cassifer
Hatching
Hello everyone!
My name is Cassie, I'm from Frederick, MD and I'm interested in raising meat chickens for profit. Right now I have 11 Cornish Rocks that I am raising for personal consumption. These are the first chickens I've ever had, so I'm definitely still learning and I have a lot of questions! First of all, exactly how much should these chickens be eating? Mine are 5 weeks old and I am on my 4th 50lb bag of feed. I've heard that it can be good to let them forage a bit, but they always seem so hungry. I'm also very curious about the slaughtering and processing procedure, I've found a place in Thurmont called Turkey Hill Farms, but it's about 45 min form where I am. Is that too far? And how exactly does it work, do you just drop them off for a few hours, and come back and pick them up, or what? Also if anyone here has experience raising meat chickens for profit, how many do you need to have and sell to be sustainable, and how do you sell them once they are ready? Should you try to make a deal with a farmer's market or restaurant prior to slaughtering, or is that something I should try to do before I even get the chicks? Thanks!
My name is Cassie, I'm from Frederick, MD and I'm interested in raising meat chickens for profit. Right now I have 11 Cornish Rocks that I am raising for personal consumption. These are the first chickens I've ever had, so I'm definitely still learning and I have a lot of questions! First of all, exactly how much should these chickens be eating? Mine are 5 weeks old and I am on my 4th 50lb bag of feed. I've heard that it can be good to let them forage a bit, but they always seem so hungry. I'm also very curious about the slaughtering and processing procedure, I've found a place in Thurmont called Turkey Hill Farms, but it's about 45 min form where I am. Is that too far? And how exactly does it work, do you just drop them off for a few hours, and come back and pick them up, or what? Also if anyone here has experience raising meat chickens for profit, how many do you need to have and sell to be sustainable, and how do you sell them once they are ready? Should you try to make a deal with a farmer's market or restaurant prior to slaughtering, or is that something I should try to do before I even get the chicks? Thanks!