The Farm Expert: Raising a small poultry flock
Sep 20, 2011
Preparing to keep a small flock does not have to take much time or money. Almost every farm and rural home has a place that can be fixed to keep 25 to 100 chickens.
Preparing to keep a small flock does not have to take much time or money. Almost every farm and rural home has a place that can be fixed to keep 25 to 100 chickens.
Building a separate brooder house is rarely necessary. Anyone who can use a hammer and a saw can make feeders, waterers, and other equipment. Homemade equipment can be as good as any you can buy.
Keeping a few hens in your suburban residence will provide fresh eggs and an occasional chicken dinner while children learn the importance of regular care of poultry.
A small flock of chicken also provides many hours of enjoyment as a hobby.
For a small flock, do not plan to keep more than about 50 layers. Under most circumstances, there is little advantage in having more than 18 to 20 layers. A flock of 18 to 20 laying hens should supply a family of five or six persons with at least one egg per person per day.
As a rule of thumb, for one egg per person per day, raise 12 baby chicks and keep three layers for each member of the family.
Brooders
If you start with chicks, you will need a brooder to keep them warm. This usually consists of a heat source under a canopy, or hover, which keeps the heat down close to the chicks.
Electric, oil, and gas brooders are the most common types. Homemade feather brooders do not require any fuel, so they are economical.
You can make a good inexpensive brooder for 25 to 50 chicks using a light bulb for heat. This brooder is a box of 25 inches long, 20 inches wide, and 10 inches high, with a cloth curtain at one end.
The sides and one end sit on the floor, which should be covered with litter.
Chicks hatched before the month of May could need heat until they are about six to eight weeks.
Feeding
Feed chicks as soon as they are put under the hover. Use a commercial chick starter mash or crumbles.
Give chicks plenty of feeder and drinking space. Fill the feeders full the first two days, and after that do not fill them more than half full. Chicks waste feed from a full feeder. A piece of hardware cloth over the mash keeps the chicks from scratching out the feed.
Don’t crowd the chicks. Each chick needs 1 square foot of floor space. Crowding is one of the worst things for chicks.
Good ventilation is also important. Chicken of all ages must have plenty of fresh, clean water at all times, especially in summer.
Beak trimming
Beak trimming prevents cannibalism. This can be done whenever the problem arises. A common practice is to lightly trim day-old chicks and then trim the beak again at approximately 16 weeks of age.
Vaccinate against diseases
It’s good insurance to vaccinate all chickens kept for egg production to prevent Newcastle disease, bronchitis, and fowl pox.
Feeding
Get the correct feed for the age and type of chicken you want to feed.
Mixing rations for a small flock is not recommended, because of the difficulty and expense in obtaining the many ingredients of the quality found in commercial feed. It is usually less expensive to purchase feed ready-mixed.
Roost
Each laying hen needs 2 1/2 to 3 square feet of floor space, 4 inches of feed hopper space.
A sanitation programme for poultry raisers
-Do not expose your flock to birds from other flocks.
-Buy chicks from known sources.
-Buy chicks from pullorum-clean flocks.
-Keep young chicks away from older birds.
-Burn or bury dead birds.
-Allow no contaminated equipment to be brought on your premises.
-Keep visitors away from your poultry houses or ranges.
-Keep chickens that have left the premises from getting back into the flock.
-Dispose of sick chickens.
-Should disease appear, seek authoritative advice promptly.
-Use preventative and control medications with extreme caution.
-Treat droppings as potential disease spreaders.
-Try to eliminate rats, lice, and other pests.
-Handle vaccines properly. Follow the manufacturer’s directions.
-Keep different species of fowl segregated.
-Do not sell birds known to be diseased.
-Clean poultry buildings carefully and thoroughly.
-Enforce a strict program of sanitation and quarantine.
On the other hand, backyard flocks sometimes cause neighborhood problems. Cities and towns often have ordinances either outlawing backyard flocks or restricting the ways they can be kept.
Find out what laws your town and county have that may affect your plans for keeping a few birds. Even if you make your own equipment, you are likely to find that a backyard flock seldom returns a profit.
Feed and incidental costs run higher per bird in small flocks than in large commercial flocks.
Compiled by Joshua Kato
and Agencies.
Building a separate brooder house is rarely necessary. Anyone who can use a hammer and a saw can make feeders, waterers, and other equipment. Homemade equipment can be as good as any you can buy.
Keeping a few hens in your suburban residence will provide fresh eggs and an occasional chicken dinner while children learn the importance of regular care of poultry.
A small flock of chicken also provides many hours of enjoyment as a hobby.
For a small flock, do not plan to keep more than about 50 layers. Under most circumstances, there is little advantage in having more than 18 to 20 layers. A flock of 18 to 20 laying hens should supply a family of five or six persons with at least one egg per person per day.
As a rule of thumb, for one egg per person per day, raise 12 baby chicks and keep three layers for each member of the family.
Brooders
If you start with chicks, you will need a brooder to keep them warm. This usually consists of a heat source under a canopy, or hover, which keeps the heat down close to the chicks.
Electric, oil, and gas brooders are the most common types. Homemade feather brooders do not require any fuel, so they are economical.
You can make a good inexpensive brooder for 25 to 50 chicks using a light bulb for heat. This brooder is a box of 25 inches long, 20 inches wide, and 10 inches high, with a cloth curtain at one end.
The sides and one end sit on the floor, which should be covered with litter.
Chicks hatched before the month of May could need heat until they are about six to eight weeks.
Feeding
Feed chicks as soon as they are put under the hover. Use a commercial chick starter mash or crumbles.
Give chicks plenty of feeder and drinking space. Fill the feeders full the first two days, and after that do not fill them more than half full. Chicks waste feed from a full feeder. A piece of hardware cloth over the mash keeps the chicks from scratching out the feed.
Don’t crowd the chicks. Each chick needs 1 square foot of floor space. Crowding is one of the worst things for chicks.
Good ventilation is also important. Chicken of all ages must have plenty of fresh, clean water at all times, especially in summer.
Beak trimming
Beak trimming prevents cannibalism. This can be done whenever the problem arises. A common practice is to lightly trim day-old chicks and then trim the beak again at approximately 16 weeks of age.
Vaccinate against diseases
It’s good insurance to vaccinate all chickens kept for egg production to prevent Newcastle disease, bronchitis, and fowl pox.
Feeding
Get the correct feed for the age and type of chicken you want to feed.
Mixing rations for a small flock is not recommended, because of the difficulty and expense in obtaining the many ingredients of the quality found in commercial feed. It is usually less expensive to purchase feed ready-mixed.
Roost
Each laying hen needs 2 1/2 to 3 square feet of floor space, 4 inches of feed hopper space.
A sanitation programme for poultry raisers
-Do not expose your flock to birds from other flocks.
-Buy chicks from known sources.
-Buy chicks from pullorum-clean flocks.
-Keep young chicks away from older birds.
-Burn or bury dead birds.
-Allow no contaminated equipment to be brought on your premises.
-Keep visitors away from your poultry houses or ranges.
-Keep chickens that have left the premises from getting back into the flock.
-Dispose of sick chickens.
-Should disease appear, seek authoritative advice promptly.
-Use preventative and control medications with extreme caution.
-Treat droppings as potential disease spreaders.
-Try to eliminate rats, lice, and other pests.
-Handle vaccines properly. Follow the manufacturer’s directions.
-Keep different species of fowl segregated.
-Do not sell birds known to be diseased.
-Clean poultry buildings carefully and thoroughly.
-Enforce a strict program of sanitation and quarantine.
On the other hand, backyard flocks sometimes cause neighborhood problems. Cities and towns often have ordinances either outlawing backyard flocks or restricting the ways they can be kept.
Find out what laws your town and county have that may affect your plans for keeping a few birds. Even if you make your own equipment, you are likely to find that a backyard flock seldom returns a profit.
Feed and incidental costs run higher per bird in small flocks than in large commercial flocks.
Compiled by Joshua Kato
and Agencies.