New, Easy Way to Raise Tender Chicken
(Page 2 of 4)
March/April 1970
By the Mother Earth News editors
The brooder is about 4 1/2 feet high, 3 feet wide, and 3 1/2 feet long. This size is made by a number of companies. They range in price from $23-$30. Names and addresses of Manufacturers are given at the end of this chapter.
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One of the great things about these batteries is that they eliminate practically all chance of your losing your chicks by disease. At this writing I should say we've put over 800 baby chicks through our brooder. The hatchery from which we order our baby chicks - incidentally, we buy all males (cockerels) for they are cheaper and grow faster - sends us 32 chicks but charges for only 30. We have never lost more than these two extra chicks in any batch we've raised. And that isn't because we've been especially lucky, because four different friends of ours have bought broiler batteries - 3 of them didn't know enough to tell a hen from a rooster - and all have done well.
Mind These A B C's
If you will remember the following points, I'm sure you will have no trouble in raising chicks in a battery: A) Buy good baby chicks - the best cockerels cost only 7 to 13¢ each, depending on the season. You can run the brooder any time of year. Buy chicks of heavy breeds - Hampshires, R. I. Reds, Barred Rocks, White Wyandottes and White Rocks (easiest to dress), or any of these cross bred. Don't buy Leghorns - they are a poor meat bird. B) Make sure your feed dealer supplies you with broiler-battery feed. This feed is fortified with minerals and vitamins necessary because your chicks won't get sunshine. C) Brooder should be started a day before chicks arrive. The room temperature kept at 65°-75°, if possible. Set your brooder so that a thermometer 1" above wire floor inside registers 85°-90°. Fill water troughs with warm water. Let chicks feed upon arrival - unless they're under 36 hours old. Daily feeding period should be 12 to 14 hours. Temperature in brooder is gradually reduced each week until at end of 4 weeks it is down to 70°. D) Wash water pans in hot water every other day - see that chicks always have mash, and water and chick grit. E) Let chicks have plenty of fresh air - no drafts and don't let temperature in room drop below 50°.
A Few Tips on Dressing Chicken
The first chickens we dressed took about an hour a bird - the other day we did seven in about an hour.
We never particularly liked this phase of our farm activities and have spent a lot of time making it as efficient and simple as possible.
