Rearing

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

The recent post on day olds got me thinking about my days on the game farm in Gloucester .We used to use both gas heaters and electric hens on both pheasants and partridge.If i remember right ,the fors and against were as follows-

Gas is cheaper to run,the unit is cheaper than the electric hen , but more labour intensive due to somebody needing to check temperature on the hour or more frequent in hot weather .The distance off the ground of the element is crucial to prevent crowding in the centre or huddling in the corners.Feather pecking is a problem with the gas ,more so than electric as the direct heat causes stress and delays feather formation on the poults back .This in turn provides a soft target area for pecking and once blood is drawn ,that bird is doomed.We used to avoid putting melanistics under gas, mixed with english or ring necks, the pecking under gas was always worse on these coloured birds .I found the best way to combat this and other problems was to widen the circle as fast as possible ,within reason and to get them in the shelter pen as quick as possible .We also had a fire in one of the huts when a regulator failed .

Electric is expensive,The unit is costly, but less labour intensive ,only needing a couple of good checks a day .The poults feather well and quickly .Coloured birds did equally as well under the hen when mixed with normals .The hen needs raising periodically,always a risky business for day olds as they are easily stood on .The lining of the electric hen needs thorough daily checks for holes in the early stages of a chicks growth as the daft buggers like nothing better than to pack tight into a rip and smother ,just to get nearer the heat .There is less hurry to get birds out into a bigger area as they are not under the same stress as gas .

In my opinion the electric hen produces better birds though at a higher cost .

Rearing under a heat lamp was not practiced so i cant comment .

Though's of you with experience feel free to add your pro's and cons and those wishing to rear for the first time take note .

Edited January 9, 2008 by foxdropper

[Guest little_lloyd]

Of all the game farms weve delivevered Dayolds to from the hatcheries have been run on gas. I take home a fair ammount of the birds that the game farms cantsell,, eg the ones with weak legs etc and rear them in my garage and mates shed obvisly running from electric,, You would be suprised how many of these birds go on to make the grade of a decent pheasnt.

[stork 1]

Gas is good but you cant let the sods go out or your in the shit the poor sods get gassed out i havent heard alot about leccy hens.

[Aaron 3]

Always an interesting topic,

 

Personaly i like a mix of both to start with and then switch over to mainly gas for the long run. Electric hens are a great way to start the birds of due to the birds actually making contact to the heaters. Once the birds are two - three weeks old we then switch over to gas. Using gas is alot more demanding, checking gas bottles, worrying about lamps blowing out etc. Elcectric gives of a drier heat source than gas does, not that i think it really makes that much differance but every little helps. When birds are younger they seem to do much better of electric hens. IMO.

 

Regards

 

Aaron

Edited January 10, 2008 by Aaron

[Guest ragumup]

With gas if you get the modern heaters they have thermosates on them so they regulate the heat them selves , but they arnt cheap ,

As for pecking the reason they don't peck for the first three weeks ish under electric hens is because they can get away from each other under the heater where its dark before they draw blood

I use a 4ftsquare box on legs with a 2inch gap along the sides , with 2 dull-emitters under it ,as you can rear many more than electric hens and if the power goes down you hardly lose any as they can't pack under it like they do with the electric hens in the same amount of time

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Whats fashionable this year then ?

[Aaron 3]

Whats fashionable this year then ?

 

As in Gas or electric or generally in rearing? alot of people are experimenting with differant types of bedding and rearing sheds are getting bigger!

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

The bedding thing seems to be whatever is cheapest BUT..........With chopped straw ,the buggers sometimes fill their crops with it and bung up thus starving out