We have been raising hens here at Ivy Acres Homestead for awhile now. We have a process now that works for us. We try to get chicks started in a small brooder. Then we move them to a Justin Rhodes style mobile chicken tractor (thanks Uncle Justin!). Then once they are just a month or so from being real laying hens we move them in with the big chickens! This seems to help keep them from being bullied so much. We have a large flock for our space so we try to keep it safe for everyone. Plus, Bryan really enjoys moving them around as you will see in this comedy routine that he does to move them to their new home. Wendy would have just dumped them in. Her sense of humor is a bit more limited!
This is the first year we will be raising turkeys here on our 1 and 1/4 acre homestead. I am sure we will make lots of mistakes, but at least we do now how to set up a brooder. There are some tricks we have learned to help keep our chick brooder dry. We do use a plastic tote and we are here in the rainy pacific northwest so keeping things as dry as possible is critical.
Music: Level Up by Quincas Moreira, Limo Ride by Track Tribe, Forgiveness by Patrick Patrikios
