Please help me talk the men into doing meaties...

[GiddyMoon]

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Believe it or not, I lived in Northern CA for 40 years and I handle the heat better here then I did there..but..I would not plan on doing this during June thru Aug. This would be a spring and fall situation..thoughts?

 

[Bossroo]

Having lived in Central Cal for over 50 years, I handle the wet weather of SW Washington much better. I raised my Cornish X meaties in Sring, Fall and Winter ... June to mid Sept. are just too hot in the high desert for economical production. Has anyone seen a couch potato walk a block in the heat of Summer ? The birds just pant, loiter around the water fountain and/ or shade and don't want to eat.

 

[schellie69]

When I do get meat birds I think I am going with the freedom rangers since they do free range better they will eat less regular food and more grass, bugs and other foods. I don't worry so much as beating the price of regular chicken at the store but what about the price of organic chicken at the store. Maybe start small with 10 birds or so that way you can see what its like how it works out and the cost without being overwhelmed. Good luck

 

[GiddyMoon]

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I haven't heard of those..do you have a good link about them?

 

[schellie69]

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I haven't heard of those..do you have a good link about them?

there where some great post on here about them let me do some searching and see what I can find. Here are some links, I have not read all of these but maybe some can help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=488878
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=318364
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=463076
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=449381

 

[GiddyMoon]

Thank you! While you were doing that I was on google..I did find some more info...we do have an acre and I am here to let them free range a bit..I still want to do this. LOL

 

[FeedYourself]

Store:

Safeway = $1.79/lb for whole bird (filled with water) where I live...

Home:

20 lb feed = $16/50*20=$6.40
Chick = $1.50 @ the local feed store
Total = $1.32 lb

I get feed for $14, paid $1.00 for the CX chicks. Shop around for your feed, and you can find better deals, coupons, etc.

 

[Sundown_Farmer]

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It's great. At first it was really hard. Don't look them in the eye and keep your knife sharp. There are all kinds of kill/scald/pluck/eviscerate resources online...I've written two on this site. It's hard work but that first bite of chicken makes it all worthwhile. I've gotten feedback from multiple customers declaring a difference between "real chicken" (what I produce) and store-bought chicken. Whole different taste experience. The first time you do 25 birds it will absorb a morning. Really, you should do 1-5 one morning to get the routine down and the rest the next morning...maybe even the same day if you ate your Wheaties. You need to understand this will make you tired until you get the hang of it.

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Shop around for feed. $18/50# seems enormously expensive but I live where all the corn is grown. Shop around for chicks too. Even farm supply stores run specials from time to time. I need 15# of feed to make a 5# bird.

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They don't need near the space a layer needs. I put 75 birds in an 8x12 chicken tractor very similar to Salatin's. Google it. You could probably put 25 birds in an 8x6 that will be much easier to move.

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That's great. Keep them watered, warm and well-fed. You'll have the best hot wings you've ever eaten in 6-7 weeks. Just go into it knowing that life is a constant struggle against death. This is especially true for CX. The whole process from chick to table is an art. You'll get better at it.

 

[BarefootMom]

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$18 for a 50lb bag is a bit steep. I'd figure on more like $10 a bag... I just bought a 50lb of grower/finisher from the feed mill yesterday at 22% and it was only $10.25

 

[cluckcluck42]

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Then help me convince them..what are the reasons?

If they really don't care to know where their food is coming from, they are not going to be convinced. Show them the newspaper article about the crazy antibiotic resistant bacteria found in almost all meat sold in U.S and Canadian supermarkets. If they still don't care they will never care. You have to compare apples to apples, you can't compare the chicken you get at the store with the chickens you will raise. You can compare prices with the organic free range antibiotic free chickens they have at stores. I've seen that kinda chicken selling for $9 a lb. I can raise the same for $2lb. That's a big difference in price.