Looking into getting meat birds

[woodenfarm]

This will be our first time if we get meat birds

I am just looking into meat birds
Pros and cons about it

 

[Ridgerunner]

Pros and cons compared to what? What kind of meat birds are you considering Cornish X, Rangers or similar, or dual purpose? How do you plan to feed them, buy everything they eat pr pasture them for a significant portion of their feed? I could do a lot of typing that might or might not mean anything to you. Can you narrow it down a bit for me? What are you thinking of doing?

 

[woodenfarm]

Pros and cons compared to what? What kind of meat birds are you considering Cornish X, Rangers or similar, or dual purpose? How do you plan to feed them, buy everything they eat pr pasture them for a significant portion of their feed? I could do a lot of typing that might or might not mean anything to you. Can you narrow it down a bit for me? What are you thinking of doing?

I guess more
Can you keep meat birds in with egg laying ones for eggs purposes

Do you need to have someone clean the bird or do it yourself.

Does it really pay off having meat birds vs just buying meat in the store

 

[Ridgerunner]

That helps, thanks.

Can you keep meat birds in with egg laying ones for eggs purposes

Are you talking about Cornish X, Rangers, or dual purpose? Cornish X grow so fast, are usually butchered at such a young age, and generally eat, poop, poop, eat, eat, drink, poop and such that most people find it best to separate them. Rangers are a little slower to develop and are more active so they are better, but still it's often best to keep them separated. Once they are out of the brooder though they can be integrated and mixed with your others if you mainly pasture them. Dual purpose can be raised like normal chickens but some people feed them a special high protein feed. If you do that you'd probably want to separate them.

Do you need to have someone clean the bird or do it yourself.

I process my own. Some people pay to have them processed. As long as it is for your consumption it is your choice. If you plan to sell them your health department or state may have regulations about that.

Does it really pay off having meat birds vs just buying meat in the store

No it generally does not. It is highly unlikely you can buy chicks, provide facilities, and buy feed as efficiently as the commercial operations and their mass production. That does not include your time. If money is the only concern you are almost certainly going to be better off buying the meat at the grocery. Those of us that raise their own meat generally do it for other reasons. One exception to this is if you use dual purpose chickens where broody hens hatch and raise the chicks and depend on forage for all they eat. This is the model your great grandfather probably used to raise chickens on the farm but in Tennessee you'll have to supplement their feed in winter. He probably did that with corn he raised and the chickens got scraps from the horses and cattle.

 

[woodenfarm]

That helps, thanks.

Can you keep meat birds in with egg laying ones for eggs purposes

Are you talking about Cornish X, Rangers, or dual purpose? Cornish X grow so fast, are usually butchered at such a young age, and generally eat, poop, poop, eat, eat, drink, poop and such that most people find it best to separate them. Rangers are a little slower to develop and are more active so they are better, but still it's often best to keep them separated. Once they are out of the brooder though they can be integrated and mixed with your others if you mainly pasture them. Dual purpose can be raised like normal chickens but some people feed them a special high protein feed. If you do that you'd probably want to separate them.

Do you need to have someone clean the bird or do it yourself.

I process my own. Some people pay to have them processed. As long as it is for your consumption it is your choice. If you plan to sell them your health department or state may have regulations about that.

Does it really pay off having meat birds vs just buying meat in the store

No it generally does not. It is highly unlikely you can buy chicks, provide facilities, and buy feed as efficiently as the commercial operations and their mass production. That does not include your time. If money is the only concern you are almost certainly going to be better off buying the meat at the grocery. Those of us that raise their own meat generally do it for other reasons. One exception to this is if you use dual purpose chickens where broody hens hatch and raise the chicks and depend on forage for all they eat. This is the model your great grandfather probably used to raise chickens on the farm but in Tennessee you'll have to supplement their feed in winter. He probably did that with corn he raised and the chickens got scraps from the horses and cattle.

Thank you

 

[Chickenheadmate]

That helps, thanks.

Can you keep meat birds in with egg laying ones for eggs purposes

Are you talking about Cornish X, Rangers, or dual purpose? Cornish X grow so fast, are usually butchered at such a young age, and generally eat, poop, poop, eat, eat, drink, poop and such that most people find it best to separate them. Rangers are a little slower to develop and are more active so they are better, but still it's often best to keep them separated. Once they are out of the brooder though they can be integrated and mixed with your others if you mainly pasture them. Dual purpose can be raised like normal chickens but some people feed them a special high protein feed. If you do that you'd probably want to separate them.

Do you need to have someone clean the bird or do it yourself.

I process my own. Some people pay to have them processed. As long as it is for your consumption it is your choice. If you plan to sell them your health department or state may have regulations about that.

Does it really pay off having meat birds vs just buying meat in the store

No it generally does not. It is highly unlikely you can buy chicks, provide facilities, and buy feed as efficiently as the commercial operations and their mass production. That does not include your time. If money is the only concern you are almost certainly going to be better off buying the meat at the grocery. Those of us that raise their own meat generally do it for other reasons. One exception to this is if you use dual purpose chickens where broody hens hatch and raise the chicks and depend on forage for all they eat. This is the model your great grandfather probably used to raise chickens on the farm but in Tennessee you'll have to supplement their feed in winter. He probably did that with corn he raised and the chickens got scraps from the horses and cattle.

 

[Chickenheadmate]

Dual purpose can be raised like normal chickens but some people feed them a special high protein feed. If you do that you'd probably want to separate them.

Seperate from what, and why?

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I've been raising Freedom Rangers for the past six or seven summers. It has costed me somewhere around $2.50/lb finished butchering weight to raise, including something for bedding, heat lamp bulbs, purchase price and shipping, but not including anything for building the coop/run or my time. I could buy cheaper chicken at the store. However, if I compare it with "pastured, holistically raised" chicken from Whole Foods, it is a great price.

One thing about purchasing chicks, mail order places usually have a 25 chick minimum, so you probably will need a separate coop/pen/tractor just for those chicks as they grow. I do all my meat birds in the summer, so it doesn't have to be as winter proofed as my year-round layer coop.

You can often find Cornish Cross chicks at a place like Tractor Supply and purchase them in smaller numbers, but those chickens get so heavy and awkward so quickly that they may have problems in your regular chicken coop if you have a long ramp or something else that requires mobility. Still, you could try 7 or 8 Cornish Cross and see if you like the experience of raising and butchering your own meat and expand the next spring if you find the experience a positive one.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Seperate from what, and why?

If you are raising dual purpose cockerels for butchering you can raise them with your normal flock as long as you feed them the same way. If you want to feed your dual purpose cockerels a special diet you cannot raise them with your regular flock unless you feed them all the same special diet.

 

[Chickenheadmate]

If you are raising dual purpose cockerels for butchering you can raise them with your normal flock as long as you feed them the same way. If you want to feed your dual purpose cockerels a special diet you cannot raise them with your regular flock unless you feed them all the same special diet.

Gotcha, thanks!