• The chicks will arrive ___________ at the ___________.  You must be there at that time to pick up your birds.  If you are not there, the birds will be distributed among those who are.  There will be no exceptions.
• You should have your pen ready before the birds arrive.  You will need feed and feeder, water and waterer, at least 2 heat lamps, and plenty of pine shavings for bedding.  The size of the pen needs to be at least 1 square foot per bird, but no more than 1 1/2 square feet.  These chickens should never be outside.  The pen should be well ventilated.
• Feed needs to be hood quality.  (Acco broiler crumbies or Purina Meatbuilder is recommended)  You need to contact the feed store immediately to get this ordered.  Always keep feed on hand.  Never substitute your feed or let chickens run out of feed in the feeders!
• Water is the most important nutrient.  Fresh water at all times is very important.  There is no room for error when it comes to water for these chickens.
• The bedding is to be kept fresh and dry ALWAYS.  It needs to be about 6 inches deep at all times.
• Proper parasite control is also important.  You will need to get some wormer solution.  (Piperazine is recommended)  You should add this to the water once a week.  Refer to recommended dose on bottle.
• You should add vinegar and aspirin (cheap generic aspirin) to the water everyday.  The dosage for this would be 2oz of vinegar and 1 aspirin per gallon of water daily! (If you are using well water, it is recommended that you add 1 cap full of bleach to the water)
• Temperature needs to be comfortable for the chickens.  When they first arrive they have very little insulation.  They need to be kept warmer for the first 2 weeks than any other time. (90 degrees)  When they have all their feathers, you can drop the temperature to about 80 degrees.  When the weather is warm the chickens need plenty of ventilation, not draft, just ventilation.
• There are other feed additives that some may use.  Additives such as crushed Calf Manna, milk replacer, and corn oil.  Other water additives are Red Cell, Sulumet, and Terrimycin powder.  You do not necessarily have to use these, but some have had success with them.

If you follow these instructions and work hard you will find this project very rewarding in the end.  However, it is certain that if you do not take care of the chickens the best you can, you will be embarrassed in the end.  Everyone will be able to tell how responsible you are when we compare the birds.  This project will be fun if you have worked hard toward your goal.

NOTE:  This information should not be considered the ultimate authority to feeding broilers for the shows.  The information was provided by instructors who use the items listed above to help their students be successful with broiler chicken projects.  Kenny Leatherwood & Ted Arthur (Edmond Ag Ed), and Wes Newby (Cave Springs Ag Ed), have conducted Broiler show workshops the past two summers.  They have graciously said you can contact them if you have questions about feeding, equipment, care, and/or processing of broilers.  The can be e-mailed with questions.