New to meat birds

[annie82005]

I will! I am excited and nervous all at once!

 

[BCMaraniac]

I will! I am excited and nervous all at once!

It's kinda like bringing that first baby home from the hospital!

Where is Snow Shoe, PA? My hubby has been skiing at Snow Shoe, WV....didn't know there was a Snow Shoe PA....though I shouldn't be surprised with all of that snow up there. Is this storm that's coming through gonna hit you hard?

 

[annie82005]

I am in centre county. Smack dab in the middle of the state! We are expecting 4-6 inches of snow. Lived here my whole life so it isn't anything that I'm not used to. Still want warm days though!

 

[BCMaraniac]

I'm in NE TN. We are supposed to get up to 4 inches of snow, but I don't think we will. We've got a 1/2 inch maybe.....low tonight in the low teens......20 right now. Supposed to have single digit temps tomorrow night. My poor little chickies.....

 

[annie82005]

We woke up to a temp of -5 this morning. Had some frozen water in the coop but not much else. Definitely warmer in there than it is is outside. We got the 4 inches of snow that they said we would.

So, I was dumb and ordered my meaties at a delivery of ASAP...They ship Wednesday next week. Will they be ok to go outside in February??? I know they will be mostly feathered out by then *fingers crossed*. They can't live in my basement forever! LOL

 

[BCMaraniac]

We woke up to a temp of -5 this morning. Had some frozen water in the coop but not much else. Definitely warmer in there than it is is outside. We got the 4 inches of snow that they said we would.

So, I was dumb and ordered my meaties at a delivery of ASAP...They ship Wednesday next week. Will they be ok to go outside in February??? I know they will be mostly feathered out by then *fingers crossed*. They can't live in my basement forever! LOL

Glad everything is OK this morning. I haven't got the nerve to go check on mine yet. I have to walk down a little hill to get to my barn, and I want the sun to hit the ground for a little while and melt the ice. It won't do them any good if I fall.....not to mention me.

I kept my first meaties in my basement for about 4 weeks but I only had a few. However I wasn't set up for mine to forage at the time, so I kept 15 of them in a 12x12 foot repurposed horse stall.

I would think they could go outside in February....but you will have to talk to somebody with more experience than me.

 

[Beekissed]

We woke up to a temp of -5 this morning. Had some frozen water in the coop but not much else. Definitely warmer in there than it is is outside. We got the 4 inches of snow that they said we would.

So, I was dumb and ordered my meaties at a delivery of ASAP...They ship Wednesday next week. Will they be ok to go outside in February??? I know they will be mostly feathered out by then *fingers crossed*. They can't live in my basement forever! LOL

You'll have to harden them off, much like you would plants you started in the house and will be setting outside in the garden. Provide some heat and good wind blocking for their first week or so outside until their bodies and feathering adjust to the outside temps and then it should be fine. When they start avoiding the light when they bed down, you can wean them off of it.

 

[annie82005]

Is it strange that I am super excited to set up my meatie brooder tomorrow????

Hope everyone is staying warm!

 

[Arielle]

I'm sure that I'm not the first person to ask this question, but what can I do with all of the innards? It just seems wasteful to throw it away. Can I compost it or something? What are your thoughts?

I cook it and feed it back to the chickens. I cook it because it is potentially a source of parasites. And easier for the birds to pull apart. Pure protein.

Well, I did it. I just placed an order for 15 meaties. I hope this goes well.

It will go fine-- you will learn with each batch what works for you and your set up.

We woke up to a temp of -5 this morning. Had some frozen water in the coop but not much else. Definitely warmer in there than it is is outside. We got the 4 inches of snow that they said we would.

So, I was dumb and ordered my meaties at a delivery of ASAP...They ship Wednesday next week. Will they be ok to go outside in February??? I know they will be mostly feathered out by then *fingers crossed*. They can't live in my basement forever! LOL

Need 8-10 weeks to grow them up. As long as they are insude, I do recommend the fermented feed method. And put them on DEEEEEP litter. A 12 x 10 stall didn't seem big enough for 15 at the end-- more shavings I think would have helped.

Is it strange that I am super excited to set up my meatie brooder tomorrow????

An adventure IS exciting!!

 

[annie82005]

Expecting windchill temps to be -35 tomorrow. How exciting! Hope I don't lose anyone due to the cold. I am throwing extra straw in the coop and keeping them "cooped" up until this unforgiving weather passes. What do you do to keep the girls warm and cozy?