Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
feeders, heat lamps, brooder containers, and so on used to raise them should be pur-
chased and cleaned so that when the babies arrive, you'll be ready.
February.
Pass the time away waiting for the arrival of your babies by refreshing your
memory on all of the dos and don'ts and reading over the chapters that interest you in
this topic. If you live in a warmer part of the world, this is a good month for your chicks
to arrive.
March.
I have chosen this month as the average time period between startup dates for
southerly and northerly locations, but April, May, and June work equally well.
The arrival of the chicks is an exciting moment. Open the box and all of their little
heads will peek up at you in anticipation of what is going to happen next. Ideally, they
had a good, safe trip and you are off on your new adventure.
If the babies are cold and stressed, give some warm water with vitamins to help them
get going. Be prepared to deal with a few who had a rougher time than others, and per-
haps have a separate place for them for a few hours or days. The first week is crucial.
Keep a watchful eye on them. Do not neglect them, but don't handle them so much that
they get stressed. By the end of the first week they are starting to lose their cute little
baby chick look and are getting feathers. They will begin to get active and start wanting
to explore their world.
April.
Once your chicks reach the age of one month, start planning for a rapid growth
spurt and the problems caused by the desire to fly. They are really into exploring their
world and seek to be out and roaming in the yard. Once the chicks reach six to eight
weeks, they roam a bit more each day. Control their adventures some with fences or by
limiting the hours they can be out of their pens. If you let them out of their building late
in the day they don't go as far; when let out early in the day they venture farther.
May.
Your birds are teenagers now and you hope they have passed the stage when they
acquire coccidiosis. When they reach 10 to 12 weeks and have not yet acquired the
disease, you are in good shape. At this stage in their life, you will be able to easily
differentiate between the pullets and the cockerels. The young males will have the lar-
ger combs, and the feathers on their necks and saddle, the area right above the tail on
the back, will be longer and more pointed than the females', which will be smooth and
rounded. Some young males start displaying their sexuality.
June.
Assuming a March 1 hatchling arrival, the birds reach late adolescence by
month's end. You hear your first crowing from most breeds. They are about 16 weeks
old, and you can start butchering off the earliest roosters. The young pullets start to
