Help with FFA Broilers...?

[Laurenc]

Hey there!
I am new here and I have already introduced myself in another post but I thought I would try to be more specific on what I need help with. I will be raising a total of 26 chicks in 6 weeks for my school districts FFA show. Eventually I will narrow them down to the 3 broilers with back ups but if I'm being honest I have no idea what I'm doing. I will be having help from my ag teacher but ofc I will mainly be responsible. It will be my first time raising chickens. I have helped my friends with their projects but evidently I just have no idea where to start lol. I am hoping for around 10 lb birds in 6 weeks or possibly even more if I can achieve that. I am looking for advice on what feed I should use or what would be best for them. What supplements should I use or bedding? Electrolytes? I live in the South Houston, TX area and I will be getting my birds around December. I will be using heat lamps, probably 2 since it will be colder. Multiple people have recommended that I should keep my broilers moving at all times i.e. rabbits, or music. Not completely sure if they would be comfortable with a rabbit but maybe it'll work? If any of yall have any suggestions or advice I am more than willing to accept it. Thank yall!

 

[Acre4Me]

So, this is a next school year project? Dec 2023?

First. Pick up your chicks day of hatch -don’t get them mailed bc the delay can impact their growth. Meat chickens are meant to eat and produce muscle. Buy Cornish cross, not rangers.

Feed. For certain feed meat bird feed. Only feed, no treats. Some people believe in using turkey starter for first couple of weeks bc higher protein, but a meat bird feed of around 22% protein is fine. I went to a poultry learning day a few years and they discussed meat birds. I recall that they did not recommend reducing level of protein during growth bc it signals to the body to slow down muscle growth, which you don’t want. We only use 22% meat bird start to finish and get some big Cornish cross by 7 weeks.

Gender: males grow bigger than females. The females are meaty, but clearly the males put on more muscle. This is why sexed male Cornish cross are more expensive.

Water- they drink a lot. Make sure they have access to fresh water always.

Poop management: they poop a lot, a bit wetter than regular chickens. Be ready to manage this aspect in their confined space. Scoop, replace shavings, etc. the smaller the space, the more you need to manage. But they don’t need huge space. We raise 18-20 in a 11’x6’ space and they have plenty of room to move, eat, drink, rest.

Shade: these birds can overheat easily. Shade, shade, shade. Cool water. Breeze or fan can be ok, but shade and cool water are first.

Electrolytes: any time you offer water with additives, you always offer plain water too. When offering electrolyte water, it is not needed every day. You may want to offer it once every 5-7 days, but maybe only when they are older (over 4 weeks) and getting larger. We never offer it, and you’ll be raising them during cooler weather, so not sure it’s needed. Also, must be dumped/thrown away and water container cleaned after 24 hour max bc bad bacteria will grow.

As they gain weight, they can have a hard time righting themselves if they fall over. We had a batch that several died the last week bc they would step into a paver (maybe only 1 foot on, one foot off), and they would fall over, onto their back, not be able to get turned over, then suffocate. We saw it happen with one and were surprised at how quickly they expired! We removed the pavers, and make sure the ground is even for all batches now.

Keep moving: placing food and water a distance apart makes them walk. Bunnies-I think they would ignore them eventually. Can’t see how rabbits would help.

Good luck!

 

[Laurenc]

So, this is a next school year project? Dec 2023?

First. Pick up your chicks day of hatch -don’t get them mailed bc the delay can impact their growth. Meat chickens are meant to eat and produce muscle. Buy Cornish cross, not rangers.

Feed. For certain feed meat bird feed. Only feed, no treats. Some people believe in using turkey starter for first couple of weeks bc higher protein, but a meat bird feed of around 22% protein is fine. I went to a poultry learning day a few years and they discussed meat birds. I recall that they did not recommend reducing level of protein during growth bc it signals to the body to slow down muscle growth, which you don’t want. We only use 22% meat bird start to finish and get some big Cornish cross by 7 weeks.

Gender: males grow bigger than females. The females are meaty, but clearly the males put on more muscle. This is why sexed male Cornish cross are more expensive.

Water- they drink a lot. Make sure they have access to fresh water always.

Poop management: they poop a lot, a bit wetter than regular chickens. Be ready to manage this aspect in their confined space. Scoop, replace shavings, etc. the smaller the space, the more you need to manage. But they don’t need huge space. We raise 18-20 in a 11’x6’ space and they have plenty of room to move, eat, drink, rest.

Shade: these birds can overheat easily. Shade, shade, shade. Cool water. Breeze or fan can be ok, but shade and cool water are first.

Electrolytes: any time you offer water with additives, you always offer plain water too. When offering electrolyte water, it is not needed every day. You may want to offer it once every 5-7 days, but maybe only when they are older (over 4 weeks) and getting larger. We never offer it, and you’ll be raising them during cooler weather, so not sure it’s needed. Also, must be dumped/thrown away and water container cleaned after 24 hour max bc bad bacteria will grow.

As they gain weight, they can have a hard time righting themselves if they fall over. We had a batch that several died the last week bc they would step into a paver (maybe only 1 foot on, one foot off), and they would fall over, onto their back, not be able to get turned over, then suffocate. We saw it happen with one and were surprised at how quickly they expired! We removed the pavers, and make sure the ground is even for all batches now.

Keep moving: placing food and water a distance apart makes them walk. Bunnies-I think they would ignore them eventually. Can’t see how rabbits would help.

Good lu

Oh my! Thank you so much this'll help a lot. Also,
Do you have any supplement suggestions or handling?
I've heard different stuff and I'm not sure what would benefit me the most.

 

[Acre4Me]

Supplements: we always give all chicks a drop or two of Nutri Drench poultry vitamin (liquid, available at places like Tractor Supply) when we bring them home. We set the box down, lay out a puppy pee pad (good traction, absorbent) and have a small container of water. We have a small amount of ND in a bowl, dip in a toothpick and place on side of beak, should run into beak, or they will see the dark drop and peck at it. Once they’ve gotten some ND, we make them drink some water. Gently hold with hand, using pointer finger dip their head into water, release pointer finger, so they can raise head and swallow the water. They should begin to drink on their own. Have some crumble, scatter it, they will begin to peck and eat. You can watch them eat and drink and walk, which helps you determine if there are any problems, or who might be struggling in one way of another.

Place them in their brooder. We use pee pads for 1-2 days so they are easier to observe. But, if you are putting them in a pen, you may choose smooth dirt instead. They won’t eat shavings thinking they are food, but you can add shavings around day 3-4 if you are planning to use shavings. We often make a smaller temporary pen inside the larger pen for chicks so they can’t stray too far from the others or get too chilled. Depending on the batch and other factors , we remove the temp pen in a week or three. Heat lamp -watch behavior bc they need to be able to move from a hot/warm to a cooler location within the brooder/pen. A heat plate can be good too (adjusted so they can press their backs to the plate).

Other supplements: I’m not familiar with any other ones that would benefit short-lived CornishX meat birds.

7/8 weeks from hatch to processing. Focus on feed, water. Have at least two locations for each. Your goal is to learn for your class and show. You likely need matched sets of birds for whatever categories or weight class. You may want to invest in (or borrow) a reliable scale so you can track weight gain. Handle the birds and around 3+ weeks, get used to evaluating their breast muscle as that is likely a key evaluation aspect in judging. Prevent them from bruising bc this is a defect in judging, and obvious when processed. So, gentle handling is important, as would be keeping predators (or scary things) away so they don’t injure themselves. These are not free range birds.