Friday
May302008
How to: Add day old chickens to a brooder
Friday, May 30, 2008 at 12:53PM
We got the call from the Post Office this morning at about 7:30am...
"Hello."
"hello - is this Andy?"
"yup"
"Good Morning - this is the Post Office - we have a very noisy little box here for you marked 30 chickens - you can come pick it up whenever. We open at 9, but you can come knock on the door earlier if you want."
And with that - Chicken Thistle Farm is now in the meat production business with "livestock" in the barn.
Here's what 30 "day old" chicks (that will become broiler chickens) arriving on the farm today looks like and the associated process - of adding them to the brooder.
New chicks need to be "enticed" to drink water - so you start them off on 1/4c sugar in a gallon.
Chicks need warmth - they will be in the brooder for the first 4 weeks of their 8 week long life... and the temp the first week will be near 90. So it's important that the water they start off with here is room temp - cool water is not good for them.
Here's how they come - all 30 of them - in 2 nice 15 chick compartments.
They sure were noisy in the Post Office.
Put the box in the brooder - so if there are any really excited to escape - they are in the brooder already (gotta be smarter than the chickens).
Here's the first fellow/gal out of the box and into the brooder for the next 4 weeks of it's life.
Soft - warm - dry - and all 30 of them were up and moving in the box - those are all great signs!
You take each chick and dip it's beak into the sweet water - then they instantly recognize the source of drink.
Chickens, although they hear, are mainly visual - so learning to identify the source of water is task number one for a chick... here - we just help out... it's like chick tutoring!
After each little bird is introduced to the waterer - it's pretty obvious they arrive thirsty!
But that's normal - just before they hatch they absorb the entire yoke into their tummies... this is how they can be shipped over the first 2 days of their lives without food or water - they are pre-loaded!
One of the first rules of animal husbandry (well - unwritten rules) is all baby animals are cute but never name animals you are going to eat.
This little one will lead a very healthy life - an ultimately provide nourishment for our family. Ohh, and don't get too attached - this breed (Cornish / Rock Cross - they get ugly really fast!)
We broke the first rule - His / her name is "Rotisserie".
They all quickly took to their new home - deciding if the water or the warmth from the brooder lamp was more important. Both seemed to win equally - until about 45 minutes after they settled in and we added the started feed. That's when you can tell these are meat birds!
These little guys get food 24 hours a day until day 5 of their life - then it's 12 hours on / 12 off - until they are butchered.
Why? Well - they are a breed that eats - they actually fall asleep with their heads in the food - wake up and restart eating. If you leave food there too long - they over eat and develop all sorts of growth conditions and even die.
Watson is a tad confused - they look like toys, make sounds like toys, and run around quickly (which he wishes his toys would do)... so far - he's been a good boy.
Here's to day one of 8 weeks raising these 30 meat birds for friends and family.
Throughout the day Kelli and I wandered out to the barn to watch them run around... they seem to have settled in very well - all are eating, drinking and exploring... great signs!
"Hello."
"hello - is this Andy?"
"yup"
"Good Morning - this is the Post Office - we have a very noisy little box here for you marked 30 chickens - you can come pick it up whenever. We open at 9, but you can come knock on the door earlier if you want."
And with that - Chicken Thistle Farm is now in the meat production business with "livestock" in the barn.
Here's what 30 "day old" chicks (that will become broiler chickens) arriving on the farm today looks like and the associated process - of adding them to the brooder.
Chicks need warmth - they will be in the brooder for the first 4 weeks of their 8 week long life... and the temp the first week will be near 90. So it's important that the water they start off with here is room temp - cool water is not good for them.
They sure were noisy in the Post Office.
Put the box in the brooder - so if there are any really excited to escape - they are in the brooder already (gotta be smarter than the chickens).
Soft - warm - dry - and all 30 of them were up and moving in the box - those are all great signs!
Chickens, although they hear, are mainly visual - so learning to identify the source of water is task number one for a chick... here - we just help out... it's like chick tutoring!
But that's normal - just before they hatch they absorb the entire yoke into their tummies... this is how they can be shipped over the first 2 days of their lives without food or water - they are pre-loaded!
This little one will lead a very healthy life - an ultimately provide nourishment for our family. Ohh, and don't get too attached - this breed (Cornish / Rock Cross - they get ugly really fast!)
We broke the first rule - His / her name is "Rotisserie".
These little guys get food 24 hours a day until day 5 of their life - then it's 12 hours on / 12 off - until they are butchered.
Why? Well - they are a breed that eats - they actually fall asleep with their heads in the food - wake up and restart eating. If you leave food there too long - they over eat and develop all sorts of growth conditions and even die.
Here's to day one of 8 weeks raising these 30 meat birds for friends and family.
Throughout the day Kelli and I wandered out to the barn to watch them run around... they seem to have settled in very well - all are eating, drinking and exploring... great signs!
Reader Comments (8)
They are way too cute. I wouldn't mind being in the brooder in 90 degree temperatures, but that's as far as it goes with me.
The one paragraph sounds like the Big Guy, justs eats for 24 hours straight, falls asleep with its head in the food and wakes up eating!
I can't wait to see them.
Oh, boy! Lots of cuteness! I can't wait until we do that again.
:-D
I've been following your adventures on your blog for a while. Congratulations on the chickens! I live in an area that bans poultry--darn. There is a great online community, "Dave's Garden", that has a livestock forum that is full of expertise on chickens and poultry if you are interested. It is at
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/animals/all/
The Dave in Dave's Garden is of no relation to me, though I do participate in the Vegetables, Tomatoes, and Peppers forums and lurk on a lot more.
David R
Austin, TX
Meme - Thanks - but they won't stay cute for long!
Ginny - Keep visiting to see how we do!
Dave - Thanks for stopping by (and continuing to visit!) - I'll definitely check out the site.
These chickens are not going to be in the barn but for the first 3-4 weeks of their lives... then they will be pastured and moved daily.
Cuuuuuute!! Did mom tell you some of my other name suggestions (and I have to admit, some are borrowed from other sites/blogs/podcasts with chickens): McNugget, Hot Wing, Pot Pie, Squeaky Toy... The list could go on, but I can't remember anymore right now.
Smart not to name them - I would also think that having so many is going to make it much easier to have a less personal attatchment to any of them.
Congrats on your newly expanded family.
Oh yeah, and "Salmonella"...but you can call her "Nell" for short. ;-)
Jeph,
Thanks for the, uhh, "good" names :)
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