- Dec 5, 2010
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Gallopingfrog, could you possibly buy a hen with chicks from someone? That would get over a whole heap of cocci hurdles at once (it seems to me). Chicks raised under a broody seem to do well without medications.
If not, it wouldn't be a bad thing to go for medicated feed and follow standard practice a few times, until you get a feel for the whole thing... There's so much to learn with chick raising, it makes sense to take things on in stages. Medicated feeds are one way to raise chicks and they do work, though they can't replace good management (you still have to manage against cocci). Once you've got everything else squared away, choosing to go to a non medicated approach will be a lot easier and you'll (most importantly I think) have an eye for a sick chick. This is vital because chicks can die very quickly from coccidiosis.
I wish it was as easy as saying 'put X number of chicks in Y spot and give Z amount of kefir daily... Maybe it is, but I just worry that there'd be one little variable I've missed out on describing and boom, somebody loses a brood. Having said that, I think I've been as comprehensive as I can be...
But here's another variable, your first batch will be coming onto clean land, and it might be the second or third batch that show cocci symptoms as soil numbers increase.
More grist for the mill, or maybe it's just the time-honoured rule that the more you look into something the more there is to look into... Gah, it's never-ending!
Regards,
Erica
If not, it wouldn't be a bad thing to go for medicated feed and follow standard practice a few times, until you get a feel for the whole thing... There's so much to learn with chick raising, it makes sense to take things on in stages. Medicated feeds are one way to raise chicks and they do work, though they can't replace good management (you still have to manage against cocci). Once you've got everything else squared away, choosing to go to a non medicated approach will be a lot easier and you'll (most importantly I think) have an eye for a sick chick. This is vital because chicks can die very quickly from coccidiosis.
I wish it was as easy as saying 'put X number of chicks in Y spot and give Z amount of kefir daily... Maybe it is, but I just worry that there'd be one little variable I've missed out on describing and boom, somebody loses a brood. Having said that, I think I've been as comprehensive as I can be...
But here's another variable, your first batch will be coming onto clean land, and it might be the second or third batch that show cocci symptoms as soil numbers increase.
More grist for the mill, or maybe it's just the time-honoured rule that the more you look into something the more there is to look into... Gah, it's never-ending!
Regards,
Erica
