Raising laying chicks, although seemingly simple, can be quite problematic. We tell you what to pay attention to when creating a brooder for chickens.
Early spring is a good time to buy chicks for home breeding of layers. On the one hand, this rearing date is friendlier to animals (it will be easier to maintain the right temperature in the nursery), and at the same time it allows you to enjoy self-produced eggs already in late summer and early autumn.
If we want to start this type of production, we have two solutions to choose from: purchasing hens that are on the verge of laying or rearing purchased chicks. Each solution has its advantages and disadvantages: purchasing laying hens is simpler and much less consuming, but more expensive. Raising chicks will allow us to save some money, but it does not require a lot of work but rather systematic monitoring of the conditions in which the animals will be raised. Today we will focus on the most important pillars of trouble-free chick rearing.
How much do chicks cost?
But before we answer the question asked above, let’s compare the prices of chicks and adults. Currently, laying chicks cost from PLN 3 to PLN 6 per piece. Raised laying hens cost PLN 25-30 per piece. The difference is several-fold, but when deciding to buy chicks, we must calculate all the costs: this category includes not only the cost of purchasing the animals, but also the feed and electricity needed for rearing, and the inevitable fall.
How to create a nursery?
The size of the nursery should be adapted to the number of chicks being raised. In the case of a smaller batch, it may even be a wooden box (although this is not an ideal solution – such surfaces are difficult to disinfect. In the case of larger flocks, it may be a small room or a partitioned part of it. It is important that before the chicks are placed, the rearing area is (as far as possible) possibilities) thoroughly washed (e.g. with a pressure washer) and disinfected with a solution of a disinfectant or calcium hydroxide (milk of lime). The floor must also be disinfected and covered with a thick layer of good quality straw. It cannot be damp or more moldy.
Warmth comes first.
Chicks – like all other organisms at an early stage of development, require an appropriately high temperature. Their thermoregulatory system is still ineffective at this time, which means they require an additional heat source. In nature, this is heat generated by the mother. We will have to replace it with an artificial source – preferably an infrared heater.
The number of lamps, their power and the height of the radiator should be selected depending on the specificity of the nursery and the age of the chicks. It is assumed that in the first week of life the temperature in the chicks’ stay zone should be 31-33 degrees Celsius. It will decrease with each subsequent week, but even at the end of the first month of the chicks’ life it should be 22-24 degrees Celsius.
Whether birds stay in optimal thermal conditions can be recognized by their behavior. When they move freely under the radiator and eagerly search for water and feed, this proves that they are comfortable with the temperature in the nursery. If the chicks huddle tightly together, it means that they are cold, while avoiding being under the lamp suggests that the animals are too hot.
It is worth adding that it is highly advisable to have a backup source of electricity (a generator or a battery-powered converter). Possible power outages may cause panic among animals and lead to chickens pressing against each other.
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