Hello Everyone,
It's another beautiful day to share with you what I always went through pending the arrival of my chicks to make sure they are in best condition right from day one.
One thing I always emphasize to people, mostly someone new in raising broiler chicken is that they should not be caught unaware pending the arrival of their birds because it's a very crucial moment in broiler chicks and can have a great say on their growth, health and other factors.
When talking about preparing for the arrival of day-old chicks, it is one that requires proper planning and a clean, warm environment to ensure their survival and good health. Understanding how delicate they are, I took many crucial steps to make sure everything was in place before my broiler chicks arrived.
Firstly, I make sure that I thoroughly washed and disinfected the pen where the chicks would be housed. This is a very important step because a clean environment helps in preventing infections and diseases, especially since young broiler chicks have low immunity. I make sure to removed all dirts, cobwebs, and old litter from the pen and then used disinfectant to wash the floor, wall and all surfaces. Then after this, I left the pen to completely dry before making any further preparations.
Secondly, I went to the sawmill to get few bags of fresh sawdust. Sawdust is used as bedding material to keep the floor warm and absorb chick droppings. Though there are many bedding material you can use like woodshave, sand, papper and so on. But sawdust is the most common bedding material you can get in my area and it's what have been using for year's.
On my arrival at the sawmill, I make sure to get new, clean, good sawdust which is free from mold and sharp particles that can injured the chick. I spread it evenly across the pen floor immediately after bringing it home. Bedding is one crucial factor in poultry farm business as it helps to keep the chicks comfortable, active and also reduces the risk of cold or foot injuries.
Cleaning is another crucial factor in poultry farm business and this start right from getting the pen clean and other materials used in the poultry farm. I make sure to wash the feeders and drinkers properly. Dirty feeders or drinkers can easily transfer diseases to the chicks, so I cleaned them thoroughly with water and soap, which I then rinsed with clean water and left them to dry. After drying, I make sure to arranged them neatly in the pen and ready for use.
Knowing that chicks or day old chicks (DOCs) need warmth to survive in their early stage of life, I have to heat the pen ahead of time. I used a source of heat (charcoal pot) to raise the temperature in the pen to the required level, to ensure that by the time the chicks arrived, the pen would already be in great condition and welcoming. I also dropped all canopy and doors to prevent cold wind from entering, because the weather has been too cold in my area lately due to lack of rain and it's best I give close attention as well.
Since the chicks usually went through a long journey stress because the hatchery company is some mile away . I already prepared glucose water for their arrival to ensure they are relieve from the stress of transportation. Like I said earlier that hatchery company is some mile away so the journey can be tiring for them, and glucose provides them with quick energy to recover and boost their activities. I make sure to mixed the glucose with clean water in the right proportion and had it ready in their drinkers pending their arrival as the glucose water will be the first thing they drink upon arrival to help boost their strength and keep them hydrated as well.
In all, my preparation was about cleanliness, comfort, warmth, and care. By putting everything in place, from cleaning the pen, to getting fresh sawdust, to washing feeders and drinkers, to warming the space and preparing glucose water, I make sure my chicks would have the best possible start to life. And most importantly, proper preparation ahead of their arrival always help to reduce early mortality and also help to set the stage for healthy fast growth and a successful poultry venture.
I hope you find this right up useful. See you soon on my next post.
Thanks for stopping by on my blog and have a wonderful day...