My poor meaties!!!

[andisgarden]

I need some major help. I have meaties that just turned 8 weeks old. They are nearing their processing date but, we had had major setback this week when it rained for a day and 1/2 and then it started snowing. The birds are in a tractor covered to keep dry except the driving rain made my whole yard a soggy mess. The temps when it was raining were in the high 50's so during the day I was opening up and letting air in and at night they were tarped off with a heat lamp. Now starts the problem the rain made a soggy mess. Then the temps are in the teens at night and we got a horrible heavy snow. I cannot uncover them because its too cold and wet but they are wet and cold and I don't know what to do with them. I got a bale of wood chips and laid them down on the ground and they had temporary dryness but, now it is soaked through again. The tractor is covered with snow 8" deep and snow is everywhere else so moving them is a real deal.

Me and my hubby were thinking moving the whole tractor on a heavy tarp and covering it with wood but, that is going to be a royal pain and the birds are going to get really cold in the process but I don't know what else to do. I never wanted to see a creature like this it is absolutely terrible. I treet my animals very well and they are moved often and get out in the yard to free range when their tractor is being moved so I don't harm them. Until now this whole thing was going way too easy. Suggestions PLEASE.

Thanks Andrea

 

[artsyrobin]

Hi andrea, is their any chance of moving them into a garage or shed? even if they are 'just' meaties, i hear you on treating them with comapssion... maybe someone in the okie forum would have an idea?

 

[fasbendera]

At 8 weeks they are fully feathered and uncovering them for the short time would not harm them. In the short time it would take to put a temporary floor under the tractor you birds would not be harmed. You may want to consider plywood or a harder surface in case the temporary floor needs to stay for a longer time and then you can clean out the tractor. Trying to clean off a tarp if your weather pattern continues may be a pain so plywood may be a better choice. It all depends on when you plan on processing them too. How many more weeks?

 

[wildorchid053]

do you have a garage? or basement? just till it dries some

 

[Overeasyplz]

Do you have a barn? They don't move much I'd put them in there! You could probably hold off processing for another week...

 

[andisgarden]

Plywood isn't really an option because we have been snowed in for 3 days and I don't have any way to go get plywood. I have no shed and the garage isn't an option these birds are too big and smell so bad quickly we can't have that in our home. I guess the tarp and wood chips are going to be my solution. What do you others do in these conditions? I am at a total loss. Picking up this tractor with snow is going to be heavy and cumbersome. I will just figure it out I guess. All help is very appreciated.

 

[andisgarden]

OH, processing is going to be soon but I think they are actually losing weight because they have been working so hard to stay warm. They have plenty of food but the water keeps freezing and I am checking it very often to get fresh but we have had no power either for a day and they had no lamp. This weather has really sucked royally.

 

[chicks4kids]

Are you talking about alot of meaties? Or just a few?

If it's just a few could you just get a mindset to process a few a day?? We had some meaties that ended up going 11 weeks before processing. The females. Just to get a little bit more weight on them. It seemed that the roos packed it on much quicker.

Not knowing the amount of birds, or size of your tractor, I can only suggest possibly getting some pallets (free hopefully) and laying down down, cover with some type of hay, straw, wood chips (of course lay tarp on top of pallets first). That may elevate it enough not to cause sitting water....

 

[andisgarden]

we have 13 meaties and our tractor is 8x6x24in The boys are definitly bigger but some of them are just not ready because the cold has slowed growth a bit. I would like to let them go another week or so.

 

[andisgarden]

Pallets...I like it. I see possibilities with this idea I hope the feed store will give us a few pallets and then we will go from here. I hope my husband can get out of our road and then we will be in business.