called up la ferme yesterday to check on the chicks...
one the sunshines just broke the 500 gram mark... 510 grams at 22 days to be exact. =)
the smaller chicks are catching up and i sure do hope that they break the 500G mark next friday.
hope things get better from this point on.
fingers crossed. chin up. eyes wide open. let's get it on! =)
1 to 21 am posting the pictures of la ferme's sunshines from day old to 21 days.
came from the farm yesterday and had mixed emotions.
the chicks are doing better from last 2 weeks when the rain was pouring like no tomorrow. it was a good learning experience for me of course. 2 chicks died but the third chick was saved by jomer, the son of our caretaker. he wrapped the almost dead chick in a used shirt and kept it beside him all night... the next day, the chick was better and was starting to eat again. =) touching huh? =) he is a natural when it comes to taking care of the chicks. when it comes to vaccine time, jomer takes charge and moves smoothly and swifty. lorna and jomer are now incharge of the chicks while william is incharge of the mahogany trees.
lorna, is now incharge of the chicks because mang william is busy with the mahogayn trees. with lorna on the floor since last week, the chicks are better, slowly catching up on weight and the brooder is cleaner and in is better shape. i guess ladies are more caring and motherly by nature, i even catch her talking to the chicks sometimes. hehehe..funny.
25 to 100 watts
changed the 25 watt bulbs to 50 and 100 watt bulbs yesterday and waited till 7pm to observe the difference before i left the farm.
well what do you know??? the chicks were now warming themselves up under the bulbs. doc rey was right... be a keen oberver... la ferme is located around 800-1000 meters up the mountains of baras, rizal, and as such the weather at night could be cold specially during the rainy and ber months. i was surprise to drive through fog on my way home last night, yes!, fog! but not as heavy as tagaytay fog.
hot air rises
we left the screen door without cover so fresh air could go in and left a little space at the ceiling where hot air can escape. the analogy that i used when i talked with doc rey was... "its like being under the blanket in an airconditioned room".
unity in diversity
the variance in the weight of the chicks are a bit disappointing. at 21 days, the biggest being 460grams and the smallest at 200 grams.
we changed to standard industrial feeders yesterday (only Php 20 each!). why? because the remedial old-cut-up tires were taking up too much space and the chicks are lying on the tires which might contaminate the food and make it hard for hungry chicks to eat.
we also separated the chicks below 400 grams from the bigger ones. so they could eat better and not compete with the big sunshines.
malunggay
the chicks where soaking wet 2 weeks ago because we forgot to put cover on the brooder. but i believe that what got the chick through were atovi and malunggay leaves!
yes. we do feed the chicks cut up grass and malunggay leaves.=)
we plan to start free ranging the bigger chicks next week after their last vaccine. =)
there you have it! POULTRY101! =)
till then...
