Growing
Our farm currently has the largest growing facilities on the island of Grenada with a maximum capacity of 75,000 chicks. It is in these coops where the chickens will grow from baby chicks into fully grown chickens, ready for the market.
Although our coops are large, our staff will section off a portion of it for the new chicks. Less than 48 hours old, the young hatchlings must be kept warm and heat lamps placed close to the ground will be used to keep them comfortable. Once the chicks arrive, the crates are gently tipped over, below knee height, and the chicks quickly begin exploring their new surroundings while learning where the feed and nipple drinkers are located. Temperatures are checked several times a day during these delicate first two weeks to make sure these little birds are getting the heat they need to be comfortable and thrive. Temperatures are gradually brought down because these chickens, once fully feathered, are able to regulate their body heat better than they could as chicks.
Fun facts: Though chickens can roam through the barn as they please, they do like to stay near each other because they are social animals. That’s where the saying “Birds of a feather flock together” comes from.
Even though the chickens are older and stronger, our staff will continue to walk through the barn several times a day to examine the birds’ health, check water and feed lines, and ensure the automated, computerized equipment is functioning properly.
On our farm, the chickens are ready to be marketed as broilers at about 35 to 36 days of age when they weigh around 2 kilograms.
Our chickens are raised indoors to protect the birds from predators like mongooses, hawks, and snakes and reduces the chances of the birds being exposed to diseases. Protecting birds from pathogens is the practice of biosecurity. We take the health of our birds very seriously and we have a zero (0) tolerance approach for violators of our strict bio-security measures. Other measures taken by our staff include changing into clean coveralls and boots before going into the barn so any pathogens from outside are not brought inside, and accidentally passed on to the chickens.
