Started a Chicken Business with 100s of Chickens

[cammartinez]

Hi,

Any tips from those with large flocks?... Our chickens are not free range. We raise them in a large chicken house.

Are there any good resources on the Internet for managing large flocks?

I am trying to get a handle on feed and water for so many birds. We buy feed from a lady who provides chicken feed. I live in Africa. I'm not sure of even the type of bird I have.

They have two main types of bird here...

The one that grows in 1.5 to 2.5 months they call (big leg or big foot) and the one that takes forever and ever to grow that they call small legs or small foot... which takes 5 or 6 months. Unfortunately, I ended up with the slow boat chickens.

We have trough feeders and the traditional waters with the red or yellow round tray at the bottom but we want to conserve space on a budget. The waterers seem to take up too much space and we need more.

Any suggestions for further education would be great.

Thanks!

 

[aart]

Search for nipple waterers...should work good if it doesn't freeze where you are.
That's what commercial houses use, long pvc pipe with tapped holes and chicken nipples.
Pipe is fed either from a pressure regulated tap or gravity fed from a large water vessel.

 

[fishandchix1]

Nipple waterers work with my flock of 35 chickens. Good luck with your business!

 

[cammartinez]

Nipple waterers certainly sound interesting. Unfortunately, we are in Africa so they would be probably difficult to get and we don't have a nearby tap.

Maybe at sometime we can find a way to move to that but it would not be possible for us in the near term.

 

[jimbob86]

The one that grows in 1.5 to 2.5 months they call (big leg or big foot) and the one that takes forever and ever to grow that they call small legs or small foot... which takes 5 or 6 months. Unfortunately, I ended up with the slow boat chickens.

When life gives you lemmons, you make a lemonade stand!

Your "smallfoot chickens" are likely a dual-purpose bird ..... you might look at selling eggs- it is the most efficient way to turn low quallity vegetable matter into high quality animal protien.

Butcher the cockerels at 12 weeks or so .....