New to Chickens and Thrilled!

[LowerBamaMama]

Hi!

I have Barbus myself, but Bielefelder are a much loved breed here. You will finde feeding recommendations on the chicken starter package. Double it.  If you find out they don't eat everything up, you can still reduce. Depending on how old your peeps are, when you get them, they easy double their  weight in a week. They will grow bigger and bigger for six month and than with seven month start to lay very big, very tasty eggs. 

Bielefelder are realy lovely, big birds. You will fall in love, I promise. 

Here is a vid of "Stadtlandeier" a blogger from Hamburg who rehomed some Ex-Battery-Layer-Hybrids lately. The big birds are Bielefelder. See the difference!

The chicken man said he parts ways with his babies when they're 3-4 days so that they aren't so fragile and can travel safer. I've been reading the thread here for it and am planning on fermenting my feed right off the bat so they can get the most nutrition from what I feed and hopefully keep the cost down that way.

I wish I could understand what he was saying. Those were some hefty pretty birds!

 

[Bine]

Sadly I have no experience with fermented food. My babies were happy with chicken starter and sprouts. But as far as I know your peeps will put up around 40g a week in the first three weeks. ... so 1.4 oz per week. That's a lot and that is why they will eat more than other peeps.

Oh and in the vid. He is talking about the "Stallpflicht" and how he managed to keep his hens happy during Stallpflicht. Stallpflicht means that it is not allowed to keep free range chickens. You have somehow to contain the chickens and block the contact with wild birds. Everytime a wild goose or duck dies from a unknown disease or a bird with any kind of flue is found or a factory farm has an out break of any kind of infection our disease control center goes mad and than we have to bring our chickens into a aviary or a barn or something. The problem is you often have less than two day to do this. His first solution was a tent, but the chickens didn't like it and stopped laying eggs. So he builded a big covered run with a special neting that was recommended by the NaBu (Wildlife conservation service). And o/c he talks about the Ex-Battery hens and how they get along with the big birds.

 

[NickyKnack]

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to joined the BYC family.

 

[LowerBamaMama]

Sadly I have no experience with fermented food. My babies were happy with chicken starter and sprouts.  But as far as I know your peeps will put up around 40g a week in the first three weeks. ... so 1.4 oz per week. That's a lot and that is why they will eat more than other peeps. 


Oh and in the vid. He is talking about the "Stallpflicht" and how he managed to keep his hens happy during Stallpflicht. Stallpflicht means that it is not allowed to keep free range chickens. You have somehow to contain the chickens and block the contact with wild birds. Everytime a wild goose or duck dies from a unknown disease or a bird with any kind of flue is found or a factory farm has an out break of any kind of infection our disease control center goes mad and than we have to bring our chickens into a aviary or a barn or something. The problem is you often have less than two day to do this.  His first solution was a tent, but the chickens didn't like it and stopped laying eggs. So he builded a big covered run with a special neting that was recommended by the NaBu (Wildlife conservation service). And o/c he talks about the Ex-Battery hens and how they get along with the big birds. 

Thanks for the translation! Interesting to see the birds with some scale to really see how huge they're gonna be!

I'm definitely gonna be trying fermenting... From what I read the food swells up as it absorbs the water and fills them up better while giving them better access to the nutrients in the feed so you have healthier chickens with a smaller feed expense. And they stay better hydrated supposidly. So it's a win/win/win...

 

[LowerBamaMama]

Progress has been made!!!
A door, because this morning it dawned on my that I needed to be able to get in there!!!

And the opening for the pop door out of the coop

And then to do the whole thing over again tomorrow on the other side.

Still have to shingle the roof, build nest boxes, and paint with super duty exterior paint (to make it easier to clean ad preserve the lower quality plywood parts.

Hopefully we will have chicks next week!'

 

[LowerBamaMama]

Today I took a break from coop building to finish getting the brooder ready since I SHOULD (fingers crossed) have chicks this week!!!
I cut out the top of the lid and attached a piece of scrap chicken wire with carefully cut out piece of plywood on top and plywood strips on bottom nailed together to clamp it in place.

We have most of the supplies with the exception of chick grit, and a bottle of Braggs ACV.