Meaties 101

[theJonesBoy]

Well I decided to give the meaties a go. Picked up 10 White Rock X day old chicks on 15 August. Lost one at 5 weeks, one at 9 weeks and one 2 days before processing. I wanted to process them at 9 weeks but the abattoir couldn't fit me in, I left it too late. Ended up going 10 weeks. 7 birds, the smallest was 7.6 lbs and the largest 10.8 lbs dressed. If you loose 25% during processing that makes the big bird 14.5 lbs live!!.
We had the big one tonight for dinner. The best tasting chicken ever and lots left over.
So the experiment worked and my wife is so impressed we are getting a dozen layers in spring, plus turkeys and two batches of 30 meat chickens.
A big thanks to BigRedFeather for answering my questions.

 

[theJonesBoy]

BigRedFeather Do you use cattle panels for the hoop tractor and is this design lighter than the Salatin style? It looks great.

 

[DaveMorey]

Well I decided to give the meaties a go. Picked up 10 White Rock X day old chicks on 15 August. Lost one at 5 weeks, one at 9 weeks and one 2 days before processing. I wanted to process them at 9 weeks but the abattoir couldn't fit me in, I left it too late. Ended up going 10 weeks. 7 birds, the smallest was 7.6 lbs and the largest 10.8 lbs dressed. If you loose 25% during processing that makes the big bird 14.5 lbs live!!.
We had the big one tonight for dinner. The best tasting chicken ever and lots left over.
So the experiment worked and my wife is so impressed we are getting a dozen layers in spring, plus turkeys and two batches of 30 meat chickens.
A big thanks to BigRedFeather for answering my questions.

Congratulations on your success and some fine tasting birds. I had similar experiences this year with our first run. My wife was skeptical when I told her I wanted to do it. But she was quite pleased with the results. I offered a free processed chicken to any friends that would come up and help on processing day. Not many takers there, but those that did come have since asked about buying chicken from me now and in the future. I am working on doing a couple runs of 50-100 next year now.

 

[theJonesBoy]

Congratulations on your success and some fine tasting birds. I had similar experiences this year with our first run. My wife was skeptical when I told her I wanted to do it. But she was quite pleased with the results. I offered a free processed chicken to any friends that would come up and help on processing day. Not many takers there, but those that did come have since asked about buying chicken from me now and in the future. I am working on doing a couple runs of 50-100 next year now.

I'll process the birds myself as soon as I can convince my wife that a whizbang plucker is worth the money.

 

[DaveMorey]

I bought a plucker that goes in a 3/8 drill for the small jobs. With this last batch I rented a plucker from a friend of a friend for $40. It was the best $40 I have spent. I am going to build a plucker over the winter so I will have my own. The first bunch of birds I did this year were all by hand. I thought my kids were going to mutiny and hang me from a yardarm by the end of the day.

 

[theJonesBoy]

I bought a plucker that goes in a 3/8 drill for the small jobs. With this last batch I rented a plucker from a friend of a friend for $40. It was the best $40 I have spent. I am going to build a plucker over the winter so I will have my own. The first bunch of birds I did this year were all by hand. I thought my kids were going to mutiny and hang me from a yardarm by the end of the day.

I think I'll get the parts together over the winter. It really speeds to process up.
Hahaha! 20 years from now the kids will still be talking about the day they plucked the chickens.

 

[bigredfeather]

BigRedFeather Do you use cattle panels for the hoop tractor and is this design lighter than the Salatin style? It looks great.

Yes, I used three 54"x16' cattle panels. Yes, it is much lighter than the Salatin style. I built 2 Salatin type before building this one. I really like that I can see the birds as I move it. After 3 years of using it, I've not ran one over.

 

[RandRRanch]

Alright, so I just ordered 40 birds today and even though I have read this an a great many other threads,blogs, books, and I must say I am still a bit nervous. The weather is finally turning cold and I am hoping I didn't just set myself up for massive failure. I have the brooder, and have all the lumber to make an 8x8 tractor. Due to the weather changing I have decided to seal up half of it with sheet metal roofing on the sides and will have about half of the top roofed as well. Should I roof more? 6 feet? Should I add more siding? I plan to keep the closed end facing south as that is how our storms approach which should cut down on any rain or wind getting through. I am picking up 800lbs of feed this week coming week and they should be here Friday or Saturday next week. Any other tips or info you can give me would be huge right now. Really want this to go smoothly. Current flock consists of 5 hens, 1 roo and 4 ducks, so this is a huge leap for me. Thanks

 

[yv3tt3]

love this post just what i was looking for thanks

 

[blueeyeskms]

Great post!