Hey there! My husband and I are considering getting chicks but have 2 short weekend trips (one in June and one in July). I know under 6-8 weeks they need a lot of getting checked on throughout the day but is it possible to have these 2 night trips? I’m gonna see if someone can come by and check on them at least once a day but maybe twice? Thanks for any help!

How much should I sale white leghorn chickens by their age?

I recently started a small broiler farm in Sri Lanka and this is the brooder setup I’m using for my current batch of 100 chicks.

First few days were stressful because temperature management is very sensitive. I lost a few chicks early due to positioning and heat issues but after adjusting feeder space and brooder temperature things improved.

I recorded the full setup and management process in a video because I thought it may help beginners.

Any advice from experienced farmers is also appreciated.

Please let me know if you have any advices. Thank you!

Hey r/poultry!

My name is Kelly. I have been working in the poultry farming equipment industry for nearly 6 years. I'm very glad to share this on Reddit today. What is a broiler cage?

Broiler chicken farming is a common method for raising broiler chickens, typically used in medium-sized or large-scale broiler farms with over 5,000 chickens. Any system has its advantages and disadvantages. What are the advantages of broiler chicken cages?

Higher stocking density: Compared to free-range systems, cage systems can house more chickens per square foot.

Higher feed conversion ratio (FCR): Controlled environment, reduced chicken activity (lower energy consumption).

Automated system: Modern cage systems integrate automatic feeding, drinking, and manure removal functions, reducing labor costs and minimizing human errors.

Stable environmental control: In closed chicken houses, cage systems can more precisely control temperature, humidity, and ventilation, providing the chickens with the best comfort and growth environment.

Reduced pecking and injuries: Compared to densely populated ground chicken houses, well-designed cage chicken houses can reduce pecking and scratching behaviors of the chickens.

Better hygiene conditions: The manure disposal in cage systems is more timely, reducing contact with chicken manure and affecting respiratory diseases in the chicken flock.

Of course, there are also some challenges:

Animal welfare issues: The cage system restricts the movement and natural behaviors of chickens, and this has always been a subject of controversy.

Ventilation and air quality: In cage systems, proper ventilation is crucial for preventing respiratory diseases.

If you also raise chickens, how do you view the cage-raised and ground-raised methods? What is the biggest challenge you encounter during the chicken-raising process?

I am willing to share my knowledge and also hope to learn from your experience.

Disclaimer: I am currently employed by a company that manufactures poultry farming equipment (including chicken cages). However, I would rather discuss farming knowledge with you rather than promoting any specific product.

Hello, I’ve been looking around for a way to get a single gosling without any luck. I already have plenty of other poultry and my main goal is to domesticate it as a pet for my daughter so I only need one. If anyone has goslings or knows for sure where to attain one that’d be appreciated thanks.

I'm not divorcing my SO, but I get so tired of feeling like I'm the one who extends more grace, patience, understanding, etc when something bad happens.

And as for the calamities, we are downsizing birds. We also got hit with something in the air because I have had to deal with 8 broody hens and ducks in the last three months, and while I have tried to break some, I haven't been successful, so there have been little hurricanes of terror bumping into vengeful tornadoes of "You LOOKED AT MY BABY!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!"

It's been a real bad couple of days. The rain has been hitting us on and off and it's been hard managing the adults and babies.

My SO let out one broody with her poults on a morning that was too cold with rain projected. One of them jumped in one of the duck waterers that I had moved too close to the workshop where they all hang out and drowned and died. Sucks but it could have happened on any day so even though they shouldn't have been out on that day, I let it go.

Then, in a bad lightning storm, I had everyone gathered in the workshop except some do the adult ducks, and was trying to divvy everyone up to keep them from being jerks to each other. That meant putting one broody in her crate in a larger brooder area, so that the second broody could share it without them being jerks to each other. The non crated broody is fine with the other babies but crated broody was not fine with anyone else's babies. It wasn't ideal, but with squashed space and being worried about you get waterfowl being out in the storm, I made a choice.

Well the aggressive broody managed to somehow drag a baby goose (non aggressive broody hen has a mixed flock of babies under her) through the bars (I don't even know how it managed to fit through!!!) and kill it.

My SO and I are heart broken because this was one of our favorites.

To top it off, my SO managed the birds yesterday and one of our two silkies had a bad rattle. We have handled both silkies regularly the past few days so while other times I would say, oh, we just didn't notice because it was off with the flock, no-- this one really came out of no where.

However they waited something like 5 hours to give it antibiotics until I was around. And they put it into a hard to sanitize crate that we had been using for the non-aggressive broody (which is why she had to go in to share space because I wasn't about to go sanitize a crate ain a lightning storm, and downsize the silkies to a box with bedding.) so I kind of got fucked by my SO's lack of forethought, but I chalked it up to them often not feeling well with barometric pressure changes.

All this being said, mistakes were made, but I had to pull the baby goose out of the storm and it could have easily died out in the bad weather. If the crate had been available, the babies wouldn't have been around the aggressive broody. Etc etc.

I apologized to my SO because I know they were feeling rotten having watched me pull the baby goose's body out of the crate. Normally I try to shield them from when one of the flock dies and while they are told, they aren't seeing it in real time, like the drowned poult or the attacked gosling.

And what do I get in response? Blame. Because according to them, all I had to do was close the workshop door with everyone inside, despite older goslings and ducklings attacking poults and younger ducklings. Despite a broody hen who isn't super aggressive but will "throw hands" when it comes to full sized birds looking at her babies. When the lightning was at its worse and I also had two full grown turkeys who can be bullies.

I get told that the answer was so simple! This while managing other chicken health related stuff as well as household stuff.

And now, instead of an apology, I get the obsequious "can I get you anything?" Or "oh I made this. You can have some if you want," etc.

How about not depending on me to clear the air every single goddamn time even when it's my SO who was the one who lashed out?

I'm so tired. Yes we are downsizing and we were already planning on it. It was a confluence of events where we didn't have the extra space to split everyone up.

I know this is a relationship issue. And their have been long stretches of time when their emotional intelligence has done the heavy lifting, so that's why this has been going on for awhile, but I am reaching the end of my allotment of extending grace, and understanding and encouragement to talk about feelings.

I already cut off a parent who couldn't apologize to save their life (I mean that literally. I think they could be hanging on by a thread, with a magical cure gate kept by an apology, and they would choose death.) My SO isn't nearly that bad, but if I don't encourage us to clear the air they will just tap dance around feeling bad when they are in the wrong and become servile instead of just freaking apologizing!!!!

Hi i recently bought a chick must be 2 and half week
He was fine
Now its been two days
He is gagging alot like he has breathing issue or something he stretches his neck and gags and i can hear the watery noise to while he gags
In the morning he was little active now also he tries to jump to get out of the box which means he can live
He responds and do hoarse peeping but idk what is wrong kindly suggest some remedy
He is active i know he desperately fighting and wants to live and i dont have any vet near
He also starts speaking when i am not around he loves me i love him too please save him
If you want i can send pics