Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ful to observe them several times during the first day to make sure there is no piling
up, overheating, or other problems.
The chicks are confined to the brooder for the first week. After this, if the weather
is mild, we begin allowing them onto the patio. They have already been receiving
chickweed, plantain, and clipped grass in the brooder, and now it is time to begin for-
aging through chunks of sod and bunches of plants (clover, chickweed, dandelion,
and vetch) on the sunny patio. At this time we may also begin turning off the heat
lamps if it warms up during the day and keeping them off at night as well. After an-
other week or two, depending on the weather, we gather them up in crates and move
them out to pasture.
Feedstuffs
The feed that chicks (especially broilers) receive in the brooder is critical to their
start in life. It must fulfill all their nutritional requirements and support their immune
systems. Our feed is a custom-ground certified organic grower mixed with select
supplements and locally grown grains whenever possible. It is ground, mixed, and
delivered bulk by Lakeview Organic Feeds in Penn Yan, New York. Originally it was
based on Joel Salatin's recipe, but grain availability and certification regulations have
forced us to adapt it. Previous NOFA-NY standards did not allow for the use of crab
or fish meal, which supplied essential amino acids for quickly growing broilers.
Chickens are not vegetarians, and growing chicks cannot find enough animal protein
on pasture to fulfill their needs. Without access to any animal proteins we were
forced to add a synthetic amino acid (dl-methionine) to our grower feed in order to
keep broilers and turkeys from falling apart. With the new national standard we can
use crab meal to complete our ration.
Pests and Predators in the Brooder
Protection of very young chicks in the brooder is difficult but critical. For many
years we did not have predator problems in our brooder—perhaps an occasional
mouse or circling hawk, but no predation. That all changed one recent year when the
rats moved in. They found refuge under our barn's cement slab and discovered a cor-
nucopia of organic chicken feed to pilfer. All year we battled them with traps, cats,
dogs, chicken wire, pitchforks, and even approved bait (Quintox). But nowhere was
the war harder fought than in the brooder. Rats love to snack on baby chicks. They
flay the little chicks expertly or simply eat their heads and leave the rest.
