Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
start life. You need to make preparations before they arrive so they will be able to trans-
ition into their new home in an easy and stress-free fashion.
There are many ways to raise day-old chicks. In days gone by when flocks were huge
and there were large metal
brooders
fit for raising 500 baby chicks at a time, several
of those could fill a large shed. Those days are nearly gone. Now you either see huge-
scale facilities with hundreds of thousands of day-olds being raised simultaneously, or
you see those who raise just a few. Most backyard poultry raisers have no more than a
couple hundred chickens, and many have only 25 or so. Until you become more familiar
with the requirements of day-old poultry, it's probably best if you start out with a small
number of chicks.
CHIX MIX
Chicks, guinea keets, turkey poults, and pheasant chicks have similar needs and can
all be raised together as day-olds. In fact, it is always a good idea to raise a few chick-
en babies with your poults, to help the turkeys discern where the food is and to keep
them from settling down in one particular location, falling asleep for too long, and
becoming overheated. Chicks are more active; they tend to keep the poults moving.
I have raised small bantam chicks with Coturnix quail, and as long as the quail
chicks make up the majority of the group, both species can benefit. The quail have
bigger “siblings” to snuggle up to, and the bantams are stimulated to be more active
by their energetic friends.
Ducks and geese are also easily raised together. Both species love water, and be-
cause of this, do best when raised separate from other poultry.
If you are very proactive and keep ahead of sanitation chores, you might be
able to raise a few ducks and geese with chickens, turkeys, and guineas, but never
quail. Keep in mind that the waterfowls' water play can be very hard on turkeys and
guineas. I don't recommend that you keep these species together for long periods of
time, but for the first couple of days before ducks and geese discover their love for
water, and as long as you have fewer waterfowl than other members of the group, it
can work just fine.
FLOCK SIZE AND EQUIPMENT
Determining how many day-olds to raise is a matter of personal choice, area farming
restrictions, and money available for investment. You may be in a city situation where
you're limited to six birds. If that's the case, you may not want to invest lots of money
