That Quail Place Forum
Production and Business => Propagation - Advanced Science => Topic started by: AA Plantation on June 05, 2007, 08:57:49 AM
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why do the chicks all get into a pyramid and smother each other. i know that the temp is consistant throughout the whole brooder. there is nothing scaring them.
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What kind of brooder you got them in? How much space? How many birds? etc.
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Normally it is the temprature: too hot(trying to get away from heat) or too cold(trying to get warm).
Temp should be 95f under the light for their first week (with no drafts).
Then drop 5 degrees/week.
Keeping an eye on how they are reacting will help adjust the heat. Huddled under the light, even if 95f, may mean you have to bump the heat up a bit, or look for drafts.
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I had this happen about 2 years ago. I was new to the brooding world. I had over 300 day old BW Quail in one GQF battery brooder. The elect went out and they all piled. Lost about 200 of them in a matter of hours. I was sick. Yes, I do things a lot different now.
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Too cool.
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Also, brooder are really best if they are round or oval with "No Corners"
If they are piling up in a corner, I would think the above info & corners may be the reason.
Wally
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The recall/brooder boxes i built are doing good have only lost 2 birds in 1 box so far the brooding area in those is 3x4' and has 1 feeder and 1 waterer holding 125 chicks. i am still seeing them piling up as well, just no loss in chicks
This is the one i am having the biggest problem with and loosing a few chicks
(11 so Far)
I know that there is probably too many in there 500
i did not get my flight pen and brooder built as soon as i wanted and had to pick up the birds.
4x8' box built as a transport box for birds. holds 27 catch boxes and 675 birds
(http://www.plantationquailhunting.com/images/brooder.jpg)
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Given you have a big enough brooder with moving space...it's best to have the brooder light hotter then cooler. The chicks will adjust like the others have mentioned, either away if too hot or closer if too cold.
The brooder you posted looks good. Drop the lights down a little.
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Today is the big one so far. Lost 112 Chicks
Fire ants invaded 2 brooder boxes claiming 76 chicks and lost the rest in the above box.
Is there a standard of how many is an exceptable loss for the first week?
Does it get better or worse as the days go by?
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Well..Im on a small scale but....given all conditions are good...you shouldn't loose any. Once in a while I'll lose one or two due to accidents or birds getting sick. But usually...once they get a few days old-week+...they are pretty hardy. That's from my experience.
Sorry for your loss.
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Well..Im on a small scale but....given all conditions are good...you shouldn't loose any. Once in a while I'll lose one or two due to accidents or birds getting sick. But usually...once they get a few days old-week+...they are pretty hardy. That's from my experience.
Sorry for your loss.
Agreed.
I don't know what your ambient temperature is, but covering part of the brooder box, such as half of it would help hold the heat in and help eliminate any drafts from the cool air flowing down the outer walls. Of course the fire ants are just bad luck, you would know how to deal with those things better than I, since I don't have any such thing and have never seen one........and if I do, I'll blast it a couple of times with my trusty shotgun! :twisted: I'll show him!
Where are they piling up?..........under a bulb.........in the corner.......along outer edges away from heat source?:
Piling under heat source............Too cold.
Away from heat source (corners, edges)............Too Hot.
Are you feeding them 28-30% protein gamebird chick crumble? Others and I will grind up the crumble for the first week or so, seems to be easier for the chicks to eat.
Are they eating and drinking?
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The feed may be the problem. i check the dead chicks and have noticed nothing in the craws. I am feeding a starter/grower.
I do see the some of them drinking and pecking away at the feeder
Do i need to crush it up in a food processor?
or what about corn meal or Rice Bran? i have several tons of it from the mill?
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Yea the feed needs to be small enough for them to eat. The starter I buy are crumble but I have to grind them in a blender/processor for the chicks to be able to eat.
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The feed may be the problem. i check the dead chicks and have noticed nothing in the craws. I am feeding a starter/grower.
I do see the some of them drinking and pecking away at the feeder
Do i need to crush it up in a food processor?
or what about corn meal or Rice Bran? i have several tons of it from the mill?
I've had problems with feeding food that was too low in protein to chicks.
For example:
I ran out of 28% and fed 4 week olds either 16 or 20% that I had for a couple of days until I could get to the feed store, birds behavior changed immediately and then they became cannibals overnight it seemed. Food consumption slowed down and they never seemed to have any food in them either.
Buy a crumble and just put it in a blender, I know that my particular "food processor" wouldn't grind it up.
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You can pretty much eyeball the consistency you need by comparing to the chicks beak. But here's a pix of mines.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j131/ogakira/DSC05708.jpg)
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Since you have that in your hand..................would that be considered a "handfeeding formula"? Or is that just plain feed?
:evil:
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:laugh: Now that's funny right there!
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Since you have that in your hand..................would that be considered a "handfeeding formula"? Or is that just plain feed?
:evil:
Well I usually will put the feed in my mouth and feed them like a mother Hen would do so it be called..."Mouth feeding!" :evil:
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Well I usually will put the feed in my mouth and feed them like a mother Hen would do so it be called..."Mouth feeding!" :evil:
Now that, I can understand!
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I made lots of adjustments today.
added a different angle to the brooder lights in the brooder/recall boxes. got the over-all temp up to 101
in the entire network i added paper towels with feed on it around the feeders and replaced plain water with vitamins and anti-biotics.
Also ground the starter/grower in a blender and added some corn meals and rice bran.
new shavings in all brooders.
I did notice the collored yellow water sent the chicks running to it and they were in the feeders as well pecking away.
anyone ever experiemented with coloring the feed to attract them to it?
I thank everyone for there help and hope of comtinued support.
i have to do 2000 birds 4 more times this year and i am learning as i go.
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I made lots of adjustments today.
added a different angle to the brooder lights in the brooder/recall boxes. got the over-all temp up to 101
in the entire network i added paper towels with feed on it around the feeders and replaced plain water with vitamins and anti-biotics.
Also ground the starter/grower in a blender and added some corn meals and rice bran.
new shavings in all brooders.
I did notice the collored yellow water sent the chicks running to it and they were in the feeders as well pecking away.
anyone ever experiemented with coloring the feed to attract them to it?
I thank everyone for there help and hope of comtinued support.
i have to do 2000 birds 4 more times this year and i am learning as i go.
Hopefully your efforts will pay off. Although, raising that amount of birds may still yeild what seems to be alot of fatalities. In other words, where I hatch 100 and loose 10......you may raise a 1000 and loose 100, yet the percentage is the same. Others whom raise birds in great quantities would have a better feel for what one might expect as a normal/acceptable loss?.......such as "Bird Brained", "magnumhntr", "Pheasant Hollow", "Redoakgamebirds", etc.
Good Luck!
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Since making all the changes.
i noticed a gain of 75% in survival the first day.
the secound day a gain of 35%
for the total lost 303 chicks out 2000 15.2%
the first day lost none
day 2 19 dead 1% loss
day 3 93 dead 4.7% loss
day 4 122 dead 6.5% loss (big change day)
day 5 42 dead 2.4% loss
day 6 27 dead 1.6% loss
Hopfully the loss will keep going down.
Also started mixing Bartlet Game-Bird Starter in the feed it is medicated and has 28% protien
i know not to completly switch the feed on them so i am gradually mixing it in untill reaching 75% then it will go to 100%
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Chances of fatalities should decrease as the birds get older anyway. My experience has been that the first week is the highest risk.
Also, it looks as though you have some mighty fine habitat for those birds once you get them old enough to release. I'm impressed.
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In a couple of weeks these will go out into the field and hopefully release in mid July
(http://plantationquailhunting.com/images/aabrooder.jpg)
Inside
(http://plantationquailhunting.com/images/aabrooderin.jpg)
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Are those birds still doing ok? If so, do you know what the trouble was or do you think that maybe it was a combination of things?
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They are doing great.
I still loose a few each day, but mostly it is the chicks that are allot smaller than the others.
Since they have been 6 days old the loss has been less than 1%
The little guys are full of energy running all over the place. when i raise the lid to change feed / water they can jump and fly about 1 ft.
(http://www.plantationquailhunting.com/images/10brooders.jpg)
I am working on a web page to publish the results of this projesct.
It will be very comprehensive including photos and diagrams on building these release boxs.
Materials list and lumber cutting to assembly
http://www.plantationquailhunting.com/quail_project.html
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Looking good Dale!!
Steve
Pheasant Hollow farm
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Monday is the big day. They will be 6 weeks old.
I have only lost a handfull in the last 3 weeks. Most were trapped in the feeder.
I also started getting them wet with a sprayer nozzel and light water pressure. They have been wet 3 times.
First thing monday morning i am going to replace the waters and feeders with new ones and put the boxes in the field. as soon as they have eaten most of it i will turn them loose and start a feeding program.
Thanks for all the help. Starting over with 2000 more chicks on July 30