Letting my broody raise 20 meaties. Now I have a rooster raising 50 CX chicks~new batch! - Page 38

No...it's 164 ft.  But...a warning.  I got the wrong kind and the holes are too large to contain these CX until they are too big to even need containment!  Make sure you get the fence for poultry(mine is for sheep) and even then the holes will be large enough to let younger birds through.

The only thing I can say about my fence is that it can help the dog if we get a few stray dogs bent on a chicken riot...some of the birds can run into the fence holes and escape the marauding and some of the birds won't go through the fence because they don't like the shock, so they are safely inside already

This fence also guards two sides of my coop at night and this give my old dog a helping hand...wouldn't want a fox or coon to sneak down when he sleeps and get some CX supper.  It's a miracle from God that I have not lost any yet to preds and they are coming up to 6 wks...I'm in the middle of a forest filled with all kinds of predators and not a one is missing....YET.  They range far out of the dog's boundaries and they range clear up until I can barely see outside.a perfect hunter"s hours and opportunities. 

Some of mine don't care about the shock and will risk it to go free range in the wild green yonder.  Half of the flock stays in, half do not, so the fence~for me~isn't as effective as I had hoped.  But you know what?  I'm kind of glad it isn't because these CX can forage so effectively that they can remove ever bug and worm inside that paddock in short order and I would be moving it so frequently that it would make my head spin.

Having the fence is far preferable to NOT having it, in my mind, because the birds can experience a life beyond a pen, can hunt and eat REAL protein that is easily found and easily digested by birds.  I am saving so much money that it ain't funny.  

I was going to start penning them to the coop and fence as much as possible this week to try and get them to eat more of the ration I provide but then I did some thinking..."What is my hurry?  Why not let these birds find their own supplemental feeds that are better than any I could provide, let them grow at their own pace, let them stay active for as long as they can before they get too big and THEN process them?" 

Older birds have more flavor anyway and near the end they are less active, so those tight muscles made during free ranging will soon go lax and the meat will be both tender AND have more flavor than the typical CX birds.  It's a win/win!     

Could you take pics of the procedure and post them here?  I've always been interested, though not enough to actually do it.  It just seems really drastic and invasive and I wonder how you do it without introducing infection.  Pics of the procedure would sure help me understand better.... 

I'll meander over there!  Should make for interesting reading and I'm always up for learning new and out of the ordinary things.  I know caponizing has been going on since who shot Earl but I never really took any notice of it before. 

I didn't get a pic this week of the CX 6th wk birthday on Thurs but will try to get some good pics or video of them tomorrow if it isn't raining too hard.  I've noticed that, right on schedule, these CX are gaining more weight and getting that meatball shape that is so typical of this breed.  They are much heavier than they were last week but I'm not going to weigh them...it was enough to pick up a few and feel the difference in their bodies. 

I find it funny that no matter what you feed these birds~be it high pro or free range and low pro~ they all wind up about the same weight at around 8-9 wks.  It's like they are programmed to balloon at that time, no matter what.  They are still very healthy and tolerating the heat very well, still foraging all day except they just aren't as quick on their feet nor are they as frantically searching for the food.

For the first time since they've been here, they actually followed me to the coop for supper and were waiting to be fed...usually I can feed them and only a few are hanging around to get first dibs and the rest finally find food there when they come in from foraging.  I think their recent weight gains have toned down their foraging abilities and they may be feeling hungrier...or else they have picked this place so clean of available bugs and worms that there is nothing left! 

Will post a video of them at 6 wks when I get it uploaded to YT.  Today I put more shavings in the coop and I expect it will be the last I place there.  I also made them a "chicken hammock" on which to sleep at night. 

I just set up some double layer, sturdy plastic mesh and old tomato stakes into a hammock style roost and placed it between two upturned 5 gal. buckets about 6 ft. apart.  I put one of them up on it and she immediately settled down on it and even sang me a little song and let me pet her.  I used the mesh so that air could flow under these birds on these hot nights and the poop would fall through also.  I'll go up later to see if they are actually utilizing it. They are..took a pic or two! 

These birds are spoiled rotten, from where I'm standing~they have an open air coop in a shady spot, they get to be all the chicken they want to be, they have clean water at all times(gotta love those poultry nipples!), fermented feeds that slide down easy, they aren't bothered by flies and they have the best forage ever, not to mention they have any number of shady spots or sunny spots in which to fluff, dust bathe, etc.   Now they have nice, broad roosts, one of which is a hammock!  They have dry pine bedding at their feet.  They have no stress whatsoever....what a great life! 

Time for the weekly pic of the CX progress~7 wks of age.

By the looks of this pic, you would think this is the only place to get water but there are several watering holes/waterers...they just like to do it all at once when they drink and this is their favorite.  I think they like it so much because it was the first waterer they ever had when they were chicks. 

See?  These CX don't have to be dirty, messy birds....mine are always preening and they are mostly clean and white, barring a rainy day. 

They are really eating the clover lately...can't get enough of it! 

And my dog..patiently awaiting processing day.

Well...finally took down my unused poultry/sheep netting and placed it where I hope it will get some use...around the garden.  These darn CX are tearing my garden to bits...now is the time when I wish everyone was right about them being too lazy to forage!  For some reason they think I am the food lady and wherever I am scratching in the dirt must be plenty of worms...so they come and help me scratch up the plant or seed that I just planted...such helpful and industrious flock mates, they are. 

The fence wasn't anymore successful keeping them out than it was keeping them in...saw one inside it today.    

THREE more weeks, three more weeks, three more weeks!!!!!!!!!!!  That's my mantra now....can't wait to get rid of my garden destroying meatballs. 

Nah...just kiddin'.  I'll be sorry to see them go.  They are sweet and funny, though incredibly destructive.  They almost killed our new rhubarb sets from all the scratching up of the mulch around them and I finally had to place wire on the ground over the mulch so they couldn't scratch any longer.  It worked.  Now how to place wire on the ground for a 1,950 sq. ft. garden.....?