what do you do with all the chicks?

[smom1976]

What do you do with all the chicks?

Lots of people are hatching, where do you put all the chicks.

 

[rroven]

Well....Mine go into an indoor brooder ( I used an old book case laid on its back, shelves removed and lined with plastic) for the first week then they go out to a brooder house my DH converted from a small greenhouse. After they are about 6 weeks old they will go into their own coop and pen. I will be keeping any different breeds separate. At 12 weeks old approximately, I'II start selling fertilized eggs and hopefully hatch some more to improve my lines. Oh, did I mention that I am a hatchaholic?

 

[Jubaby]

Yes - that certainly a dilemna! I'm begging my dh to build be another chicken barn, so I can make separate pens for the different breeds.

If I had the room, I'd be hatching all the time.

 

[rroven]

Quote:
I hear ya Jubaby...I just keep getting in deeper and deeper....

 

[Julie08]

I keep the ones I like the most and the rest go to the auction makes enough to support my addiction, I mean hobby!

 

[ChickenToes]

I do something similar to rroven...we brood ours for a few weeks, then they go out to the coop with a lamp for heat until they're about 6 weeks old. Some we butcher for meat, others we keep for eggs. Then we incubate our own eggs and start the process all over again! This year we hope to incorporate some new breeds into the flock as well.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
What kind do you have that start laying at 12 weeks!!??

 

[MissPrissy]

The extra roosters go in my freezer. Blue orp roo for dinner.

 

[Katy]

Since I hate butchering chickens my extras go to the local poultry auction.

 

[Promiselandfarm]

We are very fortunate as we sell the day olds we do not want to keep. Then we keep the replacement pullets and sometimes if the little guy is exceptional he gets to stay. We have several different breeds. My husband has his favorites, I have mine and my children have the ones they like. So we have several/many different pens so they do not mix breeds. We are now in the process of building another big

coop. RIRs are what we have the most of but my son thinks we need more as they so far are our best layers. We are trying to keep only the best of the best. It for us is a learning process but we all seem to love those little babies.