This month I will go through a few details we need to adhere to, to experience the successful rearing of chicks. While some points may not be mentioned, what I want to do is to concentrate on the basics of all good rearing from Day Old to Point of Lay (POL).
We need firstly to decide on the best area/place which would be most beneficial to start the day-old chicks in. If the area is large enough it would be better to rear your chicks within one house, shed, or barn. When looking for a favourable place you will need to take into account a building which has good ventilation, insulation, and where possible a power point and lighting, this being essential to your success. If you intend to rear several batches during the season then they should be kept completely separate from one another to prevent any harmful bacteria and viruses being imported from the older birds to the younger ones.
Unfortunately, there are far too many small-scale rearers who completely ignore this fact. I came across one breeder who rears all ages within the same room, the pens only separated by wire netting. Because of continuous disease problems passed via the older growers, he was forced to include a medicament in their water to prevent heavy mortality. That he reared all his birds under this system, resulted in there being a higher than normal mortality as well as far too many poor quality stock which only existed because of the medicament included. When sold, the subsequent mortality experienced by customers was way above the norm. Because he had quite a good reputation within the Fancy at the time, winning many prizes, the customers were left blaming themselves rather than the quality of rearing of which they had no information.
In the selected area, position the gas brooder in the centre and place a circular 2ft high surround which should be left in place for the first 5 to 6 days. Fill the whole area with 3 to 4 inches depth of good quality white wood shavings, a 20-plus-kilo bale should be priced under the £8 pound mark, that is unless you shop at a national or small pet shop where the price will be considerably higher. Normally the best place to purchase shavings is a retail unit which also sells horse feed and bedding, the horse owners would not even consider paying the higher prices required by the pet retail trade.
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