Fixing up a permanent brooding system.......

[BarredBuff]

One project I want to get into here fairly soon is setting up a Permanent brooding system to use for Turkeys, Ducks, and Chickens. My main goal is to eventually build up a nice flock of poultry so that I can sell babies for pocket money, FFA SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) and to help with expenses. Ive brooded chickens and ducks sucessfully before, but never have I done turkeys and have read they can be hard to do. Any suggestions there? I'd like to set up four bins, made from rubbermaids, one for ducks, one for turkeys, one for pure bred chickens, and one for my barn mixes. I've got most of the equipment to do it like that, I need two more bins, 1 waterer, 3 feeders, and 2 lamps. Any advice on how to incubate duck and turkey eggs? Im still learning on chicken eggs....

 

[rhoda_bruce]

About to tackle a similar project. I do about 4 hatches a year. I only have 3 brooders to use now. But I have a nice size barn and coop, so what I'm thinking is to use the edges of my coop/barn as a foundation. Build off of the rafters, coming down, so that I already have the roof and back side in place. I'd need to make the front, door, and floor. It would be in place permanately and could be used to brood, or as a place to seclude a broody hen if you want to put her to work for you, plus as a jail if you have a crazy roo that you aren't ready to kill......like you didn't get from him all you need, but you'll kill him later after he has earned you a little and passed off his genes.
The hatches is what finances most of my farm projects. That is how I come out ahead for the rest of the year. Otherwise, I'd have to be real careful to just make it on egg sales. I'd still come out ahead, but only just....

 

[BarredBuff]

About to tackle a similar project. I do about 4 hatches a year. I only have 3 brooders to use now. But I have a nice size barn and coop, so what I'm thinking is to use the edges of my coop/barn as a foundation. Build off of the rafters, coming down, so that I already have the roof and back side in place. I'd need to make the front, door, and floor. It would be in place permanately and could be used to brood, or as a place to seclude a broody hen if you want to put her to work for you, plus as a jail if you have a crazy roo that you aren't ready to kill......like you didn't get from him all you need, but you'll kill him later after he has earned you a little and passed off his genes.
The hatches is what finances most of my farm projects. That is how I come out ahead for the rest of the year. Otherwise, I'd have to be real careful to just make it on egg sales. I'd still come out ahead, but only just....

Ive been contemplating duck incubation more, and I read somewhere on here that Muscovies were tricky to do and I have WAY to much luck with a duck setting. SO I may let her do it, and take em from her because last year she did. She managed to keep them but it was horrible getting them up at night without them running away screaming or her eating you up. As for the turks I dont know until I actually get them started up....

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Unless I'd have my ducks as enclosed as my chickens, I wouldn't chance it. Too many preditors. I'd have to make sure those ducks were high and dry besides. Not sure if she would choose a good protected place to lay/set.
For all duck, goose and guinea eggs, I use a broody hen, if possibly. I would use an incubator if I don't have a broody, but I prefer to go natural with those eggs. I don't allow them to finish the job though, because of the custody battles in the nesting boxes. Too many fatalities because of pissed off hens. Now if I can convince a broody to do the job in a brooder, I'd let her finish.. I kidnap all eggs for lockdown....might make her start on another batch if I'm desparate. I mean, I can get 10/gosling and 5/duckling or guinea, so thats my chance. But I probably can stop her brood, because one thing I find is that you get one hen broody, the rest all start wanting to do it too.
Forgot about my turkey episode....My hen went broody (this was about 15 years ago) and the tom stood guard for a month around her. She hatched out 2 chicks. That stupid tom followed them for a day. Day 2, he jumped one of the babies. I could see something was happening and that the hen couldn't stop him, so I went see. He was still jumping what seemed to be a dead baby.....I completely lost it. If the wrong person would have seen me at that moment, I may have even been arrested. I threw a brick at him, which caused him to cut a flip in the yard. He ran toward the 12 ft dog kennel I was using as a coop, chased out all the birds to eat all the corn himself, so I told him,"You so stupid. Now you trapped and you gonna die." Called Dad and said to come now, cuz that tom had to go. I named him after my X-boss because he was ugly, mean and stupid, but he didn't keep that name for long. He fed us 4 separate meals. I suffered no guilt. I actually enjoyed plucking him.

 

[BarredBuff]

Well I have had good luck so far (knock on wood) with broody ducks. One brooded in the coop and kept 15/17. Then another did outside, and had 6 out of 8 I think and she lost em due to my stupidity But this year, when laying time approaches, I'm going to make the duck a nest in a dog crate so I can monitor her, and keep her separate from the chickens, and drake. Then I suppose I will keep a few more ducks, and sell the rest. As far as turkeys, I plan to build up to 5 hens and a tom. But any new hens beside what I hatch this spring will be done under a hen. My few birds I have gotten from broody girls have been some of my best ones....

 

[BarredBuff]

I noticed this afternoon the duck had a rump lump. I think its an egg she is separate in a hutch now to see if we can have children.

 

[pinkfox]

*fingers crossed*