Between the Flocks

Typically I grow about 7 #flocks a year with roughly 2 weeks in between flocks. That 2 weeks is spent cleaning up from the previous flock and preparing each #chickenhouse for the next flock. This video shows what goes on at the chicken houses between flocks to get the houses prepared for #babychickens.

[@natebell7054]

Great video! Thanks for taking the time to make it. It helps for non-farmers to see the work we do.

[@FarmerHunt]

Thank you and thanks for watching. I am a first generation farmer and for many years I did not have a clue what went into producing the chicken that I ate. Im hoping to provide some knowledge to those who are not involved in daily farming. I think it is important to know where your food is coming from.

[@ronniemurphy4652]

Thank you, this was really helpful

[@FarmerHunt]

Great! Thanks for watching.

[@tttuangsuante]

Thanks for the video

[@FarmerHunt]

Thanks!

[@tthaulek]

I love it Thank you

[@FarmerHunt]

Thanks for watching!

[@rabingiri9590]

Good job 👍👍👍👍

[@FarmerHunt]

Thanks

[@ilaijackmoceica8033]

Great learning. Interested to go into this farming venture with our local integrator.

[@FarmerHunt]

Best of luck!

[@J0J0S3]

Very interesting to see how growing birds is different from country to country 👍 Greetings from Germany

[@FarmerHunt]

Greetings! Thanks for watching. Would love to see sometime how birds are grown in other countries.

[@J0J0S3]

@@FarmerHunt when you would like to see a video of a bigger farm from our area search for „Teepker Handrup“ most barns look like his

[@FarmerHunt]

@@J0J0S3 Thanks! I will check it out!

[@donaldatkins2942]

awsome video

[@FarmerHunt]

Thanks for watching! We have some newer videos of rolling and unrolling litter. We are hoping to post a video about just getting the houses ready soon!

[@philipedwards8762]

Interesting. My grandparents had three chicken houses in NW Alabama in the 1950s and 60s.

[@FarmerHunt]

Thanks for watching. I bet things have changed a good bit in the poultry houses since then.

[@firefly9058]

Hey great content to your videos! I would like to see a series of day 1 to sale with a flock and work involved…

[@FarmerHunt]

Hey! Thanks for watching. We are going to try to do some more poultry videos. We are limited in what we can film inside the houses poultry houses though.

[@rjamesak]

Thanks for the video. I lived on a chicken farm in north Georgia when I was in high school. Watching your video brought back so many memories. I never saw how any other farms were run before. I'm amazed at how similar your process is to how we did things. We used to put molasses in with the feed when we were prepping for baby chicks. Is that still a thing?

[@FarmerHunt]

Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed the video. I have never heard of putting molasses in the feed. I guess people quit doing that. I’ll have to ask some of the farmers around here that have been raising chickens all their life. Bet they will know about it. I’m only on year 6 of raising chickens.

[@jeremykincer9946]

You forgot about the bug/rat guy! Lol (thats my job) great seeing all this! Keep up the good videos.

[@FarmerHunt]

😂😂 I apologize! I'll have to do another video sometime and make sure and include that part. Thank you!

[@jeremykincer9946]

@@FarmerHunt its all good, were usually forgotten about, which pilgrims complex do you grow for? I do the darkling beetle and rat bait for the Guntersville (AL) complex

[@FarmerHunt]

@@jeremykincer9946 Well we appreciate what you do! I live in Alabama but grow for the Carrollton complex.

[@cdjhyoung]

My background is raising hogs. When we cleaned a barn between batches of hogs, not only did we scrap the floors clean, but we also power washed the interior of the barn. I'm surprised to see that that the risk of carryover pathogens is not as much of a problem with chickens as it is with hogs.

[@FarmerHunt]

How long would y’all keep a batch of hogs? It doesn’t make financial sense to clean out all the litter after each flock. If you go in the houses and start spraying a bunch of water washing everything down all you’re doing is creating more problems. Our goal is to have the bedding as dry as possible when starting a new flock.

[@cdjhyoung]

@@FarmerHunt Hogs are so susceptible to disease you avoid letting one batch ever get in contact with any of the feces of the previous batch. Hogs are on the feeding floor for 4-5 months. I'm just surprised these chickens aren't nearly as at risk.

[@algriffin5623]

good job ,,,,felt jus like a state worker ,,sittin here watching som body else work ,,,,,

[@FarmerHunt]

Haha thank you for watching!

[@recto_verso99]

Nice video. I would like to know about height level of waterline from soil. how far each level point of those ruler. thx

[@johnnybennett2478]

I liked your video, looks like a lot of work I noticed you was the only one doing all of that work... Do you run your farm by yourself? Also do your ever post any videos of your cattle? One last question just were is your farm located at?

[@FarmerHunt]

Eric and I both own 4 poultry houses each. We work together for the most part, and we have another guy that helps us out also. We have several videos about our cattle. We will be posting more soon. We are located in East Alabama near I 20. Where are you located?

[@petrosgkoutsoulas305]

So much love for your job you just won an new sub. If i may ask what is the cost in your area for building an farm ready to host about 30000 broilers?

[@FarmerHunt]

Awesome! Thank you! On average around here it’s about 250k to build a 40’x500’ chicken house, not including any grading. That will house about 30,000 chickens (at least for the size I grow). If you raise a bigger chicken you would need a bigger house.

[@petrosgkoutsoulas305]

Thank you very much for your quick response sir. Much appreciated.have a good day

[@amisikasangaki5722]

Nice work.. interested

[@FarmerHunt]

Thank you! Been in it almost 6 years. Still learning but enjoying it.

[@Kilgore0237]

Do you got a link for your air compressor nozzle end for the brooders?

[@garybryant9360]

Great video do you refill the trays that are setting out from the feedline or remove when empty

[@FarmerHunt]

I’ve tried several different things. I’ve swapped trays out before, I’ve fed them with a buggy but here lately I’ve started taking them up about day 3-4 as they get empty and it seems to be working out pretty good I think.

[@011bawi]

What kind of blower are you using??

[@nathanthomas5905]

This is Sylas

[@anthonymoser46]

You grow chicken I haul them kinda cool seeing the other side

[@FarmerHunt]

Thanks for what you do!

[@richardlay1492]

I like your video good to see how you do think think about buy a farm with 14 barns what you think about that a good buy are start small I see people with 2 barn have hard time getting the money to pay for upgrade

[@FarmerHunt]

14 would be a lot to start out with, especially if raising chickens is new to you. You would definitely need some good help either way. I think 6-8 houses would be a good starting point. Maybe find a farm that has potential for more houses down the road.

[@richardlay1492]

@@FarmerHunt thanks

[@iketutm4612]

Thanks for this video. I would like to ask for something that the litter. It is recycle litter, isn't it?

[@FarmerHunt]

Yes, it is

[@godwilllawncarellc9490]

Twin lines feed is the best way to raise chickens

[@cvjeevan]

what's the drawback with 3 feed lines for 40 feet width house?

[@IsraelitewomanofJudah]

How many acres are sufficient for the number of houses you have? How big are each houses? What breed? What's the annual income just for the chicken houses?

[@FarmerHunt]

I don't know all the setback requirements and all that but you'd probably want at least 8-10 acres or more. Each house is 40'x500' and there are 4 of them plus a dry stack/compost barn and a control building in the middle of the houses. The breed changes from time to time. I believe right now the breed is Cobb/Cobb. The income is going to vary depending on your location, integrator and what size bird you grow

[@pinacle1111]

You said 7 flocks a year, thats amazing...what is the average live weight you get per batch?

[@FarmerHunt]

Our target weight is about 3.80 lbs. Sometimes we will hit 4 lbs or so on a real good flock

[@tonystoner9208]

Hey Ben...great videos.Was wondering about windrowing.We've been in it for 30+yrs. and have only crusted floors(grow for Pilgrims in KY.)Do you run cruster thru the windrows or level rows out first?Thx

[@FarmerHunt]

We’ve done it a couple different ways. We started out windrowing right after the birds were caught and then crusting after it was leveled back out. We have switched it up a little and now we crust our litter first and then windrow. From what we have learned is if you have the crust in the windrow it leaves air pockets and the litter may not heat as well. By crusting first, you eliminate those air pockets on the windrows and it heats the piles better

[@tonystoner9208]

@@FarmerHunt Ok...so i've heard from some growers say when windrowing they see the beetles go to the top of the rows therefore not killing the beetles.thoughts and thanks for responding.

[@FarmerHunt]

Anytime I work with my litter or move it around the beetles seem to be more visible but then they start to work their way back down in the litter. I don't really know if I can say one way or another for sure, but to me I think I have a lot less beetles after rolling my litter for the last 4 or 5 flocks in a row.

[@boomer1049]

Who do you grow for and what State are you?

[@angeliaclark5033]

How do you keep your rotem that clean in your houses ? Ours is in the control room

[@FarmerHunt]

They get dusty or a little dirty from time to time but I always blow them off when I blow off my brooders.

[@angeliaclark5033]

At what point do you regulate your water lines and level water lines

[@FarmerHunt]

That’s typically the last thing I do before I light my heat. Sometimes I go back through around day 7-10 and redo some if they seem low. Sometimes the litter seems to settle and they may get uneven at places.

[@mohammadmtd_kia9040]

Hello, the size of the ruler you used to adjust the drinking height is available

[@FarmerHunt]

It was purchased through Lubin. I have looked online but have not been able to find it

[@rajikourajikou985]

🇳🇪👍

[@theyinkler1866]

Why didn’t you wash the water lines

[@FarmerHunt]

We don’t wash them every flock

[@dwightharber4873]

Ben do you still enjoy eating chicken? I know several years ago I butchered around 80 roosters after that I didn't eat chicken for a long time. I'm sure enjoying your videos bud

[@FarmerHunt]

I still love it!! I don't handle any of the processing though. If I did that it may be different. My wife works at the plant where the birds are processed, and she doesn't eat a lot of chicken.

[@jaidreedex]

Hi Ben! Your litter are so dry and fine. How do you keep your litter so dry and do you only cake between flocks Or pulverize also?

[@FarmerHunt]

I cake after every flock. Usually end up going over everything twice to get out as much cake as I can. I don’t do much pulverizing. Sometimes I’ll run it near the walls or corners but that’s about it. I roll my litter about 3-4 times a year. I usually remove the cake first and then roll. In the last several months I’ve started running a fan or two between flocks to keep air moving in my houses, especially if I am having to close up some doors for whatever reason. I like to keep air moving in my houses as much as possible.

[@godwilllawncarellc9490]

To keep the floors dry is very important control the water pressure and raise the water lines every 2 days according how the chicks grow

[@godwilllawncarellc9490]

And run a good ventilation

[@haroldcollins1829]

Last 7 days any advice. To keep them heavy. Im pullin 2 tunnel fans on min vent. Side walls comes on after that.

[@FarmerHunt]

It’s hard to say. I always focus on bird comfort that last week. When I pick up my birds each day I don’t go to full bright lights. Maximize air if you can without chilling birds. If you start seeing a decrease in birds eating or drinking then come back off that air flow. Not sure where you are located but it’s warmer than usual here today so I’m trying to take advantage of it and run lots of air. Good luck!!

[@haroldcollins1829]

I grow for mountaire. We do 8 to 9 week old birds. Live in raeford N.C. My birds are 53 days old right now and thats exactly what im doing. I just want to know would you pull 1 way or front and back. On min vent

[@haroldcollins1829]

Temp here is like 30's to 60 almost on a daily basis right now. Im running target either way i run it with 240/60. Just the front and back fans i have some sensor's 2 to 3 degrees higher. Than with pulling all 1 way

[@FarmerHunt]

Sounds similar to the weather here. I grow about a 4 lb bird so much shorter time frame. I'm mostly running 2 48" fans right now on about a 220/80 up to about a 190/110 during the day if its nice out and the sun is shinning. My birds are a little over 2 weeks old. For the most part I pull all my air one direction after my birds get about 2-3 weeks old. Occasionally if it's really cold I may change that up and pull both directions. Not saying that is the correct way but that's what I have found works for me. I'd say if you have a system that is working then go with that. When I started growing I always tried to take what others were doing and replicate it at my farm. I finally figured out that you just kinda have to figure out what works in your own houses because most houses ventilate differently.

[@charlesrichardsoniii7512]

How much time does it take to clean inbetween each flock?

[@FarmerHunt]

Ideally you need at least 2 weeks. Half of that is spent cleaning up from the previous flock and then the other half is spent getting the houses ready for more baby chickens.

[@jesseadams2232]

Where did you get your water line measuring stick?

[@FarmerHunt]

I got that through Lubin when I purchased some waterlines. It is very handy when leveling lines.

[@jesseadams2232]

@@FarmerHunt thanks and thanks for the videos

[@jsnkrs5828]

As a first generation farmer where did you get started at?! Did you go to school on how to take care of chickens and learn the general knowledge or did you use other resources and take the risk to get started?!

[@FarmerHunt]

I got a bachelor of science in agriculture degree from UGA. At that time I really had no plans of getting in the chicken business or even knew much about it. I moved to Alabama and lived with Eric and he introduced me to chicken houses. I worked with him some and eventually ended up buying my own chicken houses.

[@pierredembele9439]

Hello brocher, this is Pierre from Mali. Am new to the field and would like to know the size of your house please, W width, length and height

[@FarmerHunt]

Thanks for watching. My houses are 40' wide and 500' long. I dont know the exact height, but I will see if I can get a measurement on them. I would guess about 18-20' tall maybe.

[@biakpar7907]

Hi how did you remove the dead birds? We have poultry farm too and whenever the birds get big, it’s really tough to pick the dead birds to carry with the busket so is there anyway easier to pickup?

[@FarmerHunt]

We always just use a 5 gallon bucket. Our birds are only 5 weeks old when we sell them though so they aren’t real big. If we grew a bigger bird we would probably have to do something a little different.

[@biakpar7907]

@@FarmerHunt when they’re big and a lot of dead it’s really difficult to carry on with butket

[@FarmerHunt]

Oh yes, luckily with the smaller birds we don't have to deal with that as much. I've heard of some people pulling buggies down the middle of the house for dead birds.

[@memorios3381]

Just leave them on the doors so u don’t have to carry around and pick up with the tractor after picking the birds up just drive the tractor to the doors that how I do I got 60 days 9 pound birds and after day 42 they start getting big and some flocks they start dying the flip over u know

[@kailashlimbu2695]

@@memorios3381 you can use while barrow to collect mortality.

[@jimmystrain883]

Do you raise for Koch or Pilgrims

[@FarmerHunt]

We grow for Pilgrims

[@justKatful]

How often do you clean and wash your houses properly? In my opinion it should be risky to put new chicks into the dirty houses because of the disease

[@FarmerHunt]

Our primary defense against disease is our biosecurity program. Diseases have to be introduced to a flock in some way. By limiting outside contact with the birds, we prevent a lot of disease risk. Disinfectant foot baths, proper clothing, boot covers etc. help minimize risk. Typically, we end each flock disease free. There are some instances where farms may get different diseases, but it's not as common as you'd think. If you finish a flock disease free, then it is a lot easier to prepare for the next flock. There are some cases, however, that require extensive cleaning and disinfecting before another flock. Several times a year we will windrow our chicken litter. This basically piles the litter and causes it to go through a heat cycle that kills a lot of unwanted pathogens in the litter. This is another way we help reduce the risk. We also do a 48 hour preheat prior to bringing in a new flock of baby chickens. Preheating the houses at 92-94 degrees helps eliminate potential pathogens as well.

[@SEEAFRIKA]

Respect , This video has helped me with some tricks on how to run a large chicken farm. Thanks for sharing #fixafrik

[@FarmerHunt]

@@SEEAFRIKA Great! Thanks for watching!

[@miklopajo9784]

how many chicken heads per house?

[@FarmerHunt]

There are 30,000 in each house

[@baovu1936]

Thanks for the great video. I’m in the process of deciding between buy a broiler farm vs a breeder. Do you think I could visit your farm or give you a call to pick your brain? It would help me out a great deal to hear from an experienced farmer like yourself.

[@FarmerHunt]

I’ll be glad to share anything I know on the broiler side. I’m not real familiar with the breeder side. Unfortunately due to bio security I can’t have any visitors at my farm. Things have really tightened up, especially with the bird flu circulating around again. We can work something out to talk sometime if you’d like though.

[@chriswashington5440]

Do not you be indentured servant My dad done contract growing 55 years You a slave Growed up on north Georgia chicken farm

[@mikecox9214]

Is that 7 flocks for all 4 houses?

[@FarmerHunt]

That's correct. We raise on average 7 flocks each year with about 30,000 birds in each house. 120,000 birds/flock so about 840,000 birds each year.

[@CWhite-zd3on]

Hey Ben. I got a question. What notch do you have your Cumberland feeders in? Are they wide open? I grow for Tyson in NC.

[@FarmerHunt]

I keep mine wide open. I let them flood for 12-13 days and then close them up. What do you do?

[@CWhite-zd3on]

Well we’ve tried different things. Right now ours are in the third notch down. We are center brood and turn out around 10 days. We’ll start raising feeders after we turn out. It just seems like we can’t get a good feed conversion no matter where they’re at. We’re trying something new with our water filtering system starting this flock. Maybe that will help. I really like the way you do things with your chickens and cattle. Looks like you like to do things right. Keep up the good work.

[@FarmerHunt]

What are you using to feed baby chickens with other than the Cumberland feeders? We just swapped to the Turbo Grow 2 feeders, and I think they have helped us. I went through a phase for a while where I couldn't mess up my birds and then I got in a phase where I couldn't do anything right. Finally have been getting back on the good side of the settlement the last few flocks. Maybe the water filtering system will help you out. What size bird do you grow? Thanks! We are learning as we go, but we try to do things right (at least what we think is right I guess). Thanks for watching!

[@CWhite-zd3on]

Well we’ve got the the turn down chickmates of course and I notice you use the plastic trays on the side. We’ve always used the paper throw away trays on the side and under the chickmates. We grow about a 6.5lb bird. We have 8 houses and have been growing for about 10 years. Btw, I like those Rotem controllers you got. We have hired the Evolution 4000 by hired hand. I heard yours is the Cadillac of controllers. Lol. I liked the Yon bulls on one ur past videos. They looked nice. We had a Full Force son a couple years ago. He threw some great calves. He just an attitude problem so we’ve switched to a Niagra son.

[@FarmerHunt]

@@CWhite-zd3on We used those chickmates for a long time. They worked good, but I felt like we wasted too much feed with them. I may have been leaving my trays down too long. I don't know how necessary the extra trays are. I am probably putting out more than whats necessary for my baby chickens. I've started doing a little better lately though so I don't want to change anything just yet. I really like the Rotem controllers. I had the old PNT before those so it was quite an upgrade. My favorite thing about them is the communicator and being able to login on my phone. Hopefully those Yon bulls will produce some quality calves. It's our first time buying from them. I have heard of the Full Force bull but never used any of those genetics. I'll take a look at the Niagra. You pleased with him so far?

[@simonkaden3238]

why brood on reused litter,why not fresh shavings every batch

[@FarmerHunt]

We raise about 6-7 flocks each year. The shavings to clean out cost around $5,000-$6000. Just not possible financially

[@simonkaden3238]

@@FarmerHunt yeah its hard honestly wish we could do that a couple times a year.Here in Australia we would get shut down if we did that and yeah its expensive,i totally understand.

[@FarmerHunt]

So do y’all do a full clean out after every flock?

[@simonkaden3238]

@@FarmerHunt we do a full clean out twice a year but the brood must be refreshed after every batch and a complete wash down and sanitsed after each batch is over as well

[@Peterhgf3214]

Hello i am a chicken farmer from norway. How much do you Get paid for each pound of chicken meat?

[@FarmerHunt]

Our base is .067 cents/lb. What about you?

[@Peterhgf3214]

@@FarmerHunt the base is 1,12 dollars for one lb of meat. But now the prices of gas and food for the chicken are going thru the roof

[@2217909]

Hi i have a question about the sizes of the chicken hanger the length and width

[@FarmerHunt]

These houses are 40' wide and 500' long

[@2217909]

@@FarmerHunt I take it as 40 meters wide and 500 meters long I’m planning to open chicken farm so looking to gaining some knowledge

[@FarmerHunt]

@@2217909 These measurements are in feet, not meters. The new mega houses that most people build now are 66 feet by 600 feet. Good luck!

[@2217909]

@@FarmerHunt thank you

[@XFPoultryEquipment]

Hello my friend, do you need chicken cages or other poultry equipments? We sell these directly from the factory.

[@RaulDesamparado]

I hope someday sir i work your farm. I have a work expirience of poultry farm sir in philippines.

[@FarmerHunt]

Awesome! Thanks for watching. Are poultry farms in the Philippines similar to the USA?

[@RaulDesamparado]

@@FarmerHunt yes sir. And im willing to enhance my knowledge and skill in poultry farm like yours sir.

[@RaulDesamparado]

@@FarmerHunt im also a farm boy sir since birth.

[@xyooj96]

is sand suitable as a bedding?

[@FarmerHunt]

Seems like it would be very expensive to cover an entire house in sand. I would also think it would hold a lot of moisture which would probably allow bacteria a place to grow.

[@xyooj96]

@@FarmerHunt isn't sand inert and nothing for bacteria to grow? sand would dry quicker and not hold moisture as wood chips, saw dust, straws, or some poultry bedding?

[@FarmerHunt]

@@xyooj96 It may be. I’m not as familiar with sand. I’ll have to read into that some and see.

[@prodigalson2670]

Dude you are playing on easy mode there, in EU you'd be shut down immediately, you need to have a concrete floor everything needs to be cleaned, covered with detergent foam then pressure washed and then disinfected, control comes and takes wipes from everything to see if it has any traces of former flook or disease. Also, new shavings have to be put in, this would be a crime here. No wonder USA chicken is so cheap. I mean it is not up to you as you probably have thin margins I just saying you do it vastly different.

[@FarmerHunt]

Yeah that’s a lot different than here. I sure wish I had concrete floors. How long do y’all typically have between flocks?

[@patrickgreenan7286]

@@FarmerHunt at the minute I had 11 days between flocks. Next flock it will be 5 days.

[@Hunter-xr4rn]

I want speak with you some minutes. Do you mind?

[@FarmerHunt]

I'll be happy to answer any questions I can

[@Hunter-xr4rn]

Can I get your whats app number?

[@operatorbetoniarki4115]

I do not know what your law is, but it looks poor under European standards..

[@FarmerHunt]

What are you referring to?

[@operatorbetoniarki4115]

I mean the preparation of the chicken coop. it looks different with us, not meeting the standards that are very strict, we get heavy fines. Google translator sry chicken bro :)

[@FarmerHunt]

There are different procedures here depending on the size bird grown. We grow 7 flocks a year and that is our typical procedure with some exceptions here and there.

[@notmissingout9369]

@@FarmerHunt hello in Europe poultry houses the litter is removed the sheds are washed out and then they are disinfected before new bedding is put down and then they are what we call fogged out and swaps are taken to see if the sheds are clean enough and germ free its a big operation