Raising Chicken Tips: Baby Poultry Brooding Plan for the Floor
How do you go about planning and building the brooding floor?
Step 1
There are wide selections of products that can be purchased for brooding that will provide a draft free and comfortable environment. For a cardboard ring that is formed around the area suitable for brooding, the popular 13 to 19 inches high ring is commonly used. If you’re planning for a 50-chick capacity, a diameter of 5 ft circle is needed.
Assuming you want to increase the number of chicks, the ring diameter must also be increased that is proportioned with the number of chicks added. This is to reduce the negative outcomes of overcrowding. Aside from the huge cardboard boxes, your child’s plastic pool or an old tank can be an alternative.
Step 2
You have to cover the floor using one to two inches of materials that are absorbent and do not mat that easily. Shavings, ground corncobs, rice hulls, etc. can be your choices. Cedar shavings are not to be used for these are toxic and can lead to chicken poisoning. For the litter, the covering must be of cheesecloth, burlap, towels made of paper, and other materials that are non-slick.
This is appropriate for the first 3 days. With this, there will be easy access for feeding the babies via sprinkles above the material. It will also lessen the possibility for the chicks to have sprattle legs. Lastly, it will prevent litter eating.
Step 3
For a 50-chick capacity, you have to provide adequate heat from lamps. It must be a 250-watt with reflector. Regardless of the baby number, it is required to install at least 2 heat lamps. Picking is the result if the lamp reflects excessive light. That is why red heat lamps are more preferred. Red heat lamps provide sufficient light without going beyond its temperature. Heat lamps are hung at least 18” just above the litter. Inspect the light if they really provide the needed heat.
Step 4
Feeder lids should be made available for feeding. Cut a box down to an inch on its sides. If you are raising game birds and bantams, sides with only three quarters or less is preferred.
Step 5
Wire the brooder system of the floor. A wire floor is required out of materials that are not larger than a half-inch cloth. For raising game birds and bantam, a floor with a size of one-fourth inch is preferred.
Step 6
As specified by the manufacturer, the floor should be of adequate space. This is because the manufacturer recommends the appropriate number of chicks that can be started within the vicinity of the brooder. Check the heat if it is working properly.
Step 7
Provide a 15-watt red night-light. This serves as the brooder’s light during the night for them to see properly.
Step 8
Providing water troughs is wise but can also be a problem for it provides not only sufficient but also excess water access.
After all of these are brought together, make sure that things are working properly and things won’t result to jeopardy. These are just the basics for raising your chickens.
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The Easiest Way of Raising Chickens
The first step in preparing for your new animals is making sure there is ample room for the number you plan on acquiring. The chicken house does not require anything fancy or specialized, only safe, dry, and clean.
You will need to include perches for night time roosting as well as nesting boxes for them if you plan on collecting eggs. Including a cover on your pen from chicken wire, or whatever you choose will protect them from flying predators and also keep them safely inside of the enclosure.
When choosing the location for the chicken, try to allow for ample grass areas as well. If the coop is roughly eight feet by twelve feet, you will need to have approximately double the amount of grassy area to suit. The chickens will probably eat the grass, and they need this area to catch bugs and scratch in the soil.
Offering easy access to clean food and water is imperative to their general health and you can find and water dispensers at most feed stores. These are designed with cleanliness and sanitation in mind. Depending on the type of hens you are going to have, there are different style feeders to suit any special needs. The food used to feed them can be obtained at feed stores as well, and can be chosen to also suit the brood you acquire.
Whether you have smaller hens or larger ones, they will need supplements as well as the addition of certain vitamins to aid in producing healthier eggs for human consumption. Grit aids in digestion, and crushed oyster shell helps their eggs develop strong shells as well. These items are all available at feed stores also.
Choosing your hens is strictly up to you, and since there are such an extremely large amount of different varieties, the choices are nearly endless. A little research will go a long way in aiding you in your choices, and educating yourself on the best brooding hens, or best producers, etc. will also benefit you when the time comes to choose your breeds.
Before deciding on whether or not you will have a rooster, it is imperative that you consider all aspects of having one. A rooster is not necessary for the hens to lay their eggs, the eggs will simply not be fertilized, however they will continue to lay regardless of whether or not there is a rooster present. Keep in mind that roosters are strutting loud creatures, and can cause problems for you if you live in a relatively busy or crowded area.
Close neighbors may not enjoy the early morning noise or the annoyance of hearing a rooster so frequently, so remember to think it completely through before purchasing one. Finding some excellent information before proceeding with your plans is wise and can give you some of the best results.
About the Author:
An online auction site, where it is FREE to buy or sell anything from real estate to chickens. It was started by my daughter and I, to give people a place to display their birds. Stop by and register for free at my website, which is at http://www.chickenauctions.com
Article Source-- Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/the-easiest-way-of-raising-chickens-354551.html
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raising organic chickens
This is my chicken flock. The white birds are cornish hen. They are primarily used as "meat birds"
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Chicks - Guide To Raising Baby Chicks
Raising baby chickens. A quick guide to keeping and raising chicks. This video shows the basic requirements of chicks for their first 5-8 weeks (by which time they should get their full feathers). They will grow quite quickly (and so will the size of their brooder). Once they have their full feathers they will be able to move into their chicken coop. For more tips and info about raising and keeping chickens visit :
http://successwithpoultry.blogspot.com
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Raising Chickens Naturally
On candling eggs: http://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-ca...
Best hatcheries in the USA:
http://cacklehatchery.com/
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com
Music is "A Time For Peace" by Joseph G Vincent http://freemusic.freeculture.org/medi...
If you like eggs then you really should be raising them yourself! It's so healthy and fun for you and for the chickens.
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Proper Construction of a Pen Suitable for Raising Chickens
Alright, the easy yet crucial part begins with planning. First, the area, then the size of the pen. The pen size usually depends on how many chickens will be raised. Look at the option on what kind of birds you are dealing with.
Novice or not, it is still better to start off with the most basic pen – using the wire and post design. Here, the materials that you’ll need are the posts, wire, and staples that can be used for fences. The tools are also basic namely a sledgehammer, the ordinary hammer, wire cutters, and crowbar.
Now that you have gathered all materials and tools, surveyed the area, and is assured that there is none to worry about, it’s time for the construction.
To start with, look at the ground you’re working on. Notice the stiffness and dryness. If it’s anything like that, you have to bring in with you a bucket full of water. This will help soften the ground. Pound the ground using the pointed tip of the crowbar. By doing this, a hole is being formed.
While pounding, occasionally pour few amounts of water in the hole to soften the ground. By leaving your crowbar inside the hole, pull your body against it. By doing so, you’ll widen the proximity of the hole. If the hole is prominent enough and is 20 cm deep, that will be sufficient. Make sure that the hole has a wideness that can hold a pole in place.
You can now put the post inside the hole that you have made, pointed tip first. Using the sledgehammer, pound the pole to the ground. Do the pounding until you are sure that it has remained firm. Sometimes, it is better to have someone hold the post for you to ensure better stability. Always practice caution and focus on what you’re doing because you might pound your assistant instead of your post.
If your first post is standing firmly, you can now start on your second, and third, and fourth, and so on. Give about a meter from where the first post stands. That will determine elaborate spacing. To serve as a gate, let 2 posts stand about 1½ - 2 meters apart.
The moment you have firmly put all the posts in place, it’s time to put the wire around it. For this to be made possible, carry the wire on one corner then using your regular hammer, pound the fence staples at the end of the wire to the post. Once the end is tightly secured, unroll the wire going to the next post then staple the wire that touches the post. Do the unrolling and stapling process till you have completed wrapping around the entire posts. If you ran out of wire, get more then start where you ended.
Making a gate is also easy. All you need to gather are hinges, latch and a particle board. Start by cutting the board to fit the two ends of the posts. Now attach it together with the hinges and the latch.
There you have it. Raising chickens is easy for as long as you know the basics.
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