Redwing Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 We are collecting some meat bird chicks next Saturday I am worried about the mortality rate so am planning to get five chicks, I will probably try to get hold of a rablu as they won't need a nestbox but if I get five chicks and they all survive will there be enough room for them as there isn't a nestbox? (they will have a walk in run) I have an indoor rabbit cage to start them off in, what should I use to line it with? I know they can't have slippery surfaces to stand on so I was going to use Aubiose or shavings but have seen lots of conflicting advice, how about a towel? The birds will be ready for culling at 72 days if required but are slower growing so can be left longer which I would like to do, when will the boys start to crow? I live in a spot which is rural enough not to worry too much but a few doors down has a cockrel and I don't want them all to have a crowing competition every day While they are on chick crumb can they have anything else in their diet? If anyone can help with the above questions I would be very grateful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I have an indoor rabbit cage to start them off in, what should I use to line it with? I know they can't have slippery surfaces to stand on so I was going to use Aubiose or shavings but have seen lots of conflicting advice, how about a towel? For the quail chicks I used a non-slip matting, which worked really well and can be taken out and washed then reused. You can buy them for a few pounds from DIY shops + things like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 Bright idea, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 5 meat birds will be pushing it space wise. They tend to be pretty big. As they'll be smaller to start with though and the weather will be warmer as they grow I wouldn't worry too much, mine preferred to sleep outside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I used hemcore btw (not lost a meat bird out of the 26? I've done) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 Thanks Bron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 We are collecting some meat bird chicks next Saturday Well done - what age will they be? I am worried about the mortality rate so am planning to get five chicks, I will probably try to get hold of a rablu as they won't need a nestbox but if I get five chicks and they all survive will there be enough room for them as there isn't a nestbox? (they will have a walk in run) We had 4/4 the first time out of the last 6 we have lost 1, but that was a big fat one that probably needed killing and we planned to do it the following weekend - that one was a broiler 100% record with the slower meat birds here. I had 4, then 6 in a Rablu, which then became an Eglu as I needed a poo tray as there was so much more of it than the layers. We haven't killed them all at once, so we have killed the bigger ones as soon as they got to weight, which left less in the Rablu as the others got bigger. This has worked fine. The advice is not to have roosting bars with meat birds, but I put them in last week and they are fine with them and are much cleaner. I have an indoor rabbit cage to start them off in, what should I use to line it with? I know they can't have slippery surfaces to stand on so I was going to use Aubiose or shavings but have seen lots of conflicting advice, how about a towel? Mine had aubiose equivalent from day 1. The birds will be ready for culling at 72 days if required but are slower growing so can be left longer which I would like to do, when will the boys start to crow? I live in a spot which is rural enough not to worry too much but a few doors down has a cockrel and I don't want them all to have a crowing competition every day Mine have never crowed before they have been killed.While they are on chick crumb can they have anything else in their diet? Just chick crumb here, when you do start adding anything else remember they will then need grit - they do sell chick & growers grit (smaller size). Mine had Battles Poultry drink in the water as well.If anyone can help with the above questions I would be very grateful I'd love to hear how you get on - I froze one yesterday, we have 4 still alive from the current batch, one will go this week given his sizes. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 Thanks Tracy They arrive at the suppliers on Thurday as day old chicks I believe, they stock lamps, chick feeders etc too which is good As time goes on I would be tempted to try and hatch my own and experiment with different breeds but for now need to accept my limitations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 The reason for not having roosting bars is that as they become fairly heavy birds, they get a bruise across the breast meat which doesn't look too good! You wouldn't keep them long enough for any boys to crow - even if you grow them slowly. We despatch boys first as we're very good at not getting round to despatching them all We have kept some of the girls up to 9 months We use wooden sheds for the table birds, as they are not permanent residents. We use the dog breeder sheds from www.collissheds.co.uk. They were about £70 when we bought ours. The door is a good height and this makes them easy to clean when all the residents have left. We use Aubiose on the floor. We stand them on breeze blocks so that we don't have a rat problem (rats burrowing under the shed floor) and we made a short ramp for them to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 oh yes the poo. They poo for England. We did the bosy first too though the last lot I managed about 3 then left them for far too long and the rest of the boys started crowing so I called in a man to do the deed. I couldn't face it. Morning sickness and gutting do not go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 Morning sickness and gutting do not go. Thanks for the help everyone, I am really looking forward to this, my idea is to build two pens and have two houses so we can have two sets of meat birds that are different ages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
