Right before the new white pheasant chicks hatch we need to get busy preparing for their arrival. The day they hatch, they are brought to the hen barn; therefore we set up the barn in advance by doing the following steps:
- Lay down a thin piece of paper in the front of the cage that is about 4 inches deep and long enough to cover the front of the cage. This keeps the feed from dropping onto the manure belt.
- Lay down the 3-ply chick paper, which covers the whole cage, even the small piece that was previously laid down. The chicks' feet are so small that they will fall through the wire so the paper keeps the chicks safe.
- Fill the feed line with food.
- Open the feed line just enough for the feed to begin coming through.
- Push feed into the cage so the chicks can see where the feed is coming from.
- Adjust water lines so that they are all the way down, so the chicks can reach to drink.
- Test each water nipple to make sure the line is not clogged. This is done by tapping on the nipple to see if water is coming through.
- Make sure the rope lights are on to provide chicks with extra light.
After the chicks arrive, we make sure the heat is set around 100 degrees. We check on the chicks throughout the day to see if we need to increase or decrease the heat. Later in the evening a staff members does a 'night check' on the birds to make sure they are continuing to do well.
We also make sure the alarm system settings are where they should be, in case the heater fails. If the temperature gets too low in the barn, the alarm will sound and one of the staff members will respond to the alarm to make sure everything is ok and fix anything that needs fixing.
We hope you will contact Trudy at [email protected] to ask questions about preparing for new chicks, or even better schedule a pheasant farm tour.
We look forward to seeing you soon. Spring will be here before you know it!