Firstly hello to everyone

Being my first blog (hopefully first of many) I would like to say that before I joined P&T I was not the most experienced of people at all when it came to chicken keeping!  I recall many a day in my childhood on my grandparents farm, collecting eggs in the morning, knowing that I would enjoy them for breakfast that day, but that was probably as far as my knowledge went.

Since joining I have learnt so much and I hope that as this knowledge will expand and I will be able to pass it on and assist others with little “tricks of the trade” so to speak.

As Trevor mentioned we have lots and lots of little chicks who have been successfully hatched from one of our new incubators, and reared in the last few weeks.   I have been eagerly watching them and can say, without doubt that they have blossomed under the brooder hen, and enjoyed every mouthful of the chick crumb!  I never knew they could eat so much.

The next stage has started and we have erected a Seabright chicken house and run today, which looks really good.  There is plenty of space in the run (something I would imagine people would worry about) and as the house is raised the chicks will even have more room to run around in.

As new products, special offers and helpful tips come to my attention, I will be the first to pass this information on, however please feel free to email any questions, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll just ask Trevor!!!!!

Hello Amanda, Thankyou for your question. To be honest we have tried everything and without a doubt we recommend an horse bedding called Easibed for chick rearing and for chicken houses. It is highly asorbant and the birds enjoy turning it over. Dust extracted shavings would be second best but start very thin and build up thickness over time. I really recommend AGAINST using shredded paper and cardboard as this is often eaten and fatalities are very high. I hope this has helped with your question. Kind regards P&T Poultry

A very common question, especially on hatching day

When your eggs pip in the incubator you should have your brooding / rearing area ready. In a brooding area you will need a brooder lamp, chick feeder and drinker.

When your eggs hatch in your incubator I advise leaving them in there for about 24 hours with no food or water. After 24 hours move the chicks to your brooding area with your chick drinker filled with water and your chick feeder filled with chick crumb. You can sprinkle a small amount of chick crumb on the floor but 99% of the time the chicks have a good instinct and they will find it.

The height for the brooder lamp really depends on your situation but a simple rough rule is if the chicks are all huddling very very close and on top of each other the brooder lamp is too far away from them and they are cold, however if the chicks are forming a circle or are staying away from the brooder lamp it is too low and they are too hot. Ideally they should be under the brooder lamp wandering around happily with a little space between them. If feeding and drinking and just milling around unstressed you got it right, dont forget though as they grow the brooder lamp will need to be raised.