ych homestead poultry

8/16/2019 YCH Homestead Poultry

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We want to welcome you to Stinnett Family Farms (SFF)! We are a

small family owned and operated farm located in South Arkansas.

I am Travis and my wife is rystal. We have three "eautifulchildren #ordan $atie and %evi. We operate our own homestead

complete with a farm stand comin& soon!!

This pro&ram is desi&ned to help as you learn from our e'perience

as well as our mistakes in the process of startin& your very own

homesteadin& ourney.

ra" a cup of coffee and sit "ack as you read throu&h the *+ou

an ,omestead Series-


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Copyright © 2013 by Stinnett Family Farms All rightsreserved. This book or any portion thereof may not bereprod!ed or sed in any manner "hatsoever "ithot thee#press "ritten permission of the pblisher e#!ept for the

se of brief $otations in a book revie".

%rinted in the &nited States of Ameri!a

First %rinting' 2013

(S)* 0+,000000+0+0

Stinnett %blishing

Sparkman' A- 1/3

""".stinnettfamilyfarms.!om""".!ra"ly!rittersreptiles.!om

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http://www.stinnettfamilyfarms.com/http://www.crawlycrittersreptiles.com/http://www.stinnettfamilyfarms.com/http://www.crawlycrittersreptiles.com/


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Table Of Contents

Chapter 1 Intro To Poultry 7

Chapter 2 Chickens 9

Chapter 3 Turkeys 19

Chapter 4 Ducks 23

Chapter 5 uail 25

Chapter ! Pheasant 27

Chapter 7 "eese 29

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Chapter 1

(ntrod!tion To The orld f %oltry

As far ba!k as the pioneer days people have beenraising self+sstainable o!k of poltry. (n the days ofor an!estors that "as the only !hoi!e they had. (t isor personal goal to take or homestead ba!k to theself+sstainability of the pioneer days "ith most ofthe !omforts of today. For instan!e' "e hope to ive

!ompletely o4 or land eventally and also have orhomestead be or only sor!e of in!ome. *o" don5tget me "rong' it is A T of hard "ork anddetermination on the path to selfsstainability' bt (promise yo "ill save tons of money' yor family "illbe healthier and happier' and "ho doesn5t "ant to"ork for themselves6 78ore to !ome in later isses99:

The ;rst $estion yo shold ask yorself is hattype of poltry do ( "ant to raise6 As ( said earlier'"e are !rrently raising !hi!kens' trkeys' d!ks' and$ail. e also "ant to add pheasant' and geese.

*e#t' yo need to de!ide the prpose for raising thebreeds yo have sele!ted. e raise the breeds "ehave on or homestead for several reasons. e eat

the meat from all of the breeds "e raise. As for theeggs' e eat !hi!ken and $ail eggs and probably"ill pheasant as "ell.


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(n this book "e "ill gide yo throgh the pro!ess ofstarting and maintaining yor homestead poltry.

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Chapter 2>

?omestead Chi!kens

%robably the most poplar poltry breed onany homestead "old have to be the !hi!ken.Chi!kens are great for both meat and eggprod!tion. (n this !hapter "e "ill tea!h yo all abotC?(C@


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So' for a family of D yo "ill need layinghens. *e#t yo need to de!ide if yo "ant tohat!h any of the eggs. The reason ( say this is

be!ase if yo only plan to have !hi!kens foreggs only yo don5t need a rooster. Chi!kens"ill lay eggs "ithot a rooster yo Est "ant beable to hat!h any.etting Started

*e#t yo mst de!ide "here to keep yor!hi!kens. Go need to have yor !oop and rnready before yo ever bring yor !hi!kenshome. A !oop !an pretty m!h be anythingthat keeps yor !hi!kens safe and "armespe!ially at night "hile they are roosting. (fyo do a sear!h on oogle yo "ill see some of the most !reative ses for things yo may evenhave laying arond the yard.

n!e yo have yor !oop yo need to add arn. (f yo plan to free range yor !hi!kens yodon5t ne!essarily have to have a rn' bt yo8&ST have a !oop. For or small o!k "e bilda D foot by foot !oop "ith nest bo#es androosts. r rn is foot by 1/ foot for no". e

plan for it to hose at least ten hens and arooster all the time. e also plan to add ase!ond pen to raise the /0 !hi!kens "e plan toharvest every year.

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The si=e of yor !oop and rn obvioslydepends on the nmber of !hi!kens yo havebt the formla most often sed is 2+3 s$are

foot per bird in the !oop and D+B s$are foot inthe rn. foot by 1/ foot is 12 s$are footand shold hose p to 2B gro"n !hi!kens. That to me seems like a lot of !hi!kens in asmall spa!e and so "e have 11 !hi!kens in aspa!e that si=e.

here To )y Chi!kens

n!e yor !oop is ready yo !an start lookingfor !hi!kens. The easiest time to by is dringthe spring "hen all the farmers are hat!hing.Sear!h yor lo!al ne"spaper' online !lassi;eds'!raigslist' et!. and yo are bond to ;nd "hatyo are looking for. )aby !hi!ks are the easiest

to ;nd' bt yo also !an ;nd gro"n laying hensfrom time to time. (f yo plan to by baby!hi!ks yo !an order from a hat!hery and havethem mailed right to yo. Sear!h oogle forhat!heries. 8!8rray ?at!hery is one ( havesed in the past.

Caring For )aby Chi!ks

(f yo ;nd hens all yo need to do is pt themin the !oop and let them do their Eobs. (f yorather raise some !hi!ks they "ill need spe!ial!are for the ;rst fe" months.

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The ;rst thing yo "ill need to take !are ofyor !hi!ks "ill be a brooder. A brooder is

basi!ally a bo# "ith a light 7for heat: and a!over to !ontain yor ne" !hi!ks. ne of theeasiest brooders is a !lear -bbermaid!ontainer "ith a "hole !t in top for ventilation"ith a single light blb hanging into the bo#.%la!e the blb at one end so if the !hi!ks gettoo "arm they !an move a"ay from the heat. Go *T "ant to !ook yor ne" babies. Thetemperatre in the bo#y shold be arond ,0+100 degrees for the ;rst "eek. After that yo!an de!rease the temp by B degrees ea!h"eek. Sear!h oogle for brooders and yo aresre to ;nd a design yo like. (n the bottom ofthe bo# "e add a later of pine shavings toabsorb the "aste. )e sre to !hange the

shavings as it be!omes moist to ensre yor!hi!ks stay healthy.

After the ;rst "eek they !an be moved fromthe brooder bo# to a gro" pen. r gro" pen isa 3 foot by / foot pen bild on legs p o4 thegrond. The bottom is made of hard"are !loth

so the poop "ill fall throgh the bottom andyor !hi!ks "ill stay !lean. The ro" pen isen!losed on three sides. (n one end of the pen"e have a 2 foot se!tion divided o4 and!ompletely en!losed mins the "ire oor.

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There is a light inside to keep the !hi!ks "arm.A small hole in the divider opens p to the restof the pen "hi!h also has a light on one end.

This design allo"s the !hi!ks to move bet"eena variety of temperatres "hi!h helps them be!omfortable in all types of "eather !onditions.

n!e the !hi!ks are abot a month old andhave established a good layer of feathers yo!an move them to yor !oop. (t is a good ideato hand a light in yor !oop Est in !ase yohave !ool nights here and there ntil the !hi!kshave developed all their feathers. 8ake sreyo !lose them p at night in the !oop andonly let them in the rn dring the day.Sometimes !hi!ks "ill roost ot in the rn andif it gets !old dring the night they !old gettoo !old and die.

That pretty m!h !overs the hosing of!hi!kens from birth throgh their entire lives.*e#t "e "ill talk abot "hat to feed yor!hi!kens. Feeding Gor Chi!kens

Chi!kens are fairly easy "hen it !omes to feed.For the ;rst fe" months of yor !hi!kens lifefrom the day it hat!hes "e feed !hi!k starter.n!e yor !hi!ks rea!h a !ople months of age

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yo !an s"it!h them over to a laying pellet ifyo plan for them to lay eggs' or yo !an feedthem !hops if they are to be gro"n ot for

meat. Chops are !heaper than laying pellets bythe "ay. A variety of di4erent styles of feedersare available or sear!h online for plans to bildyor o"n very easily. Go also "ant to makesre yor !hi!kens have a !onstant spply offresh !lean "ater as "ell. There are severaldi4erent methods for doing this. The one "ese is a B gallon b!ket "ith nipples installed inthe bottom and hanging from the roof of thern. e keep the b!ket fll "ith a lid and the!hi!kens drink from the bottom.

Gor !hi!kens also enEoy other little treats fromtime to time. There are a nmber of things yo!an feed yor !hi!kens as treats. For instan!e'

frit and vegetable s!raps from the kit!hen aregood for yor birds and they H< them.)reads of all kinds are good Est feed them inmoderation. Too m!h star!h is not good ontheir systems. Certain non sgary !ereals like!heerios are ok to feed. Cheese is a goodsor!e of protein and !al!im bt feed in

moderation as "ell. Corn !an be fed either!ooked or ra" even on the !ob. ?ard boiled ors!rambled eggs are also a good sor!e ofprotein and "ill help in keeping yor !hi!kensfrom eating their o"n eggs if their !al!im

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levels get lo". Gogrt is also a favorite !hi!kentreat. arm !ooked grits or oatmeal is good tofeed yor !hi!kens as "ell.

Another good sor!e of treats for yor birds are!ri!kets and meal"orms. These t"o bg treats!an a!tally be raised very easy on yorhomestead and ( promise yor !hi!kens "illthank yo for it99 Stay tned for ftre e)ooksabot setting p yor o"n !ri!ket andmeal"orm farms. Chi!kens also enEoy fresh !tgrass !lippings after yo mo" yor yard as"ell. That leads s to items yo shold *


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brooders. That means they "ill sit on eggs andhat!h them.

(f yo de!ide to hat!h yorself yo !an pi!k pa simple in!bator at most farm spply storeslike At"oods or Tra!tor Spply or some"herelike that. Go !an also order them at severalpla!es online. (n!bators !an be set tomaintain a !onstant temperatre and !an evenadd an atomati! trner that keeps yor eggstrned for yo ntil they hat!h. There are evenplans online "here yo !an bild yor o"nhomemade in!bator.

n!e yo have boght or bilt yor in!batoryo "ant to rn it ntil a steady ,,.B degreesis rea!hed. Go also "ill "ant to keep "ater inyor in!bator to keep the hmidity to B0I for

the ;rst 1 days and then in!rease it to 0+0Ifor the last fe" days of in!bation.After a fe" days yo !an !andle yor eggs"hi!h is basi!ally shining a light throgh theegg to see if there is an embryo developinginside. (f after days the egg is absoltely!lear the egg is infertile and is no good.

(nfertile eggs and any !ra!ked eggs shold bedis!arded to avoid any odors in yor in!bator.

n!e eggs are pla!ed in the in!bator or on!eyor hen starts sitting on them' it takes

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appro#imately 21 days for them to hat!h. n!ethe !hi!ks hat!h ( sally leave them in thein!bator for several hors ntil they are

!ompletely dry and p rnning arond. n!ethe !hi!ks are all a!tive and 4y yo !anmove them to yor pre+heated brooder bo#.

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Chapter 3>

?omestead Trkeys

Trkeys are a lot like !hi!kens "hen it !omes tohosing and feeding. And yo !an a!tallykeep them in the same !age if yo "ant. e!rrently have or trkeys in "ith or !hi!kensbt are "orking on separate en!losres.

?ere at the farm "e sed the same basi!formla for ;gring ot ho" many trkeys yoneed. Figre p ho" many trkeys yo eat in amonth and mltiply by 12. That gives yo arogh estimate of ho" many yo need to raisentil harvest. For my family ( ;gred "e "illneed 2D trkeys per year or t"o per month. eeat a lot of sand"i!hes and love the home

raised sli!ed smoked trkey breast99

Trkeys !an lay an estimated 100 pls eggs ifyo don5t let them hat!h their o"n so a pair ora trio "old be more than enogh for a family.(f yo let the birds hat!h the eggs yo "ill needmore hens to prod!e the nmber of birds yo

"ill have for harvest. ?at!h the ones yo needfor harvest or to repla!e yor breeders andsale the rest or eat them.

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Selling the e#tra !hi!ks "ill help o4set yorfeed bill sbstantially99

*o" ( kno" yo probably don5t eat a trkeyevery month. )t do yo eat sli!ed trkey likeln!h meat for a sand"i!h6 Go !an a!tallysmoke yor trkey and sli!e it p Est like theyhave in the gro!ery store. (n a ftre pdate tothis series "e "ill tea!h yo all abotpreserving yor harvests and part of thatharvest "ill be poltry.

( have read mi#ed revie"s of "hat people feedtheir trkeys. ( personally feed mine the samelaying pellets the !hi!kens eat. As for thebabies 7polts: ( feed them !hi!k starter alsolike the !hi!kens.

hen the time !omes yo "ill start !olle!tingthe eggs and pt them in yor in!bator nlessyo are going to let yor birds hat!h them. Thein!bation pro!ess is the same for trkey eggsas it is for !hi!kens other that trkey eggs take2 days to hat!h instead of 21 like !hi!kens. The in!bator shold stay at the same ,,

degrees as it is for !hi!kens.

hen the eggs hat!h ( again "ait several horsntil the polts are !ompletely dry and p

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moving arond before ( take them ot andmove them to the brooder bo#.

Some people say yo shold raise yor !hi!ksseparate from yor trkey polts. ( have a goodfriend that has been raising !hi!ks and poltsside by side for years and has a greatoperation. ( personally raise my poltsseparate. *ot sre "hi!h "ay is right bt "ithmy l!k ( don5t "ant to risk losing !hi!ks.

The brooder yo pt yor polts in shold beset arond ,B to , degrees. -aise the heatlight a fe" in!hes ea!h "eek ntil the poltsare abot / "eeks old or ntil the temperatrein the brooder is the same as the temperatreotside. This "ill prepare them for the move.?ere at or farm "e have a !ople stages of

brooder bo#es in or hat!hing hose before the!hi!ks move otside to a !ompletely !overedgro" pen. @eep a !he!k on the temperatreand add a light if the !hi!ks need a little heat.)e sre to add a roost "hen the polts areabot 3 "eeks of age so they !an get sed tothe roosting pro!ess.

( have read that yo !an move yor !hi!ksotside at / "eeks old. e al"ays "ait ntilthey are at least "eeks Est to make sre

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they are as healthy as possible before thesho!k of the move otside hits them.

-aising polts is more diL!lt than !hi!kensbe!ase the polts are m!h more fragile forthe ;rst for "eeks or so. on5t getdis!oraged "hen yo start losing !hi!ks. Msttry to keep yor temperatres as !onstant aspossible in the brooders. 8ake sre yor !hi!ksare eating and drinking' trkeys are kno"n tobe JstpidK so yo may have to keepreminding them "here their food and "ater is.And' give them as m!h attention and bondingtime as yo possibly !an. Trkeys seem to need!onta!t "here !hi!kens Est "ant to be leftalone.

Follo" these simple gidelines and yo "ill be

raising healthy happy trkey polts in no time

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Chapter D>

?omestead !ks

-aising d!ks is really no di4erent than!hi!kens or trkeys. The in!bation period for!ommon d!ks is 2 days like trkeys.8s!ovy d!ks' "hi!h are "hat "e have on orfarm' take abot 3B days. ( have no idea "hy ittakes so m!h longer for 8s!ovy d!klings tohat!h' it Est does lol.

( don5t hat!h my d!k eggs in the in!bator. (allo" my girls to hat!h their o"n d!klings. r8s!ovy d!ks are great setters and are evenbetter mothers. They "ill atta!k in a *e" Gorkminte if they think their babies are in anydanger at all.


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e follo" the same brooding gidelines as "edo "ith or baby !hi!kens. hen the d!klingsare flly feathered arond / "eeks of age or so

they go into a !overed nrsery pen. hen the!hi!ks are big enogh to prote!t themselvesfrom bllies they are introd!ed into the o!kntil harvest time.

As for the nmber of breeder d!ks yo "illneed' ;gre it the same "ay as the trkeys.on5t forget ea!h hen "ill sit on appro#imately12+1B eggs t"i!e per year. (f they all hat!h thatis p to 30 d!klings per hen. ( don5tre!ommend more than a pair or a trio for afamily of for. Any !hi!ks that are left !an besold to help pay for the feed bill.

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Chapter B>

?omestead Nail

Nail are raised a little di4erent than the othertypes of poltry. Nail are sper small and !anbe kept in a fairly small area. ?ere at or farm"e !stom bilt a !age 7!omplete plans andpi!tres !oming soon: that is feet long by 2feet "ide and 1 foot tall. This is then divided

into B se!tions 1 foot "ide and 1 se!tion 3 feet"ide. So ( have B breeding pens and 1 gro"pen.

(n the ;ve breeding pens "e have 3 hens and arooster in ea!h one. That gives s 1B hens"hi!h !an prod!e p to that many eggseveryday. epending on ho" many $ail yor

family !onsmes yo !an de!ide from that thenmber yo need to raise for harvest everyyear. The eggs yo don5t hat!h !an be trned intopi!kled eggs. e have several re!ipes "e seat or farm. (f yo don5t "ant to eat them yo

!an sell the eggs for hat!hing or yo !an hat!hand sell the !hi!ks to o4set feed !osts. n!epeople ;nd ot yo raise $ail yo "ill besrprised at the nmber of people that "ant toby some espe!ially if yo do the harvesting.


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(n!bating $ail eggs is abot the same asother poltry e#!ept for the fa!t it only takes

1 days for a !otrni# $ail to hat!h. )ob"hite$ail take a little longer at 23+2D days. Thetemperatre is the same at arond ,,.Bdegrees.Cotrni# $ail gro" sper fast. At /+ "eeks ofage the $ail start laying eggs. e a!tallyharvest or $ail at abot / "eeks of age. r $ail go from brooder to or gro" pen. They never go on the grond. As soon as the$ail are feathered and starting to y and tryto es!ape they are moved to the gro" pen. rgro" pen is a!tally in the barn so "e don5thave to "orry abot drafts and s!h.

To me $ail are the easiest of the poltrybreeds to raise. Nail also !ost far less to feedthan the others as "ell.

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Chapter /

?omestead %heasant

That leads s to pheasant. There are severaldi4erent breeds of pheasant. From thestandard ring+ne!ked pheasant' to the beatiflyello" gold' and melanisti! pheasant.

%heasant !are is m!h the same as for theother breeds of poltry. ( re!ommend bilding along and fairly tall Jight penK for yorpheasants. %heasants are very Empy little!ritters. (f one of yor birds gets spooked itsinstin!ts are to y p and a"ay. (f yor !age istoo short yo risk the !han!e of the bird yinginto the "ire and breaking its ne!k. )elieve me( have learned this from e#perien!e.

The nmber of breeder birds yo have is againbased on the nmber yor family "ill !onsme.A pair or a trio shold be sL!ient for a family.(f yo "ant to make sre yo have enogh tosale yo !an al"ays add a fe" more hens toyor o!k.

(n!bation temperatre is the same ,,.Bdegrees. %heasant eggs take 23+2D days tohat!h. As for brooding !hi!ks "e follo" thesame brooding s!hedle as or !hi!kens.

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The most important thing to remember is tokeep yor feeders and "aterers !lean reglarly.

Sanitation is sally the nmber one !ase ofthe loss of pheasant !hi!ks.

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Chapter

?omestead eese

*e#t on the list of poltry !omes the goose.&nless yor homestead is a good distan!ea"ay from any neighbors ( don5t re!ommendgeese be!ase they are &9 eese areprobably the noisiest of all the poltry breeds. They "ill start honking at A*GT?(* espe!iallyif they feel threatened in any "ay. As for the in!bation' the temperatre is thesame ,,.B degrees. (t takes bet"een 2 and 3Bdays to hat!h yor goslings. (f yo de!ide to let yor geese hat!h their o"neggs yo need to pll the goslings as soon as

they hat!h and brood them yorself. (F yodon5t remove them the hen "ill think she isdone and leave the nest after the ;rst onehat!hes.

Follo" the same brooding te!hni$es as yo"old for d!klings. n!e they are feathered at

arond / "eeks of age they !an be movedotside to a !overed gro" pen. The e#tragoslings !an be sold to pay the feed bill.

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That pretty m!h !overs everything "e raisehere at Stinnett Family Farms as far as poltryis !on!erned. (f yo have any $estions or!on!erns please feel free to share them "iths. Also' if there is a breed "e did not !overthat yo "old like information on please let skno" that as "ell and "e "ill try to add it to aftre edition of J?omesteading %oltry.K

Thank yo again for yor interest in the JGoCan ?omestead Series.K e vale ea!h andevery one of yo in the highest regards99

This e)ook' like the rest of the series' is a "ork

in progress. As "e rn a!ross ne" additionalinformation "e "ill pdate and revise theseries. As soon as an pdate is available "e"ill send it to yo as long as yo are on ormailing list. Shoot s an email attravstinnettOymail.!om and ( "ill add yo9

r yo !an visit s at""".stinnettfamilyfarms.!om and sign p onor home page. Go "ill also ;nd the entireJGo Can ?omesteadK series there.

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mailto:[email protected]://www.stinnettfamilyfarms.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.stinnettfamilyfarms.com/


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(f yo have something yo "old like to sharefor an p!oming revision please also email sat travstinnettOymail.!om and let s kno". e

"old love to featre yor homestead in anp!oming isse99
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

ych homestead poultry

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