Prevent diseases through frequent clean-out and disinfection. This improves health and feed conversion and decreases the chance of condemnation at processing. A minimum of 10 to 14 days between flocks also minimizes disease by reducing the chance of new chicks being infected by disease organisms surviving from the previous flock. For more information on biosecurity and sanitation, contact the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. Feeding Birds Feeding chicks their first week of life is time-consuming.
Alternative methods eliminate the hand labor of filling feeder lids several times a day.
The most popular method used if the feeder ditch system. Approximately seven days of feed is deposited into a paper-lined trough constructed underneath the regular feeding system. Feed is delivered into the trough through closable holes cut into the feed line or by tractor powered feed auger. When the chicks have consumed this, they are large enough to use the pan feeders. The paper breaks up as the birds become heavier and completely disintegrates by the end of the growing cycle.