- May 18, 2009
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We'll also be able to kill some for the freezer, he said.
That was before we got our first 20 chicks in late March. We had agreed that I would keep one as a pet, and the rest would be food and/or egg producers.
Our plans went awry and we now have 56 chicks and a turkey, with plans to get a few bantams at the end of the month for my grandson.
I have two dilemmas:
First, my chicks are in three batches. The first group of 20 is now 12 weeks old. They are spoiled rotten and the idea of eating any of them is more than I can handle. About half of them are roos and I will need to separate them out soon.
The second batch of 23 is 8 weeks old. I made it a point of not getting attached to them, except for one that nearly died and I nursed her back to health. I would ultimately like to move the hens from this group and integrate them into the main flock at some point.
I just don't know when or how. Do I remove the excess roos first and then add the new hens later or do I introduce the new hens at the same time as I remove the excess roos?
The third batch is 10 BO and 3 BA. And the turkey. We plan to keep them in separate breeding pens, so they won't be integrated into the main flock.
Second problem: I'm going to be out of town for three days next week and my wheelchair bound husband will be my animal caretaker until I get back. My big guys and the babies are no problem. The middle ones in the grow out pen are going to be the challenge. They're going through food at an amazing rate and wasting too much of it.
Sorry for the small book. Who knew chickens could become such an addiction? Not I.
That was before we got our first 20 chicks in late March. We had agreed that I would keep one as a pet, and the rest would be food and/or egg producers.
Our plans went awry and we now have 56 chicks and a turkey, with plans to get a few bantams at the end of the month for my grandson.
I have two dilemmas:
First, my chicks are in three batches. The first group of 20 is now 12 weeks old. They are spoiled rotten and the idea of eating any of them is more than I can handle. About half of them are roos and I will need to separate them out soon.
The second batch of 23 is 8 weeks old. I made it a point of not getting attached to them, except for one that nearly died and I nursed her back to health. I would ultimately like to move the hens from this group and integrate them into the main flock at some point.
I just don't know when or how. Do I remove the excess roos first and then add the new hens later or do I introduce the new hens at the same time as I remove the excess roos?
The third batch is 10 BO and 3 BA. And the turkey. We plan to keep them in separate breeding pens, so they won't be integrated into the main flock.
Second problem: I'm going to be out of town for three days next week and my wheelchair bound husband will be my animal caretaker until I get back. My big guys and the babies are no problem. The middle ones in the grow out pen are going to be the challenge. They're going through food at an amazing rate and wasting too much of it.
Sorry for the small book. Who knew chickens could become such an addiction? Not I.
