Mary Allen
Sufficient warmth, plenty of space at the feeding trough, and good feed are the ingredients for successful chick rearing. The bibles learn quickly and are already looking forward to the first green treats when they are just a few days old.
In the incubator, the chicks hatch from the egg at a temperature of almost 38 degrees. Therefore, the temperature in the barn should be approximately as warm. It is advisable to maintain a temperature of 32 degrees Celsius for the first week of life, with the temperature being measured at the height of the chicks’ heads. Just as important as the temperature, however, is that drafts are avoided so that the fluffy chicks feel comfortable.
There are a number of ways to ensure that the bibles are kept at the optimum temperature. The chick-rearing box is around 1 meter wide and 50 centimeters deep. The temperature can be continuously adjusted. Thanks to the built-in droppings drawer, it is easy to keep the box hygienic. In the front, a plexiglass pane provides enough daylight. The fresh air supply can also be regulated via this. However, such a rearing box is not exactly cheap. Acquisition costs of around 300 francs must be expected.
If you use your empty chicken coop to raise chicks, you can also get by with a heating plate that is cheap for fifty francs. This generates enough heat for the young animals. A heat lamp is also a suitable tool. The chicks go under the lamp when they need warmth and move away when they get too warm. There are two different bulb inserts, but only one is suitable. The white dark radiators only heat up, but do not emit any light. Thus, the chicks are not exposed to light for 24 hours. It is different from an infrared radiator, where the chicks are constantly in the daytime. All the light leads to faster growth, but this is prohibited by law because the chicks do not have a resting phase.
The temperature must be continuously adjusted to the age of the chicks. Already in the second week of life, 28 to 30 degrees are enough; with each week the temperature can be reduced by about 2 degrees. After a month, if the outside temperature is sufficiently high, the heating source in the barn can already be switched off during the day. Whether the chicks like it can be seen from their behavior. A cozy, comforting soft beeping shows that the little Bibles like it, whether they’re crowded into a corner, are they cold or feel the draft.
Fight Against Coccidiosis
After eight weeks, the chicks weigh up to 20 times their initial weight. The bones as carriers of the whole body and the muscles only develop properly with balanced feed. There is commercially available chick feed for this purpose, which can be bought in floury form or as granules. The price of granulated feed is higher because the production cost is higher due to an additional work step. Nevertheless, the advantages speak for granules. The chicks naturally prefer granulated feed. In addition, the chicks cannot pick and choose from the granules what they like best. A positive side effect is the lower feed consumption, as the experience of breeders shows.
Combatting coccidiosis is even more important than nutrition. This intestinal disease causes watery diarrhea in the chicks, severe weight loss, and often death. There are two ways to combat it. The animals can be fed with a feed containing the additive “coccidiostats”. In commercial poultry farming, on the other hand, every stock is vaccinated and thus even better protected against the disease. In recent years, this practice has also become increasingly widespread among pedigree poultry breeders. The vaccine can easily be administered via water in the first few days of life. The only difficulty is getting a vaccine dose for less than 500 or 1000 animals. However, if you organize yourself in a club, nothing should stand in the way of vaccinating the chicks against coccidiosis.