- Sep 19, 2008
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I am the brand new chicken-mommy to 15 laying hens 12 baby chicks, 3 baby guineas, and 8 baby turkeys. My problem arises from the fact that I have no experience in raising poultry!!! I understand the fundamentals and have done research on the net to get a better understanding of what I am doing.
I am somewhat confident with my 15 laying hens. They are all healthy and faithfully produce 6-8 eggs a day. They are still a little young, but I believe that they will be good producers.
Now for my chicks...I am uncertain of their exact age. My husband bought them at a local farm store as a surpirse (and boy was it!!!) We started with 20 chicks. One never survived the ride home, 2 were not very strong to start with and passed away, one baby guinea died for no apparent reason, and finally this morning I found one baby that was evidently pecked to death by its fellow chicks. *heartbreaking*
At what point can I introduce my chicks to the coop? They are all roughly 6 inches in height, but are still very much "little chicks" in comparison to my hens. Also, I have the 15 remaining chicks (not the turkeys) in one 3'x3'x18 in rabbit pen, do I have them overcrowded? There seems to be plenty of room in the cage, but after the pecking death this morning, I am worried that maybe they feel crowded.
My baby turkeys are doing fine, again we do not know the age of them. They were a "barter agreement" with a local neighbor. He was supposed to only bring 2 and I ended up with 8 of them because he didn't want to break up the family. Does anyone know at what point turkeys become self reliant and can be let outside? They practice flying and eat like little pigs. They are very strong and stand 8"-10" tall.
Any instructrions, words of advise, or general tips will be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks!!!
I am somewhat confident with my 15 laying hens. They are all healthy and faithfully produce 6-8 eggs a day. They are still a little young, but I believe that they will be good producers.
Now for my chicks...I am uncertain of their exact age. My husband bought them at a local farm store as a surpirse (and boy was it!!!) We started with 20 chicks. One never survived the ride home, 2 were not very strong to start with and passed away, one baby guinea died for no apparent reason, and finally this morning I found one baby that was evidently pecked to death by its fellow chicks. *heartbreaking*
At what point can I introduce my chicks to the coop? They are all roughly 6 inches in height, but are still very much "little chicks" in comparison to my hens. Also, I have the 15 remaining chicks (not the turkeys) in one 3'x3'x18 in rabbit pen, do I have them overcrowded? There seems to be plenty of room in the cage, but after the pecking death this morning, I am worried that maybe they feel crowded.
My baby turkeys are doing fine, again we do not know the age of them. They were a "barter agreement" with a local neighbor. He was supposed to only bring 2 and I ended up with 8 of them because he didn't want to break up the family. Does anyone know at what point turkeys become self reliant and can be let outside? They practice flying and eat like little pigs. They are very strong and stand 8"-10" tall.
Any instructrions, words of advise, or general tips will be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks!!!