Quite Simply, Chook Chat

[Munch]

Morning....

Ok, we wnt to raise chook for the table next year....... whats best?
Hatching eggs.... incubator
or day old chick.... no incubator

What does peeps use for a brooder, I have seen this one that looks good
NEW BROODER /ELECTRIC HEN BRINSEA ECO GLOW & 8 PANELS on eBay (end time 30-Dec-10 11:23:55 GMT)
But not sure it will be big enough for 12 at 6 weeks old before they can go off heat.

And was anyone else pooing themselves about the first time the had to 'do the deed' ?

[Munch]

I have also found these people what do you think?
Smart Chicks - quality Sasso Chicks

[Nicos]

Mornin munch!
Can't find that last link

Yup- doing the deed was dreadful the first time ( OH 'did' it...and that was bad enough...and I plucked)

It's got a tiny bit easier...most of the concern is not doing it swiftly enough...and yes you do do it much more 'efficiently' with practice.

It's a good feeling knowing they have had a fantastic life and the meat is so very much sweeter and flavoursome.

Breeds???...not sure which is best tbh

[Munch]

Mornin munch!
Can't find that last link

Morning Nicos, thanks.

Try this
Smart Chicks - quality Sasso Chicks

[Glutton4...]

I have heard of the Sasso birds, but haven't researched them. I'm actually planning (ha ha) to breed from Asbo!!!! Only because he's big, and his sons can go in the freezer - watch me get all Hens! LOL

My Husband will do the deed, my Mum will show me how to do the rest. Watch this space.

[Munch]

Thats great G4, the problem I have is that I dont have enough room to keep the girls, so really need a bread where it doesnt matter to much.

I have 8 layer at the moment and only room for a couple more, so when we get some babies for the table they will all have to go int freezer.

mmmm. thats a thought.. will need new freezer too!

[shirlthegirl43]

Where's ya piccies, Shirl!!!?

Mornin' again Munch!

Need to charge the camera up. 'Mr' buff pekin I reckon is a girl. Not least cos 'he' has no long neck feathers and I am sure there should be some by 12 weeks?

The orpies are near enough the same size as my warrens but not as big as our australorp so they may be banties too, I think one of them is a boy as there seems to be silky neck feathers. We will wait and see, anyhoo, the new ones are in the shed and the others in the run as there was a bit of aggro and escaping going on!

Morning....

Ok, we wnt to raise chook for the table next year....... whats best?
Hatching eggs.... incubator
or day old chick.... no incubator

What does peeps use for a brooder, I have seen this one that looks good
NEW BROODER /ELECTRIC HEN BRINSEA ECO GLOW & 8 PANELS on eBay (end time 30-Dec-10 11:23:55 GMT)
But not sure it will be big enough for 12 at 6 weeks old before they can go off heat.

And was anyone else pooing themselves about the first time the had to 'do the deed' ?

My mum got day old chicks for us for easter years ago, we reared them in a cardboard box next to the central heating stove with a hot water bottle wrapped in newspaper - they all survived quite happily

[Munch]

Sorry to be a pain and if I appear a bit stupid..... but........

I have been looking at various brooders on line, now to me they all seem fine all in their own right, but my question is... all the time they state 'for up to 40 chicks' how the hell will they fit in these things when they are 6 weeks old and just coming off heat???

Am I missing something?

thought I had better add I have raised 2 chicks in a make shift brooder, and they got too big for it so I had to borrow a dog cage from a friend (the chicks were a surprise!) My make shift brooder was a cardboard box with a table lamp! , and from what I can work out not much smaller than some of the brooders on line!

[Glutton4...]

I had mine in a Dog Cage, about 2' x 2'6, I think. They were fine, but soon outgrew it. I find it hard to believe that something can grow that quickly!

My 'Babies" were 16 weeks on Tuesday, and today I decided to put the six girls in with the main flock. Knowing how well they can fly, I clipped a wing each first, before we let them out. No problems so far, but they have plenty of room, and Asbo as referee! Although, we had to go and put them to bed this evening, as they didn't know where to go. The four boys will now be fattened for the next month. Anyone have any tips?

[RichmondHens]

Munch - you will need as much room to rear meat birds as you would to keep laying hens. And they will need separate accommodation as you want them on a specific grower/finisher diet and not layers pellets. So you need to work out if you have the space for another house and run to accommodate say 12 large adult birds (which is what they will be when you slaughter them, irrespective of how old they are - 12 weeks for a Sasso and closer to 26 weeks for a slow growing pure breed). Even if you only intend to keep them for as long as it takes to get them to table weight they still deserve a decent life with freedom to roam. So look at what your set up is at the moment for your layers and ask the question, Can I double this up to produce meat birds?

G4 - my meat birds get grower pellet all the way through. I don't use one with added coccidiostat so they stay on that till slaughter, but if you choose to use one with the meds added then you have to withdraw to a finisher feed for at least a week prior to slaughter. Otherwise they get the same regime as the other birds - ad lib pellet and a treat at the end of the day. I have experimented with feeding more corn in the past and found it just laid down fat. Also past the age of six months they don't really put on much more in the way of meat so don't be tempted to hang on to a little 'un to allow him to grow a bit more, they generally don't. Aim to slaughter them all at around the same time. Practically, it can be hard work do the whole lot at once (especially if you are a first timer and also depending on how many you have to do) so it's often easier to do them in groups of two or three over several days. Just never leave one bird waiting on its own at the end, it's very stressful for them. Always make sure he has a pal with him.

[shirlthegirl43]

I remember my mum getting chicks to fatten years and years ago - they were some special type that grew really quickly. At first we all said 'oh no way will we eat those, they will end up running about with the others' but as they grew, they got really rather ungainly and ugly and at about 11 weeks old started to lose feathers. Does anyone know what type of chook they would be, or was it down to the feed they had? I remember we had to be careful not to make loud noises round them as they were prone to heart attacks

[Hilary B]

Shirl, that sounds like one of the fattening breeds. Ross Cobbs were like that, but there were others (although as with the Warrens and other laying hybrids, mostly the same actual cross produced by different commercial breeders, and named by the company that bred them).
My first 'growers' were the male chicks when a neighbour produced her own hybrids (RIR x Light Sussex, sex-linked cross, but she grew the males on to when they didn't need heat, then gave them to me) and while they didn't grow as fast as the commercial growers, they tasted darn good! Next were some Cuckoo Marans (again sex-linked types), and they tasted good as well!

[Scarlet]

Need to charge the camera up. 'Mr' buff pekin I reckon is a girl. Not least cos 'he' has no long neck feathers and I am sure there should be some by 12 weeks?

Oh! What a shame - you can't go wrong with a pekin cockeral, I have had a few and they have all been as gentle as lambs, and good looking too. Let us know if he turns out to be a she

[Munch]

Munch - ...... So look at what your set up is at the moment for your layers and ask the question, Can I double this up to produce meat birds?

.

Thank you RichmondHens. I have plenty of room the double up and have the girls old coop with is fine, I just wont have enough roon to continually add to the girly layers and only eat boys, if that makes sense. The girls coop can take another 2 birds tops! Thats why I need to rear a breed that all can be eaten

[Glutton4...]

I went and checked on the 'babies' this morning, after their first night in with the main flock, and, you guessed it, it's 'them and us' LOL Batties and old girls at one end, youngsters at the other. No fighting though, and Asbo is ignoring them at the moment.