100 Broilers and Fermented Feed Project

[Arielle]

When I have had to decide procesing weights, I let the BBW get huge, because I would be paying $10 each plus 2 round trips to pick them up.

WHen I proces my own, I want my time to count for somethng. Meaning. HTe time to prcess a skinny hatchery rooster is the same as a cornixh X but I get a whole lot more meat for the time butchering. ANd my hands are big so a bird that can fit my hand is greatly appreciated.

YOu don't have leftovers??? When we butcher a turkey we have meals for days.

 

[Angelicisi]

Good job!
That pea is stunning.

Good morning everyone. I wasn't on yesterday because I was busy in the yard. Just an update on the broilers.

They are doing great. I put them outside at 1:00 PM. I made a make shift pen. They did pretty good . I didn't see them eating any grass. They were walking and running around trying to fly. Boy, that was kinda funny. The temps were in the 60's but the sun was directly on them, so they were not cold. I only put their water outside in hopes they would eat some grass. They were outside until 3: 30 pm when I saw them huddled up and I knew they were cold. Well, that was the end of their outside adventure. So, I put them back in their brooder inside. They were hungry because they were running to their feeders.

I weighed one and it weighed 14.0 ounces. Almost 1 pound at a little over 2 weeks old. Friday made 2 weeks. If any of the broilers make 1 lb this week, then I am looking at starting to process in the next few weeks if they get to 3 lbs.

The chicken plucker is halfway built. The wooden stand has been made. The 55 gallon barrel has been cut and the plucker fingers have been inserted. The base with the fingers has been made as well. We will be installing the motor and the shaft. It should be ready today. I will try it out on a duck. I have a few that I have to process. We had an assistant that was an onlooker as the plucker was being built.

Here is Princess, my white pea fowl. I was moving peas around yesterday and I left the pen open and she walked out. She is tame and she ain't going nowhere, so I let her stay out all day and she chose to come and sit by us on the trailer to check out what we were doing. She said there all day long and didn't budge.

The temps today will be 62 and the sun is already out. I will feed the broilers outside today. Since moving 1 of the pea hen and pea cocks, that frees up a kennel pen. I think I will be able to put the broilers in there. I'm not sure how big it is but I will measure it and post to let you all know the measurements they will be in.

I think that is about it. I'm on my way out to try to move the broilers this morning. I will check back in later on.

Good job! It's so much fun to watch them range. They stay Soooooo much cleaner too.

I wish I'd j!be followed your lead. Hawk attack took 2 chicks and killed an 8 week old. Real fast and

I'd just invest in a electric poultry fence and a solar charger and dispense with the hassle of tractoring a bunch of pooping birds and having to build tractors.  Let them birds range!  e    I've seen Salatins tractors up close and personal and there is never enough room in them, no matter the age of the birds...they are all standing on poopy grass and can't get away from it...one would have to move it constantly to keep this from happening. 

 

[aoxa]

I had posted a few posts back inquiring about live weight vs/processed weight. I'm a single person home, so most of the birds I want to process need to be at a greatly smaller weight than the average broiler who is processed at 8 weeks. For my freezer, I will want a bird that is no more than 3 or 4 lbs. So, to get that, I will need to process sooner. I think I may have confused everyone when I said 3 lbs weights in my posts that I posted earlier today. I meant to say that in a few weeks when I process they will be 3 lbs (processed weight). I won't process them when they are 3 lbs live. I want to yield 3 lbs after processing. For those people that of course want the big 8 lber, of course, I will process at 8 weeks.

I cook small meals so a smaller broiler would be prefect for me. I don't want to waste any meals with a larger size broiler.

Sorry for any confusion on those weights.

At 7 weeks we had what you were looking for in weight.

 

[kuntrygirl]

When I have had to decide procesing weights,  I let the BBW get huge, because I would be paying $10 each plus 2 round trips to pick them up. 

WHen I proces my own, I want my time to count for somethng. Meaning. HTe time to prcess a skinny hatchery rooster is the same as a cornixh X  but I get a whole lot more meat for the time butchering. ANd my hands are big so a bird that can fit my hand is greatly appreciated. 

YOu don't have leftovers???  When we butcher a turkey we have meals for days. 

Yes, I do have leftovers and I always freeze the leftovers. I just don't want too much. Sometimes, I have leftovers for 1 week. But I do rotate my leftovers, so nothing is freezer burned. It's always nice going in the freezer and getting leftovers. That means I don't have to cook.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Good job!
That pea is stunning.

Good morning everyone. I wasn't on yesterday because I was busy in the yard. Just an update on the broilers.

They are doing great. I put them outside at 1:00 PM. I made a make shift pen. They did pretty good . I didn't see them eating any grass. They were walking and running around trying to fly. Boy, that was kinda funny. The temps were in the 60's but the sun was directly on them, so they were not cold. I only put their water outside in hopes they would eat some grass. They were outside until 3: 30 pm when I saw them huddled up and I knew they were cold. Well, that was the end of their outside adventure. So, I put them back in their brooder inside. They were hungry because they were running to their feeders.

I weighed one and it weighed 14.0 ounces. Almost 1 pound at a little over 2 weeks old. Friday made 2 weeks. If any of the broilers make 1 lb this week, then I am looking at starting to process in the next few weeks if they get to 3 lbs.

The chicken plucker is halfway built. The wooden stand has been made. The 55 gallon barrel has been cut and the plucker fingers have been inserted. The base with the fingers has been made as well. We will be installing the motor and the shaft. It should be ready today. I will try it out on a duck. I have a few that I have to process. We had an assistant that was an onlooker as the plucker was being built.

Here is Princess, my white pea fowl. I was moving peas around yesterday and I left the pen open and she walked out. She is tame and she ain't going nowhere, so I let her stay out all day and she chose to come and sit by us on the trailer to check out what we were doing. She said there all day long and didn't budge.

The temps today will be 62 and the sun is already out. I will feed the broilers outside today. Since moving 1 of the pea hen and pea cocks, that frees up a kennel pen. I think I will be able to put the broilers in there. I'm not sure how big it is but I will measure it and post to let you all know the measurements they will be in.

I think that is about it. I'm on my way out to try to move the broilers this morning. I will check back in later on.

Good job! It's so much fun to watch them range. They stay Soooooo much cleaner too.

I wish I'd j!be followed your lead. Hawk attack took 2 chicks and killed an 8 week old. Real fast and

I'd just invest in a electric poultry fence and a solar charger and dispense with the hassle of tractoring a bunch of pooping birds and having to build tractors.  Let them birds range!  e    I've seen Salatins tractors up close and personal and there is never enough room in them, no matter the age of the birds...they are all standing on poopy grass and can't get away from it...one would have to move it constantly to keep this from happening. 

Thanks.

Sorry about the hawk attack. That just angers me. I hope that you don't lose any more.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I had posted a few posts back inquiring about live weight vs/processed weight. I'm a single person home, so most of the birds I want to process need to be at a greatly smaller weight than the average broiler who is processed at 8 weeks. For my freezer, I will want a bird that is no more than 3 or 4 lbs. So, to get that, I will need to process sooner. I think I may have confused everyone when I said 3 lbs weights in my posts that I posted earlier today. I meant to say that in a few weeks when I process they will be 3 lbs (processed weight). I won't process them when they are 3 lbs live. I want to yield 3 lbs after processing. For those people that of course want the big 8 lber, of course, I will process at 8 weeks.


I cook small meals so a smaller broiler would be prefect for me. I don't want to waste any meals with a larger size broiler.


Sorry for any confusion on those weights.

At 7 weeks we had what you were looking for in weight. 

What weight did you all have?

 

[chickeemama]

Ok, I have read this thread thru now. Wow, very interesting and brings back all the headache and excitement of a new spring batch of meaties. I did 50 last year. Lost 1 at about 3 wks, sold 7 as 4wks, and butchered 42. It is just my hubby and myself. We did them in a weekend. I have a fridge in the garage for sodas and that was VERY full of chickens. I rest mine for 48hrs and bag them for the freezer. Most weighted 4.5 - 5.5 at 8 wks. Lots of work, but lots of meat in the freezer.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Broiler Update:

All of them are doing great and growing. I didn't put them outside because it was too windy. I had a jacket and hat on to keep warm, so I know that they would have been cold.

I weighed 1 this morning (before eating) and it weighed 1 lb 0.2 ounces. So, they are at the 1 lb mark. They went through a whole lot of feed. IT was so fast, I hadn't made any more yet. I have to make more when I get home from work. I think I"ll have to buy 2 more plastic containers since the FF consumption is increasing. I think I"ll get 2 more containers at Walmart today.

I called around to the different meat markets and grocery stores to get a price on the cost of broilers per pound but there are no local stores that sell broilers. Does that sound right?

 

[kuntrygirl]

Ok, I have read this thread  thru now. Wow, very interesting and brings back all the headache and excitement of a new spring batch of meaties. I did 50 last year. Lost 1 at about 3 wks, sold 7 as 4wks, and butchered 42. It is just my hubby and myself. We did them in a weekend. I have a fridge in the garage for sodas and that was VERY full of chickens. I rest mine for 48hrs and bag them for the freezer. Most weighted 4.5 - 5.5 at 8 wks. Lots of work, but  lots of meat in the freezer.

WOW!!! 50? That's a lot. Sounds like you all had a great ending number. So you all were able to put 42 in the freezer? How often do you all eat them and how many do you all have left?

 

[aoxa]

What weight did you all have?

At 7 weeks we processed 4. They were all in the 3 pound range once fully processed.

Broiler Update:

All of them are doing great and growing. I didn't put them outside because it was too windy. I had a jacket and hat on to keep warm, so I know that they would have been cold.

I weighed 1 this morning (before eating) and it weighed 1 lb 0.2 ounces. So, they are at the 1 lb mark. They went through a whole lot of feed. IT was so fast, I hadn't made any more yet. I have to make more when I get home from work. I think I"ll have to buy 2 more plastic containers since the FF consumption is increasing. I think I"ll get 2 more containers at Walmart today.

I called around to the different meat markets and grocery stores to get a price on the cost of broilers per pound but there are no local stores that sell broilers. Does that sound right?

That is very weird... That is what most meat markets sell. Just ask them how much they sell per pound for chicken. It is 99% chances they are selling broilers.