New Chickens will be arriving tomorrow and to insure that my 8 pet hens and Big Rooster JOE does not infect all the other hens with a pest of some sort (Chickens from another farm may harm our chickens, weather they are sick or not! The same with your own, they might infect your other new chickens WEATHER THEY ARE SICK OR NOT! They might pick up something from the ground and poop it out and one of your chickens eats that by accident, and next thing you know you have a pandemic.) I take a disinfectant solution that I bought from my trusted supplier, and put some in a spray container, then I take my 25 L NEST DRUMS, which I use and work wonderfully for my layers, and give them a good WATER wash after I spray them with a generous amount of the disinfectant.

New Chicks Just Hatched?? Try putting two box crates together, create your doors from the leftover planks and buy some cheap stainless steal chicken mesh from the hardware store. 400 Chicks can eat a whole lot, so make sure you have enough feeders for them to peck on and keep them busy util night time. In the picture we have put in two tray feeders for those babies that cannot eat by the hole feeders yet! after a day or two I take them out! Also THREE drinkers were used and fresh water is to be refilled 3 times daily! a form of anti stress powder was used when babies were transported to the brooder, in the water! you can see i have used large shavings, this makes cleaning easy. On the side of the brooder you can see that we have put in a single light, putting the light on the side ensures the entire brooder is lit, as when it is on the ceiling, it may only light the part it is shining down!
we have chosen a ceiling heater that will heat the brooder to 31 degree Celsius, be careful with this though , new borns cannot regulate heat at their age, but the moment that the temperature outside is 20 degrees and more, the heater is to be switched off, as this may cause exhaustion, or even death!

NEW DIY TIPS TO FOLLOW SHORTLY!