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Weekly Newsletter

February 2023 vol. 4

 
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Today is our 5-year anniversary of raising broilers. We started our first batch of broiler chicks on February 19, 2019. As day-old chicks require a tightly controlled environment, we housed our initial batch of 100 chicks in our garage/workshop. The space was equipped with electricity, water, and protection from drafts, making it a sensible choice. However, this year we've stepped up production from 200 to 300 birds at a time and it's past time to build a better brooder. 
Surveying my options for a location and type of brooder house, I settled on repurposing an existing shed.  I toyed with the idea of using a shipping/cargo container, but in the Texas heat, I imagine it would be a sauna in there during the summer months.  Besides, I like using the large cattle water tubs/troughs to keep the chicks in (allowing me to carry the entire trough out to the chicken tractors when It’s time to move the out on pasture) and they are 9 ft. wide and would not fit inside the shipping container.  The shed wasn’t being used for much and had close proximity to power and water.  Another important consideration is the proximity to the house.  Chicks require constant attention and protection.  Having the brooder close by makes it easy to check on them to ensure they have food and water, and the proper temperature is being maintained.  
Frist, I dug trenches to bring in water and electricity.  Though I’d taken great pains to locate the existing buried lines, I still managed to snag them while digging, causing significant rework to repair the broken water and power lines.  The electricity not only provides lighting, but chicks need a controlled temperature of 95 degrees thus requiring heat lamps.  One of the upgrades we’ve implemented is installing automatic waterers.  Previously, we had 5-gallon waterers that would need to be filled quite frequently.  Five gallons of water weigh a good bit and we’d struggle carrying them from the sink back to the brooder.  I was able to purchase the waterers used from our recently closed down processing plant – Dewberry Hills Farms.  
Next step was putting up siding to enclose the structure, blocking wind and rain and keeping the dogs and adult chickens out. I decided to go with exterior grade plywood as it is easier for me to cut and fasten than metal siding.  I’ll put a good coat of paint on it to ensure it lasts a while.  
As I need to be able to get in there with the tractor and remove the 10 ft. wide cattle troughs, I installed doors on both ends.  The structure is 40 ft. long by 14 ft. wide, so these are huge doors – 7 ft. each!  Hanging large doors requires heavy-duty hinges and substantial reinforcement.  Molly was at the market, so I had to hang these doors myself.  I’m sure the process looked like an episode of Keystone Cops as I struggled to get the doors in place.  At one point I found myself pinned underneath as the door blew over on me as I went to reach for the drill.  No harm done, but I felt like a turtle stuck on my back with a large tree on my belly.  
We get our first batch of chicks for 2023 this evening.  I still have yet to make a few finishing touches on their new home, but I doubt the chicks will notice the difference. I know Molly will as she will no longer have to endure the smell and the flies that accompany 300 chicks.  And of course, I’ll appreciate being able to move around in my workshop without having to trip over chickens and their paraphernalia also.  It will be mid-April before we’ll be able to harvest the fruits of our labor, but we hope you’ll appreciate it as well.

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Join us for an educational farm tour, hay ride, BBQ dinner and more. Check out our Farm Tour page on the website for updates!

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Be well, 

stay safe,

 

John & Molly

 
 
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