Oooooh, yeah I'm actually debating that myself right now. I've seen plenty of turkeys but I never actually spent time with one until I went to take pictures of the goslings I hatched. My friend free ranges all of her poultry together and while I was keeping my distance from the geese that wanted to protect their new babies, two turkeys came up behind me and let me pet them without complaint...how and I going to raise that for Thanksgiving!?

I feel like a turkey around here is a forever friend.

@Mixed flock enthusiast YES THEYRE SO EXPENSIVE. You’re going to be so glad you asked that question. Brb...

 

[jolenesdad]

5 lbs-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FMDXGB2/?tag=backy-20

10 lbs-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MNG8KJQ/?tag=backy-20


10 pounds of these is cheaper than 5 lbs of mealworms or grubblies. They’re FDA approved. 10 pounds last me over a month for 100+ birds. I do a few handfuls a day to the large group and I crumble up a few tablespoons for the littles to eat out of my hands.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

5 lbs-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FMDXGB2/?tag=backy-20

10 lbs-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MNG8KJQ/?tag=backy-20


10 pounds of these is cheaper than 5 lbs of mealworms or grubblies. They’re FDA approved. 10 pounds last me over a month for 100+ birds. I do a few handfuls a day to the large group and I crumble up a few tablespoons for the littles to eat out of my hands.

Thank you! I just ordered the 5 lb bag to give it a try!

 

[jolenesdad]

Open front brooder-

A clear tote serves the same purpose @Mixed flock enthusiast.

I read it here a couple of years ago, that birds instinctually run from an overhead threat. You can see it in chicks raised without adults that watch the skies. It’s a hard wired instinct. Anyway, this person suggested that a huge hurdle to gentling chicks is that we keep them in four-walled draft free brooders and every interaction we have with them starts with us appearing... from above.

We are basically huge raptors.

I’ve had a few iterations but this is my newest and favorite. It’s couch height, so when they’re inside for the first few days, I can sit next to them on the couch and they can get used to me. With my meat chickens that are going to love me for food anyway, I just take it right into their future pen after those first couple of days. These ducks and laying birds go on the porch or in the garage for a week or two after. Somewhere high traffic where we are always going past. Prey animals really lose their fear if you approach and retreat often with no actual interaction. An open front brooder makes this a breeeeeeeeze. It’s also awesome for integration and I should have made it a little taller for isolation but it can work for that too.

They can see you coming a mile away and so they aren’t spooked. The fact they can also always see you when you aren’t coming for them makes them not associate you to a shocking pickup or startle. It’s wonderful when you walk up on a set of chicks that doesn’t even flinch when they see you. A few photos in action.

I made this 6x2, so 12 square feet. I can hold up to 50 meat chicks for a week to two weeks, 30-40 layers, and it has held the ducks great.

(Edit: that broiler on the heat plate is not dead. )

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Open front brooder-

A clear tote serves the same purpose @Mixed flock enthusiast.

I read it here a couple of years ago, that birds instinctually run from an overhead threat. You can see it in chicks raised without adults that watch the skies. It’s a hard wired instinct. Anyway, this person suggested that a huge hurdle to gentling chicks is that we keep them in four-walled draft free brooders and every interaction we have with them starts with us appearing... from above.

We are basically huge raptors.

I’ve had a few iterations but this is my newest and favorite. It’s couch height, so when they’re inside for the first few days, I can sit next to them on the couch and they can get used to me. With my meat chickens that are going to love me for food anyway, I just take it right into their future pen after those first couple of days. These ducks and laying birds go on the porch or in the garage for a week or two after. Somewhere high traffic where we are always going past. Prey animals really lose their fear if you approach and retreat often with no actual interaction. An open front brooder makes this a breeeeeeeeze. It’s also awesome for integration and I should have made it a little taller for isolation but it can work for that too.

They can see you coming a mile away and so they aren’t spooked. The fact they can also always see you when you aren’t coming for them makes them not associate you to a shocking pickup or startle. It’s wonderful when you walk up on a set of chicks that doesn’t even flinch when they see you. A few photos in action.

I made this 6x2, so 12 square feet. I can hold up to 50 meat chicks for a week to two weeks, 30-40 layers, and it has held the ducks great.

View attachment 1839850

View attachment 1839851

View attachment 1839848

View attachment 1839847

View attachment 1839849

(Edit: that broiler on the heat plate is not dead. )

Yeah, wondered why you’d show a dead chick... JK! I knew it wasn’t dead! You should see how the guineas keets sprawl themselves out, like they are actors portraying the dead bodies... Thanks for sharing your brooder! How long do you keep them in there? It looks like I have brooder making in my future, since I’m probably going to keep these keets and try to integrate them...

 

[jolenesdad]

Yeah, wondered why you’d show a dead chick... JK! I knew it wasn’t dead! You should see how the guineas keets sprawl themselves out, like they are actors portraying the dead bodies... Thanks for sharing your brooder! How long do you keep them in there? It looks like I have brooder making in my future, since I’m probably going to keep these keets and try to integrate them...

It just depends how many I have in there. I go by the standards plus their activity levels. Less can stay a lot longer.

My meat chicks I kept the 50 in there for almost two weeks because they just ate. I think technically you can have 4 chicks per foot for up to two weeks. 3 is easy but really after a week 4 per foot is hard. Meat chicks are bigger but also less active so it worked. I’ve kept 20-30 laying chicks in there for two weeks and they were totally happy and fine.

I kept 15 meat chicks in there for 3.5 weeks. They had more than enough space.

The ducks are supposed to be okay up to 4 weeks with 1 foot per duck. I hope so. I am making a little pen in the backyard that’s just dog play panels so In no way predator proof for a few excursions daily while we are out there to get them out and about. I don’t reallllllly have space “on the ground” for them until I take 30-40 meat birds this month for processing.

Anyway long story longer I think you plan the brooder you make for perfect world, as long as you need it til integration. 4 chicks per square foot for 1 to maybe 2 weeks, 1 chick per foot for 2-4ish weeks, and 1 per 2 square feet after that until integration.

 

[Bookworm0124]

Open front brooder-

A clear tote serves the same purpose @Mixed flock enthusiast.

I read it here a couple of years ago, that birds instinctually run from an overhead threat. You can see it in chicks raised without adults that watch the skies. It’s a hard wired instinct. Anyway, this person suggested that a huge hurdle to gentling chicks is that we keep them in four-walled draft free brooders and every interaction we have with them starts with us appearing... from above.

We are basically huge raptors.

I’ve had a few iterations but this is my newest and favorite. It’s couch height, so when they’re inside for the first few days, I can sit next to them on the couch and they can get used to me. With my meat chickens that are going to love me for food anyway, I just take it right into their future pen after those first couple of days. These ducks and laying birds go on the porch or in the garage for a week or two after. Somewhere high traffic where we are always going past. Prey animals really lose their fear if you approach and retreat often with no actual interaction. An open front brooder makes this a breeeeeeeeze. It’s also awesome for integration and I should have made it a little taller for isolation but it can work for that too.

They can see you coming a mile away and so they aren’t spooked. The fact they can also always see you when you aren’t coming for them makes them not associate you to a shocking pickup or startle. It’s wonderful when you walk up on a set of chicks that doesn’t even flinch when they see you. A few photos in action.

I made this 6x2, so 12 square feet. I can hold up to 50 meat chicks for a week to two weeks, 30-40 layers, and it has held the ducks great.

View attachment 1839850

View attachment 1839851

View attachment 1839848

View attachment 1839847

View attachment 1839849

(Edit: that broiler on the heat plate is not dead. )

Oh man. Guess I'm going to be making a new brooder!!! I've been using a kiddie pool with a dog play pen fence around it. I've wanted to do an open side one but wasn't sure how I wanted to do it. I have one month to make it happen now. I just ordered 15 broilers for September. My first time!

 

[AquaDuck]

I know right!!! It would all be SO MUCH EASIER if I could touch their eggs! I suspect that the guineas have a good chance of abandoning their nest (and seriously attacking me, and being convinced that their coop is unsafe) if I touch their nest at all. I have slowly worked up to where they now know that I know where their nest is, but they still give a nervous alarm call when they see that I can see them... It’s likely that if I start messing with their nest at all, then they will abandon it. If I decide to go that route, then I at least want the incubator open so I can transfer any viable eggs to it... However, I’m not even sure that I want to go that route, because my main goals of that nest were keep the guineas from laying more outdoor nests, which were attracting predators, and to integrate chicks from within the flock... If those goals won’t be met, then I don’t know that it’s worth disrupting them and convincing them that the coop is an unsafe place to nest in order to collect what are likely to be a bunch of bad eggs. I’ll probably try posting this on the guinea forum, but that’s a small group that hasn’t really known what will happen with my unusual flock and unusual choices I’ve made...

I see your dilemma. If they're that skittish, who knows what will happen. Let's hope at least a few of the eggs hatch, so that they go into mommy-mode instead of sitting-mode.

 

[Cerise1924]

So many adorable chicks! My broody is diligently sitting at Day 18, and I'm hoping for some fuzzy babies by Friday or Saturday.

On the subject of feed, and the cost of it, I decided not to buy chick starter this time around. I found this thread on BYC:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/homemade-chick-starter-updated.298666/

I do have millet and cornmeal and oats - I think I'll try making some chick feed. Has anyone else done homemade chick starter? What do you usually feed your baby chicks/ducklings?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

So many adorable chicks! My broody is diligently sitting at Day 18, and I'm hoping for some fuzzy babies by Friday or Saturday.

On the subject of feed, and the cost of it, I decided not to buy chick starter this time around. I found this thread on BYC:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/homemade-chick-starter-updated.298666/

I do have millet and cornmeal and oats - I think I'll try making some chick feed. Has anyone else done homemade chick starter? What do you usually feed your baby chicks/ducklings?

We have a local feed mill so I buy their products when I can. They have a chick starter /grower that everyone gets, then I add a little Brewers Yeast. Adults get oyster shell on the side.