Meat birds on DE and sand What if?

[miss_jayne]

Joe...you sound chipper tonight...still got that rooster or did you make my soup?

i am not sure this plan would be feasible. the poop is outta control all over with these guys. we however, do not have the 'stench'. i wonder what is wrong with mine!

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
That all sounds... Yuck! Maybe it could be tried with two in very small, safe enclosure with lots of sand/DE just to see how it might go with more. Maybe I'll give it a shot, but so help me, if the smell absolutely cannot be eliminated I'll kill them before their time.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
He's still with the quick, but he's staying out of my way. He's really a character. I grabbed him once and held him so that I could talk (bond with?) to him; he's hated me since, I think.

If I had sand/DE floor as an experiment, they'd have to take their food from the sand/DE or starve to death, one or the other. I would not have any feeder trays, just waterers, and they'd be raised, i.e., the meat birds would adjust or perish.

 

[HidingInTheHenHouse]

Your not too far away from me. I live on the near eastside at New York and Rural. If you ever want to try with some meaties, I usually order a round of 25-30 every 4 to 6 weeks. My next batch is coming a week from today, but they are slow broilers, not the cornish crosses, so I don't know if you would want those. I have 4 week old Cornish x right now, if you want to borrow a few for your experiment.

I am using Stall Dry, not straight food grade DE. It says on the bag that it has less than 1% silica, so I feel ok about using it with the chickens, but it is a mix of DE and clay.

 

[mizauntcathy'shenhouse]

What about shavings? My son use to show chickens (meat pen) at the county fair. We always had a chicken house and used kiln dried shavings, preferrably hard wood, not pine. They were piled in about one foot deep. The birds didn't scratch for food, but were always fed in feeders and lots of fresh water. Lights were on 24/7 to encourage them to get up and eat. It is very important that the shavings are constantly stirred...get in the pen, walk around and stir up shavings (this keeps the poop from piling up and the shavings from getting yucky and damp...also helps with the smell, and gets the chickens up and moving). It is very important that the pen is well ventilated due to the smell and we always kept fans on them to keep them cool. We did this for 6 weeks and then the show. Three went to the show (we started with 50) and we either slaughtered the rest or had a local university agriculture center process them and sold extra to friends and neighbors for $10 each. This covered the cost put into the birds.

 

[DaKid]

Yes there poop smells and my wife told me this a lot of times when she would come and get me when I’m down by the coop but being a small time farmer as I would call myself I fine most small time farmers with farm animals no matter how clean you keep it still smells like a farm .......... just my 2 cents .........,that’s why most place there coops and pens at the farest place from there house I would guest at lease that’s what my Dad –Grandfather- Great-Grandfather did and so did I which mine is about 150 - 200 ft away from my house .......... Yes I’m looking it this DE to be place into all the out side runs mostly and inside the coop . I now have a 12 ft x 12 ft coop which is dived into 3 parts , layers –bantams and meat birds all with there own outside runs , the coop floor is line with one piece tile floor for ease clean up and wash down with bleach , I place about 2 to 3 in’ of pine shaving on the coop floor ,I’ll get about a month before changing the shaving with new .
Now the turkey runs is where I get the really bad smell that’s why I looking it this DE Stuff
Does any one know where I can get this in Berkley Ma. 02779
Do most feed and grain store carry it



Al.

 

[MissPrissy]

The smell is not just from the poop.

Do you have hatchery chicks? When you opened the shipping box they have a smell - very mild chickie chick smell.

When you open the box on day old meat chickens - stench. They have a stench about their little selves. It grows with them and is added to by their poop.

As for the DE being a couple inches on the sand for a run. DE is like flour. It puffs and powders just like baby talc when changing a diaper. It would be hazardous to the birds and any people to be contsantly inhaling that dust.

As for the sand, not sure how shoveling poop out of the sand would work.Once it got wet through and through and they ate enough it it would just be a sand pit of poop.

I'd rather shovel out a few bales of shaving every week or move a tractor as to have to shift out and shovel sand all the time.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
The layer of DE is quickly mixed in with the sand. I don't foresee having to shovel poop out of the sand. Ate enough of what? Poop? Why would they do that? I scatter seeds on the sand for my Orpingtons, they eat it and scratch in the sand trying to find more while at the same time they cover up the poo. The sand's been wet through and through several times when it rained, and I don't see a sand pit of poop. I don't know what would happen with meat birds though.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Thanks, but if I do the experiment, I'll want to start with a couple of day-old chicks. I'd put them on sand with feed on the sand from the start. After a short while, I'd spread some DE. I'm going to save your name and post, and maybe if you order some chicks sometime you can sell me a couple. THANKS AGAIN!

 

[mizauntcathy'shenhouse]

With the meat birds the thick layers of shavings helps keep the breast from getting bruised up. They are breed for huge breast and they grow at such a fast rate, most will not be able to move around a whole lot the last few weeks. The shavings help "cushion" them.
I hope this helps...just some things we learned while our son showed chickens.