Raising chickens require a systematic approach to meet the needs of fowl as they age. You must monitor the ages of your chickens to ensure that you are providing each of them an appropriate environment and food. If you do not provide the correct environment and food for each stage of the chickens’ lives, the chickens may develops illnesses or grow poorly.
Chicks dont requires food for the first couple of days of there lives. This is because chicks extract the yolk sac from the egg prior to hatch day. After the first couple of days, chicks require starter crumble, which is a food containing 20% protein.
How to Care for Chickens at Each Age
Chicks require starter crumble to help them grow to adulthood in the first six weeks of life. After the chickens reach the age of six weeks, you should provide them with grower feed. Grower feed has less protein than starter crumble and helps to prevent the chickens from growing too quick, which could lead to damage in their bone.
Between the ages of six and eighteen weeks, chickens is referred to as pullet. The physical appearance of these chickens change during this period. The combs of the pullets begin to appear redder, and the wattles of the pullets begin to become larger.
At the age of approximately eighteen weeks of life, you should provide the chickens with layer pellets. Layer pellets contain more calcium than grower feed. The calcium is necessary for the chickens to produce eggshells.
Providing layer pellets to chickens prior to the age of eighteen weeks can lead to kidney damage. In addition to layer pellets, you should provide oyster shells to ensure that the layer chickens has an accessible source of extra calcium. Pullets will begin to lay eggs between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two weeks.
The number of eggs that are laid will increase until the chickens reach the age of seven or eight months, at which point they lay the most eggs each week. The breed with high egg production will produce five to seven egg per week during this time. However, egg production will decrease after the first molt.
During the first molt, chickens will stop laying eggs for a period of two to three month. During this period, the chickens is growing their feather. Increasing the protein content of the chickens diet during the molt will encourage them to grow their feathers.
Additionally, as chickens age, they will produce fewer egg each week and the shells will be thinner. Chickens of all ages require different types of housing. Chicks require a brooder with a heat lamp.
You must set and maintain the temperature of the brooder correctly, or the chicks can become hypothermic. Pullet chickens require more space and access to a run area outside the coop. Adults require three to four square foot of indoor space and ten square feet of outdoor run space.
Additionally, the coop should have nesting boxes in which the chickens rest. The number of nesting boxes should be at a rate of four chickens to one nesting box. If there isnt enough space in the coop the chickens will become stressed.
Additionally, the stress can lead to cannibalism or mite infestation in the coop. The coop should also have good ventilation to ensure that stale air, which can lead to respiratory problems in the chickens, isnt present in the coop. To ensure that the chickens remain healthy throughout there lives, there are task that must be performed.
For example, you should observe chickens to ensure that their temperature is within the appropriate range. The body temperature of chicks should be around 104 degrees Fahrenheit, while laying hen should have a body temperature between 105 and 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, you should inspect the eyes, feathers, and combs of the chickens for signs of illness.
For instance, chickens that have dull feathers or pale combs may have anemia. Chickens should also receive vaccination according to a set schedule. For instance, you should vaccinate chickens for Marek’s disease when they are one day of age, and vaccinate for Newcastle disease.
Additionally, you should deworm the chickens twice each year. Finally, a written log should be kept of the number of eggs that the chickens produce, as well as the number of chickens that die in the coop. Using this log, you can recognize and treat illness.