Re: When to remove from brooder

" Jill" <news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> composed these thoughts and posted
them news:446725a1$0$9273$ed2619ec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

"diddy" <diddy@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

Thanks Jill, Most helpful, as always. They are currently in a 200
square foor area. But the mess is where they all hover around the
light.There are drier areas for them to get to, i guess i could just
move the light.

try raising it?

These table birds aren't growing feathers.

Oh :~((((
this is not good
Some are fully feathered, some are almost completely nekkid as if being
pecked. But there are no peck marks, and I've spent long periods of
watching them, and have never seen any of them pecking. Table birds seem
to spend a lot of time either eating/drinking or laying around. i have a
dozen australorps purchased at the same time in with the group. they
are much slower growing and very small (they all started out the same
size) The Table birds at 5 weeks are about two pounds. The australorps
probably about 7-9 ounces. The australorps are fully feathered, and
although they COULD fly if they tried, they don't seem to want to, and
instead follow the lazy characteristics of their pen mates. They tend to
stray farther from the light. These australorps were to be my replacement
birds for next year.

I DO get a great deal of pleasure out of my layers. I enjoy having them
follow me around, i enjoy watching over them and worrying about them. I
still haven't gotten over the excitement of finding eggs. MOST of the
time they lay in the chicken house, but for sake of variation, still send
me egg hunting when the numbers drop, and I find them in the most
creative and clever of places. Once I find their nest, they return to the
coop to lay eggs. They keep it interesting.
I fenced them OUT of the gardens this year, hoping to have something left
to can.
We have free range rabbits running with them. This year, the rabbits are
freebreeding so prolificly that they will have to become table fare, or
we will be over-run. Watching the rabbits and chickens together have been
most entertaining. The rabbit that was chasing the chickens was trying to
breed them. He tried to breed everything in sight. He's no longer with
us. He was stressing the hens until they stopped laying, and when he
tried to breed my puppy, that was it.
He has a lovely new home.

I can't taste the difference between fried commercial eggs and my own,
but hard boiled eggs certainly there IS a difference. I never cared for
hard boiled eggs. But i love the home raised eggs just as they are when
hard boiled. They don't need dressings to make them palatable.

I have 5 other 200 square foot
areas where I can rotate them. I just haven't. I guess i need to.
The amount of food and water they use is shocking.

What weights are they?
Maybe someone who is familiar with their development would have more
useful things to add with more info?

I have just reached
the breakpoint at which i can buy them as cheaply as i can raise
them. How do commercial raisers sell them cheaper than what you can
feed them for?

Economies of scale !

I know they use a premix of supplements and their own corn. I have
our own corn, but have been using a commercial broiler feed, because
it was recommended. i was afraid of slipped tendons on these heavy
meat birds.

I went to commercial feed for the layers, and this has worked out
well. i was using a premix with our own corn. But even our own corn
has value, and the wastage compared to crumbles was costly. so i went
entirely to crumbles with excellent results, and easier cleanup.
I thought the crumbles route for the table birds would also be a
great idea, but table birds simply are not cost effective. I'm
committed now, but this is not something i will do again.

We have never done commercial table birds - but its interesting stuff


I remember when these layers were growing and i was shocked at the
cost of raising them. now that they ARE grown, their needs have
leveled off and their production is so good, that I can keep the
layers and sell eggs to offset the cost of keeping the chickens.

And then there is the value of the simple pleasure they give you being
chooks !!!


.

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