June 9, 2025

Grow Out Secrets: What Your Young Flock Is Telling You-Part 2

Show Notes
Transcript

In this episode of The Poultry Keepers Podcast , we continue our deep dive into the fascinating world of grow outs. Hosts John, Mandelyn, and Rip explore the subtle and not-so-subtle messages your young flock sends you every day—if you know how to look.

From activity levels and social behavior to the impact of nutrition, grit, and space on development, this conversation is packed with real-world insights for backyard poultry keepers. You’ll learn how to spot early signs of issues, make smart culling decisions, adjust feed strategies, and improve your record-keeping for long-term success.

We also touch on why amino acids matter more than protein percentages, how feed freshness affects performance, and how to save money while improving flock health. Whether you’re raising layers or breeders, this episode offers valuable tips you can use right now to grow better birds.

Your birds are telling a story. Learn how to read it.

To listen to this episode and to subscribe to the podcast, visit www.thepoultrykeeperspodcast.com for bonus episodes and free resources.

#PoultryKeepersPodcast #PoultryKeepers360 #PoultryBreedersNutrition #ShowProFarmSupply #ChickenGrowOut #RaisingBetterBirds #BackyardPoultryTips #PoultryNutritionMatters #GritAndGrowth #ChickenBehavior #BackyardFlockCare #YoungFlockDevelopment #BetterBirdsStartHere

You can email us at - poultrykeeperspodcast@gmail.com
Join our Facebook Groups:

Poultry Keepers Podcast -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/907679597724837
Poultry Keepers 360 - - https://www.facebook.com/groups/354973752688125
Poultry Breeders Nutrition - https://www.facebook.com/groups/4908798409211973

Check out the Poultry Kepers Podcast YouTube Channel -
https://www.youtube.com/@PoultryKeepersPodcast/featured

WEBVTT

00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:03.500
Hello there! Welcome to this episode of the Poultry Keepers Podcast.

00:00:03.970 --> 00:00:11.119
Today our hosts will conclude their discussion of; Grow Out Secrets: What your young flock is telling you.

00:00:11.509 --> 00:00:15.970
So, let's join John, Mandelyn and Rip as they pick up where they left off last week.

00:00:26.242 --> 00:00:27.983
Mandelyn, I have a question for you.

00:00:28.882 --> 00:00:33.802
Who, how much attention do you pay to activity level?

00:00:34.552 --> 00:00:36.292
Are they alert, energetic for?

00:00:36.362 --> 00:00:37.503
Is that important to you?

00:00:37.893 --> 00:00:39.122
Oh, absolutely.

00:00:39.182 --> 00:00:44.703
I'm looking, so when I pull'em out of those brooders at about five weeks old and I set'em up into a grow pen.

00:00:45.512 --> 00:00:58.743
The very first thing I expect them to do is immediately bounce around, play, take a dust bath, scope out the feed and water situation, and totally be enjoying the new freedom of space.

00:00:58.743 --> 00:01:02.792
'cause now, they have a nine foot ceiling, they can do whatever they want.

00:01:03.152 --> 00:01:09.513
So another three, four weeks after that, I start introducing'em to the outdoors at, 8, 9, 10 weeks old.

00:01:09.977 --> 00:01:17.408
And that first day is pretty normal for them to huddle in the doorway and go that's scary out there.

00:01:17.858 --> 00:01:29.168
But the next day when I open that door up, I expect at least one of'em to be brave and I expect its favorite best friends to go out with them and start exploring and doing their little chicken thing.

00:01:29.498 --> 00:01:31.207
Any of'em that hang back.

00:01:32.212 --> 00:01:33.953
And they don't want to do that.

00:01:33.953 --> 00:01:36.472
We're into the third or fourth day.

00:01:36.593 --> 00:01:41.843
Then I can go ahead and stick a colleague band on that one and know it just doesn't have the gumption I need.

00:01:41.843 --> 00:01:44.362
It's not out there doing what they're supposed to be doing.

00:01:44.783 --> 00:01:51.683
This bird is more passive and there might be some future breeding ramifications from using that bird.

00:01:51.742 --> 00:01:56.183
So I won't, I want the ones with the get up and go.

00:01:58.188 --> 00:02:21.538
One thing and we haven't touched on it yet, so I guess this is probably a good, pretty good place here, but when you raising chickens, and this is something the three of us have experienced personally, that when you change your nutrition, it can actually shape to a certain extent the growth of your flock.

00:02:23.397 --> 00:02:25.288
All three of us have gone from.

00:02:27.252 --> 00:02:28.693
A Okay.

00:02:28.693 --> 00:02:34.362
Feed to a wow feed to just pack the nutrition.

00:02:34.362 --> 00:02:35.862
John's even making his own.

00:02:36.413 --> 00:02:41.932
And y'all correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't nutrition have a remarkable effect on our birds?

00:02:42.802 --> 00:02:43.312
Yes.

00:02:43.913 --> 00:02:51.562
You'll start noticing a trend of more of them doing what they're supposed to be doing, not just a little handful of'em on feed.

00:02:52.117 --> 00:03:04.867
But when you give all of them the actual correct nutrition, you're gonna probably see a reduced rate of call because more of them are getting what they need to go out and do their chicken things

00:03:06.127 --> 00:03:09.788
and don't just change their feed, feed'em grit too.

00:03:09.997 --> 00:03:10.298
That makes a.

00:03:11.078 --> 00:03:12.277
Powerful difference.

00:03:13.147 --> 00:03:14.497
It really does well.

00:03:14.497 --> 00:03:25.777
And using the right size grit and making sure they always have it and that they're uptaking it, yes, you can shave off 20% of your feed consumption because they're able to metabolize and digest it better,

00:03:26.647 --> 00:03:28.207
pays for itself instantly.

00:03:29.318 --> 00:03:33.337
And then my next little science project I wanna try to do for grow outs.

00:03:33.768 --> 00:03:42.078
Actually doing a way better job of tracking consumption levels of a popular feed versus a higher end feed.

00:03:42.078 --> 00:03:47.717
Because the difference in consumption can be as much as 20% in some cases.

00:03:47.717 --> 00:03:57.078
I think it's a little more than that, and the feed doesn't cost twice as much, but you could save almost twice as much in your consumption rate.

00:03:57.133 --> 00:03:58.777
And produce a lot less manure.

00:04:01.353 --> 00:04:15.573
I wish I could convey what Madeline just said better to so many poultry keepers, because when I start talking about switching to a higher quality feed, the first response I get is it costs more.

00:04:17.223 --> 00:04:21.692
Lot of times it's only$5 more per bag once you, yeah, it a little bit chicken.

00:04:24.288 --> 00:04:28.307
But you instantly regain that cost.

00:04:28.338 --> 00:04:29.478
We know that on better

00:04:29.478 --> 00:04:30.108
production,

00:04:30.767 --> 00:04:37.898
we just gotta figure out how to do a better job of convincing new folks with Expensive isn't expensive.

00:04:38.437 --> 00:04:38.798
No.

00:04:39.697 --> 00:04:41.048
Buy the best and only try once

00:04:41.052 --> 00:04:43.507
and cost, not just the upfront cost.

00:04:43.507 --> 00:04:48.067
What's the backend cost and versus your savings versus your result.

00:04:48.822 --> 00:04:55.512
Also backend costs increase manure production, increased nitrogen, increased ammonia.

00:04:56.052 --> 00:05:06.213
All these extras that come by feeding a low quality diet that affect the health of the chicken, and what comes out the backend end.

00:05:07.713 --> 00:05:11.918
You give them grit, you're gonna realize more return on, what goes in.

00:05:12.507 --> 00:05:12.807
Yeah,

00:05:12.927 --> 00:05:16.017
you're gonna pass out mo less unprocessed

00:05:17.048 --> 00:05:22.807
And you can over feed high quality feed too.

00:05:23.228 --> 00:05:32.892
By that I mean if you're, I've seen some people that have started feeding game bird grower, gay bird starter, gay bird breeder.

00:05:33.098 --> 00:05:34.838
Some of that stuff's 30% protein.

00:05:34.838 --> 00:05:37.057
Our birds do not need that amount of protein.

00:05:37.523 --> 00:05:38.423
You're wasting money.

00:05:38.423 --> 00:05:38.723
It just comes

00:05:38.723 --> 00:05:40.762
out the back end after 24%.

00:05:40.762 --> 00:05:43.072
All that extra protein just comes right out.

00:05:43.072 --> 00:05:43.552
The back

00:05:43.913 --> 00:05:45.052
wasted, totally wasted.

00:05:45.327 --> 00:05:50.617
I brooded my quail and my Turkey puls together because they need that protein level.

00:05:50.617 --> 00:05:52.627
The Santa Claires are in a separate brooder.

00:05:53.038 --> 00:06:00.757
They're right above them, but they're, right now at about a 21 and a half with, of course, some really nice supplements.

00:06:02.213 --> 00:06:08.682
But I'm able to make my own feed, on the fly, grind my grain and make it exactly the way I wa I want it.

00:06:08.682 --> 00:06:15.353
But you can absolutely go to the feed store and get, a bag of Turkey and game bird starter if you have turkeys and game birds.

00:06:15.442 --> 00:06:17.608
But I wouldn't use them on, I.

00:06:18.202 --> 00:06:18.742
Large foul.

00:06:18.793 --> 00:06:20.442
There's some, you're pushing them too hard.

00:06:20.442 --> 00:06:24.463
The renal systems can't handle that excess protein.

00:06:25.903 --> 00:06:28.033
And there's that myth out there floating around.

00:06:28.033 --> 00:06:30.463
And if you want'em to grow good, give'em a lot of protein.

00:06:30.942 --> 00:06:34.333
But truth be told, it's not actually the protein.

00:06:34.333 --> 00:06:36.132
No, it's the amino acids.

00:06:36.733 --> 00:06:37.452
You're giving, they're checking

00:06:37.452 --> 00:06:39.252
the wrong line item on the bag.

00:06:39.252 --> 00:06:40.752
It's the amino acids.

00:06:41.083 --> 00:06:43.483
You're basically giving your birds type two diabetes.

00:06:45.502 --> 00:06:48.923
I wish they would put amino acids the first two things on feed tag.

00:06:48.923 --> 00:06:49.552
I really do.

00:06:50.442 --> 00:06:51.562
But you're exactly right.

00:06:51.562 --> 00:06:53.002
They people.

00:06:53.798 --> 00:06:55.177
And I did it, so you know.

00:06:55.177 --> 00:06:55.627
I get it.

00:06:55.627 --> 00:06:56.257
I understand.

00:06:56.262 --> 00:06:56.322
Oh,

00:06:56.322 --> 00:06:58.083
we all did it back in the beginning.

00:06:58.153 --> 00:06:58.642
Focused

00:06:58.718 --> 00:06:59.468
on protein.

00:07:00.067 --> 00:07:00.788
And it doesn't matter.

00:07:00.788 --> 00:07:01.627
16%

00:07:01.627 --> 00:07:02.978
layer, 16% layer.

00:07:02.978 --> 00:07:04.208
I'll take whatever is the cheapest.

00:07:04.208 --> 00:07:05.288
Oh, that stuff on the pallet.

00:07:05.288 --> 00:07:06.038
Six months old.

00:07:06.038 --> 00:07:06.218
Yeah.

00:07:06.218 --> 00:07:07.237
You want five bucks a bag?

00:07:07.237 --> 00:07:08.168
I'll take all of it raw.

00:07:10.327 --> 00:07:18.908
Wish more people would pay attention to the amount of vitamins and minerals in their feed, because that too can make a significant difference.

00:07:19.733 --> 00:07:26.362
And check the, since you're looking at your tags anyways, check the manufacture date or the milling date.

00:07:27.362 --> 00:07:28.713
Use as fresh as possible.

00:07:28.713 --> 00:07:31.892
Don't take any, don't buy anything more than 90 days old.

00:07:32.192 --> 00:07:40.392
Certainly you need to show that to your store manager and say, Hey, you need to send this back to the mill because this has expired.

00:07:42.447 --> 00:07:44.668
And some dates can be hard to read.

00:07:44.668 --> 00:07:48.177
It's not like a simple month, day and year, for example.

00:07:48.298 --> 00:07:56.437
Some may use a number like 25 dash three 30 and what that means.

00:07:56.437 --> 00:08:02.947
It was made in the year 2025 and the 330th day of the year.

00:08:03.788 --> 00:08:03.968
Yep.

00:08:05.408 --> 00:08:05.588
Yeah.

00:08:05.702 --> 00:08:08.168
They do their best to hide things from us, I swear.

00:08:08.278 --> 00:08:08.908
Makes me nuts.

00:08:09.458 --> 00:08:17.358
I know our local composter has actually worked out a deal to help some of these people with their expired feed and moldy feed.

00:08:17.358 --> 00:08:23.752
This time of year they've been getting a lot of bags of moldy feed and they just, put'em in the digester along with everything else.

00:08:23.853 --> 00:08:26.973
Unfortunately, a lot of people have learned the hard way that.

00:08:27.208 --> 00:08:38.217
The health problems that come with feeding older or poor quality feed are very detrimental and can wipe out a flock if you're not careful.

00:08:39.988 --> 00:08:44.788
That, and keeping it dry and preventing mold, because mold is a big problem.

00:08:44.788 --> 00:08:48.441
And that includes cleaning your feeders and checking the bottom of your feeders.

00:08:48.441 --> 00:08:52.520
'cause I know in some of my pens I'll temporarily use those.

00:08:53.895 --> 00:08:59.716
Cheap plastic gravity feeders, but the lip on'em creates spillage'cause it's too shallow.

00:08:59.716 --> 00:09:04.245
So I'll put it inside of a bigger feed pan to give it a higher side.

00:09:04.245 --> 00:09:04.336
Yep.

00:09:04.936 --> 00:09:07.755
And the birds are gonna still kick it out into that other pan.

00:09:07.755 --> 00:09:18.495
But I need to do my job of picking up everything and checking the bottom of that bigger pan I use to make sure it's not growing mold and getting crusty underneath that feeder.

00:09:19.186 --> 00:09:23.956
And if you've got an auto watering system, you should be flushing it regularly.

00:09:24.556 --> 00:09:25.035
Oh yeah.

00:09:25.035 --> 00:09:29.056
Making sure there's no algae slime growing inside of it.

00:09:29.535 --> 00:09:34.275
Jeff is famous for saying, if you wouldn't drink out of your poultry drinker, fix it.

00:09:35.785 --> 00:09:39.615
And then you have people who comment and say they drink outta mud puddles every day.

00:09:39.615 --> 00:09:39.706
Yeah.

00:09:40.096 --> 00:09:40.816
It's okay.

00:09:40.816 --> 00:09:43.605
And that's where they pick up parasites and coccidia too.

00:09:43.605 --> 00:09:44.056
Sure.

00:09:44.395 --> 00:09:45.235
My dog does too.

00:09:45.235 --> 00:09:48.745
When we're walking along the side of the road, she'll also drink out of the toilet.

00:09:48.745 --> 00:09:51.956
We were first enough, we would too, and then deal with the bellyache that came from it.

00:09:52.615 --> 00:09:52.916
Yeah.

00:09:53.936 --> 00:09:57.711
Hey, this gets us to a good segue point to talk about.

00:09:58.686 --> 00:10:03.696
Developing the ability to identify problems early on.

00:10:04.176 --> 00:10:04.475
Yes.

00:10:04.505 --> 00:10:07.655
Look for things like sudden growth drops.

00:10:07.755 --> 00:10:10.696
Where they doing really good and then wham, all of a sudden they just stop growing.

00:10:11.655 --> 00:10:12.706
Or your birds,

00:10:13.336 --> 00:10:16.995
or even if they had a negative growth rate to where Oh yeah.

00:10:17.125 --> 00:10:17.515
Gaining.

00:10:17.515 --> 00:10:18.865
And then boom, they lost weight.

00:10:18.870 --> 00:10:20.910
But they're at an age where they shouldn't have

00:10:22.201 --> 00:10:26.630
look for things like labored breathing or respiration imbalances.

00:10:28.041 --> 00:10:29.510
Has the feather stopped growing?

00:10:33.076 --> 00:10:40.096
That's something that's often overlooked because people don't understand the growth rate that they should have on their birds feathers.

00:10:41.056 --> 00:10:46.155
Behavioral clues, like they're just hanging out all by their selves.

00:10:46.365 --> 00:10:47.926
That's not normal for a chicken.

00:10:47.956 --> 00:10:48.225
Yeah.

00:10:48.225 --> 00:10:49.395
That's never a good sign.

00:10:49.645 --> 00:10:51.596
Or they dis interested in feed.

00:10:52.285 --> 00:10:52.495
Yeah.

00:10:52.640 --> 00:10:56.360
The cock rolls something I've noticed and I was a little concerned at first.

00:10:56.400 --> 00:11:04.730
A cock roll after their normal little establishing their pecking order thing, will usually go off in a corner and sulk for a little bit.

00:11:05.921 --> 00:11:10.831
Maybe a day as he got his butt handed to him by the granddaddy Cockrell.

00:11:11.130 --> 00:11:13.711
But you should come back and, fall into line.

00:11:13.711 --> 00:11:18.900
If he stays outta the circle for more than a day or two, that's when you need to start being worried.

00:11:19.711 --> 00:11:22.931
But, just running in and scooping up a cockle.

00:11:22.931 --> 00:11:33.900
'cause he just, lost his pecking order fight and putting him in a pen and, rehabilitating him and then putting them back out in the yard is probably just going to incur the exact same episode all over again.

00:11:34.650 --> 00:11:38.640
It might end up on a repeat of, pull'em out, put'em back.

00:11:38.760 --> 00:11:39.870
They do it again.

00:11:39.961 --> 00:11:41.791
Pull'em out, treat'em, put'em back.

00:11:41.791 --> 00:11:43.201
They do it again.

00:11:43.245 --> 00:11:49.855
Yeah it's repetitive if you keep pulling birds out because they don't handle reintroduction that well.

00:11:49.885 --> 00:11:49.946
Yeah.

00:11:50.485 --> 00:12:01.375
So if you've got a bird that's being constantly picked on, if you pull them out, don't ever put'em back in, you pull'em out, they go to the freezer, I say, or somewhere else.

00:12:01.466 --> 00:12:09.686
If they still have more time to grow the one getting thoroughly bullied, usually I'll just drop'em into the next younger batch.

00:12:11.410 --> 00:12:16.120
I don't really don't have a problem so much with that, but or at all, let's be honest.

00:12:16.961 --> 00:12:20.500
But I've seen it and that's part of the choosing for temperament.

00:12:20.650 --> 00:12:31.331
And you don't want a little wimpy bird that gets his behind kicked and doesn't have the natural ability to defend the flock when it needs to happen.

00:12:33.291 --> 00:12:34.850
Justice, you don't wanna bully either.

00:12:35.375 --> 00:12:41.285
When there's a predator alarm, pay attention also to when those boys stand up, look around and they're ready.

00:12:41.285 --> 00:12:41.405
Oh, yes.

00:12:41.826 --> 00:12:46.775
Or did they hightail it into cover first before even thinking about anyone else?

00:12:47.946 --> 00:12:47.975
Uhhuh.

00:12:48.306 --> 00:12:53.105
So I just, the other day I was sitting in here and it was a oh strange warm day.

00:12:53.105 --> 00:12:56.796
So the kitchen window was open and I heard my rooster's little chuck alarm call.

00:12:57.530 --> 00:13:09.681
So I went to the kitchen and I looked out and this rooster went and he ran to where the furthest hen was away and put himself between him and the predator that was out in the field.

00:13:09.681 --> 00:13:20.900
They were still on the inside of the electric fence, so I wasn't really worried and then waited for all the hens to go back into the hen house before he went back in and I went, yeah, good rooster.

00:13:21.546 --> 00:13:22.206
Exactly.

00:13:22.535 --> 00:13:23.615
That's what you wanna see.

00:13:24.275 --> 00:13:25.235
That's what I wanna see.

00:13:26.105 --> 00:13:34.985
Let's talk about the things that a lot of people don't want to talk about, but let's talk about culling.

00:13:35.035 --> 00:13:39.390
Culling is not I'm not scared, is not punishment.

00:13:40.171 --> 00:13:42.691
Look at it as flock refinement.

00:13:42.770 --> 00:13:47.510
When I'm sitting around watching birds, I'm looking for things that.

00:13:48.110 --> 00:13:50.421
I wanna see stay in my flock.

00:13:50.421 --> 00:13:54.380
And if a bird doesn't show me anything, then it's removed.

00:13:54.681 --> 00:13:55.100
Okay?

00:13:55.370 --> 00:14:02.571
Now, whatever you do with it, whether you eat it, whether you give it away, whether you sell it, that that's a decision that you have to make.

00:14:03.801 --> 00:14:06.620
But if it's not gonna help, move your flock forward.

00:14:07.071 --> 00:14:07.490
Don't keep it.

00:14:10.446 --> 00:14:12.216
What are some of the things needs some breakfast, eggs.

00:14:12.336 --> 00:14:12.666
Yeah.

00:14:13.125 --> 00:14:15.645
What are some of the things that you look for when you're calling birds?

00:14:15.645 --> 00:14:16.066
Madeleine?

00:14:18.255 --> 00:14:21.615
I look for what you said, like the value to the breeding program.

00:14:21.615 --> 00:14:23.176
Is this bird gonna help me?

00:14:23.775 --> 00:14:26.326
Is what I look at first, and I.

00:14:27.390 --> 00:14:33.390
If I feel on the fence about it, I might give'em some more time to grow.

00:14:33.541 --> 00:14:37.260
If I've got any questions about how's the tail gonna finish?

00:14:37.260 --> 00:14:39.120
What's the final wing set gonna be?

00:14:39.721 --> 00:14:41.880
How deep did the chest get?

00:14:42.691 --> 00:14:47.671
How much more growth potential does this bird need to tell me if it's breeding quality or not?

00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:51.390
And then making the decision on if it's gonna be good for my program or not.

00:14:51.990 --> 00:14:53.400
But I also.

00:14:54.211 --> 00:15:05.850
Looking at what's negative about the bird, what is the worst feature that this bird has, and do I have the flock ingredients available to do some compensation mating to correct that?

00:15:06.451 --> 00:15:10.801
Or is it a serious enough issue that I just right in the freezer?

00:15:10.850 --> 00:15:13.640
In the freezer without any further thought.

00:15:13.640 --> 00:15:21.650
So it just depends on that individual bird's merit or what I might have to, I.

00:15:22.235 --> 00:15:25.086
Breed up to make that bird better through the offspring.

00:15:25.505 --> 00:15:26.975
It's really bird by bird.

00:15:26.975 --> 00:15:29.196
Like I don't have a blanket policy.

00:15:29.405 --> 00:15:30.666
It's just bird by bird.

00:15:31.956 --> 00:15:32.556
I'm basic.

00:15:32.556 --> 00:15:33.605
What about you for yourself?

00:15:33.750 --> 00:15:40.110
Any sign of a structural or genetic fault as the bird is growing out is a disqualification.

00:15:41.235 --> 00:15:42.615
I know it's a numbers game.

00:15:42.796 --> 00:15:53.576
I know that if I hatch out a hundred birds, if everything goes really good, I'll have 10 that are good enough to carry forward and 90 birds for the freezer.

00:15:55.076 --> 00:15:55.495
Oh yeah.

00:15:55.495 --> 00:15:57.865
Out of a hundred birds, I already know I'm eating 50.

00:15:57.865 --> 00:15:59.546
I already know that.

00:16:00.900 --> 00:16:01.191
Yeah.

00:16:03.296 --> 00:16:06.546
Or I can donate the, right out of the right outta the shoot.

00:16:06.605 --> 00:16:07.836
Any chicks that aren't.

00:16:08.225 --> 00:16:11.166
Destined for breeding at the end of three weeks.

00:16:11.166 --> 00:16:23.405
I can take all those and just integrate them into somebody else's flock and they can raise'em out and put'em in their freezer, and I don't need to carry that feed bill myself, and I can just concentrate my time and attention.

00:16:23.985 --> 00:16:29.475
That's something that we just can't buy more of on the birds that I intend to keep.

00:16:31.875 --> 00:16:32.566
Another thing.

00:16:33.946 --> 00:16:42.826
A lot of folks take, don't take into consideration the way they should, is the environmental factors in grow out success.

00:16:42.826 --> 00:16:46.995
And the number one at the top of my list is overcrowding.

00:16:47.686 --> 00:16:50.985
Give your birds room to grow and show you what they got.

00:16:52.096 --> 00:16:52.696
Am I wrong?

00:16:53.566 --> 00:16:54.735
No, you're absolutely right.

00:16:54.946 --> 00:16:56.115
They need space.

00:16:56.115 --> 00:16:56.985
They need.

00:16:57.916 --> 00:16:59.025
Good conditions.

00:16:59.025 --> 00:17:06.435
They need clean conditions to really have the best odds of becoming their best bird possible.

00:17:07.605 --> 00:17:13.766
And if you crowd'em, you're gonna have problems with control freaks not letting the other ones eat.

00:17:13.766 --> 00:17:15.790
And now you're gonna have a really uneven growth rate.

00:17:15.790 --> 00:17:15.865
You're gonna.

00:17:21.385 --> 00:17:24.806
Even the female development, they can be competitive with each other.

00:17:24.836 --> 00:17:30.415
So one thing I do and grow out is I do separate the genders by about eight weeks old.

00:17:30.536 --> 00:17:38.365
I'm hoping to have males separate from females because the way that they develop past that, the boys are way more focused on their pecking order.

00:17:38.965 --> 00:17:42.655
The girls can have problems if the boys try to involve them.

00:17:42.655 --> 00:17:46.796
It's just easier to split your genders and get a more even growth rate with less competition.

00:17:48.296 --> 00:17:50.816
So long as you don't overcrowd'em, just never do that.

00:17:50.816 --> 00:17:52.346
The poop piles up too fast.

00:17:52.346 --> 00:17:53.786
They start getting stressed.

00:17:54.145 --> 00:18:05.816
You're setting yourself up for failure with respiratory problems if you're not keeping your cleanliness where it needs to be, and overcrowding just makes everything that could go wrong worse.

00:18:08.711 --> 00:18:09.250
End of rent.

00:18:11.921 --> 00:18:12.941
No, it was a good rant.

00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:13.810
It was a good rant.

00:18:15.010 --> 00:18:25.201
And to our listeners, I would encourage you to adjust what you're doing based on what and by that I mean do you need to modify your feed?

00:18:26.010 --> 00:18:28.050
Do you need to change the spacing?

00:18:28.711 --> 00:18:33.810
By that I mean do you have enough feeder space so everybody can eat in peace and not squabble?

00:18:34.921 --> 00:18:37.980
The internet says one inch of feeder space per bird.

00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:40.441
I feel like that needs to be more like 10,

00:18:40.601 --> 00:18:41.800
That's really crowding it.

00:18:42.401 --> 00:18:43.181
I like to,

00:18:43.780 --> 00:18:47.365
I would ideally like to have little partitions or dividers.

00:18:48.671 --> 00:18:56.740
About a bird wide, an open trough system, about a bird wide, so each bird can stand and eat what's in front of them without competition on either side,

00:18:58.131 --> 00:19:05.421
And that, that's one of the reasons I like trough style feeders is because birds can feed on both sides.

00:19:05.421 --> 00:19:09.171
So you put a trough style feeder and you just double the amount of feeder space you got.

00:19:09.681 --> 00:19:14.060
You could partition it, and that would become the anti roost device too.

00:19:14.625 --> 00:19:18.705
Those partitions would prevent roosting if they were triangle and fit on both sides.

00:19:19.665 --> 00:19:20.806
Oh, it's in my brain Last

00:19:20.806 --> 00:19:25.375
time, last last time I tried that they roost it up there anyways and ended up pooping in their food.

00:19:26.665 --> 00:19:28.556
But my Chante Clares love to roost.

00:19:28.556 --> 00:19:35.605
So the next rendition is going to be the wire with the spinning conduit over the wire to as an anti-US device.

00:19:37.141 --> 00:19:40.080
Because it was a solid board the last time and it didn't work out.

00:19:40.141 --> 00:19:42.320
So we're gonna do the three-eights inch steel cable.

00:19:42.320 --> 00:19:43.010
The idea that popped

00:19:43.010 --> 00:19:45.651
into my brain makes me wanna go out and get a 3D printer.

00:19:49.340 --> 00:19:50.780
Oh my goodness.

00:19:51.171 --> 00:19:52.161
All right then.

00:19:54.290 --> 00:19:54.605
Not today.

00:19:54.951 --> 00:19:55.760
I have chores to do.

00:19:55.810 --> 00:19:59.361
I've got some files that I can send you if you want to get a printer.

00:19:59.361 --> 00:20:01.790
I don't, but I have some things that I need made.

00:20:04.411 --> 00:20:11.310
Today I have to go through my whole grow out rotation'cause I've complicated my grow out process.

00:20:11.790 --> 00:20:21.810
So since I emptied out a pen yesterday by processing the birds that were in that pen, now I get to muck it out, set it up, adjust everything for the size of bird going in there.

00:20:22.056 --> 00:20:25.431
And then I get to go through my brooders sort for gender sort for quality.

00:20:25.431 --> 00:20:29.721
Start refilling pens, clean all those brooders, go into the hatch room.

00:20:30.215 --> 00:20:38.855
Sort through all those chicks, move them to the other brooders to then muck and clean and scrub to then empty my incubator of what Hatched yesterday.

00:20:38.885 --> 00:20:39.096
Yeah.

00:20:39.726 --> 00:20:42.665
The whole rotation I have today to do it.

00:20:43.385 --> 00:20:49.175
You touched on an important point that we haven't brought up in a little while, Mandy, and that's when you're resetting.

00:20:49.415 --> 00:20:58.506
You're resetting for the age of the bird that's incoming, so that the feed and water is at the appropriate height for the bird.

00:20:58.536 --> 00:20:58.596
If

00:20:59.076 --> 00:21:02.855
that appropriate height does wonders on keeping stuff clean,

00:21:03.395 --> 00:21:05.705
it does and makes your life easier

00:21:06.306 --> 00:21:07.476
and reduces waste.

00:21:07.596 --> 00:21:09.695
I just start, say, saves you money on feed too.

00:21:10.236 --> 00:21:10.536
Yeah.

00:21:10.536 --> 00:21:14.046
You want that feeder and the drinker right at the height of their back

00:21:15.006 --> 00:21:15.336
so they have up

00:21:16.895 --> 00:21:17.556
or hanging.

00:21:17.556 --> 00:21:19.596
You want it right there at the back level.

00:21:20.361 --> 00:21:24.641
So they got an easy reach, but their head has to be in the feeder or the trough.

00:21:25.121 --> 00:21:25.961
Absolutely.

00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:30.520
And these are all, very important, but incremental gains in the process.

00:21:30.520 --> 00:21:39.730
And if you've been a listener to the show for what, over a year now, maybe you're at this point and ready to make these Minorca incremental improvements.

00:21:39.730 --> 00:21:40.756
That's what I like to call'em.

00:21:42.415 --> 00:21:45.865
Let's drop back to record keeping again.

00:21:45.865 --> 00:21:48.175
I, it is something I keep Okay.

00:21:48.175 --> 00:21:50.846
Going back to because it's something that, not very many, it's so

00:21:50.846 --> 00:21:51.266
important.

00:21:51.596 --> 00:22:03.175
Do a fine job of, but you can use all this data that you're hopefully tracking to fine tune your breeding program.

00:22:05.861 --> 00:22:09.580
It can help you decide who stays and who goes.

00:22:09.911 --> 00:22:14.631
If it comes down to, it can help you adjust feed plans for next time

00:22:15.891 --> 00:22:19.010
to let you know what incremental change you should make next.

00:22:19.010 --> 00:22:19.580
Exactly.

00:22:19.580 --> 00:22:19.701
Yeah.

00:22:21.020 --> 00:22:24.500
It can help you choose housing upgrades or say, hey.

00:22:25.401 --> 00:22:27.260
These birds are a little bit too crowded.

00:22:27.590 --> 00:22:30.895
Move them to an outside chicken tractor whatever your system is.

00:22:32.695 --> 00:22:44.715
But most importantly, all this record keeping the real payoff for me is that it helps to build a genetic line that thrives under.

00:22:45.961 --> 00:22:48.901
Your conditions don't go by what's in the book.

00:22:48.901 --> 00:22:53.161
Go by what you exceed, what you experience, and what your location is.

00:22:53.671 --> 00:22:57.211
But those records can really help build a genetic line.

00:22:57.810 --> 00:22:58.590
Don't believe me.

00:22:58.951 --> 00:22:59.371
Try it.

00:23:00.121 --> 00:23:07.810
Unfortunately, I can expect different growth rates based upon what farm, my chicks, or even the unhatched eggs go to.

00:23:07.810 --> 00:23:09.881
I know how they're gonna develop here.

00:23:10.661 --> 00:23:13.510
Because of my husband's practices.

00:23:13.510 --> 00:23:15.560
Once they leave things change.

00:23:15.621 --> 00:23:22.691
And if somebody contacts me three or four weeks later and says, Hey, I'm only seeing this weight at this point, I can pull up my charts and say you should be here.

00:23:22.750 --> 00:23:23.171
Okay.

00:23:23.381 --> 00:23:23.770
Why?

00:23:25.171 --> 00:23:30.401
Are you using this, protein level of feed at this point in time?

00:23:30.401 --> 00:23:32.770
Have you always had fresh, clean water available?

00:23:33.580 --> 00:23:39.911
And then we can look at the husbandry methods as to why they're not reaching the same growth potential I would expect them to have.

00:23:39.911 --> 00:23:44.861
But I do expect them to be a little bit lower, especially with a new breeder with my birds.

00:23:44.861 --> 00:23:45.911
They're just not used to'em.

00:23:45.911 --> 00:23:47.760
They're used to, whatever they've had

00:23:49.651 --> 00:23:56.020
and just make it a practice to spend, I don't know, five or 10 minutes daily.

00:23:57.250 --> 00:24:18.221
Just at least paying close attention, what I like to call mindful watching of your flock, observe them during feeding time, during perching social interactions, laying, roosting all of that can be very revealing to you.

00:24:18.270 --> 00:24:19.336
Is what's going on with your birds.

00:24:20.365 --> 00:24:21.375
Have really

00:24:21.375 --> 00:24:22.695
good data collection story.

00:24:23.476 --> 00:24:23.776
Okay.

00:24:23.836 --> 00:24:24.375
Laying on us,

00:24:26.115 --> 00:24:30.486
a local friend of mine she has three different genetic groups of birds.

00:24:30.486 --> 00:24:38.316
Two of'em are the same breed, and then another breed, and her husband is a spreadsheet building wizard.

00:24:39.185 --> 00:24:41.976
So he came up with an evaluation sheet.

00:24:42.250 --> 00:24:47.286
So they take their kids out as a family, they go through and they sort their birds and they fill in.

00:24:47.990 --> 00:24:50.840
An entire profile of each bird.

00:24:51.111 --> 00:24:55.701
They're looking at comb shaped, they're looking at weight, they're looking at feathering, coloring.

00:24:55.881 --> 00:25:00.590
Everything about that bird has a line item on this evaluation sheet.

00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:11.810
So then they take that evaluation sheet and they build a profile under the band number for each bird, and then they have all of the growth history associated with that individual bird.

00:25:12.576 --> 00:25:14.316
All the way back to day one.

00:25:14.556 --> 00:25:30.455
So then when a group of chicks come up to be 15, 16 weeks old, they have everything notated in that data and he can build graphs to show trait by trade or genetic pool versus genetic pool.

00:25:30.455 --> 00:25:33.395
He can pluck gender out as a sorting feature.

00:25:33.695 --> 00:25:40.266
So if you wanna know what your growth swing for each male was, he can sort that out and show a graph.

00:25:40.746 --> 00:25:45.296
And so he said the last time I saw them, they were picking the top performers.

00:25:45.836 --> 00:25:46.465
And I was like whoa.

00:25:46.465 --> 00:25:46.945
What do you mean?

00:25:46.945 --> 00:25:50.486
How long have you been choosing only the top performers for growth rate?

00:25:50.996 --> 00:25:52.256
And he said since we started.

00:25:52.586 --> 00:25:54.925
And I was like, how many generations into that are you?

00:25:55.286 --> 00:25:58.766
And he goes for some of'em, it's two generations and three generations.

00:25:58.766 --> 00:26:02.875
I was like, okay, you gotta slow down on that to avoid too big.

00:26:03.115 --> 00:26:07.346
And instead he pulled up that graph and I said, you wanna be right here.

00:26:08.171 --> 00:26:12.070
Right here in the middle, slightly above, not your bottom, not your top.

00:26:12.070 --> 00:26:21.371
Now, use this fancy graph to figure out which birds you should even consider for breeding just because of their growth swing and the data that he showed me.

00:26:21.371 --> 00:26:23.590
Yes, it was so colorful, detailed, and.

00:26:24.236 --> 00:26:25.105
Beautiful.

00:26:25.195 --> 00:26:28.375
I'm so jealous that I haven't sat down to do it for myself.

00:26:30.056 --> 00:26:35.576
Just tell him that he needs, I love it to be looking at the plus one vector of his bell curve.

00:26:36.175 --> 00:26:38.635
That's where you want to be selecting from.

00:26:39.655 --> 00:26:39.865
Yeah.

00:26:40.155 --> 00:26:43.425
Many, anybody who understands what we're talking about just goes Okay.

00:26:43.425 --> 00:26:44.596
Yeah, no, I've got never seen

00:26:44.596 --> 00:26:52.006
better graphing on chicken growth though, except, commercial professional stuff, but for a home flock, oh my gosh, yes.

00:26:52.006 --> 00:26:52.246
Beautiful.

00:26:52.465 --> 00:27:04.645
This just reinforces what I've been told so many times by so many of the old true master breeders said that your best breeder prospects are from the.

00:27:05.556 --> 00:27:06.996
The center of the flock,

00:27:07.655 --> 00:27:10.895
the most balanced, the most even Yes, heterogeneity.

00:27:13.336 --> 00:27:14.175
The middle of the bell curve.

00:27:14.385 --> 00:27:14.685
That's

00:27:14.736 --> 00:27:27.000
and just one final thought I want to share about records and their importance is if you will, train yourself to look at each.

00:27:28.381 --> 00:27:35.641
And every bird, each individual bird has a living journal entry in your flock story.

00:27:36.540 --> 00:27:41.701
Take notes, read carefully and write a future you're gonna be proud of.

00:27:42.885 --> 00:27:46.955
Now, before we go and we're getting close to our we are at our hour here.

00:27:47.465 --> 00:27:52.086
I want to encourage all of our listeners to subscribe.

00:27:53.586 --> 00:27:55.925
So wherever you're listening to it, is it on Apple?

00:27:55.925 --> 00:27:56.976