125 Freedom Rangers start to finish March 2012

[Yknot]

They look good. Do you still think it is profitable? Do you Know about how much they weigh? I hope you are successful thank you for the updates.

 

[loanwizard]

I have no idea if it will be profitable. I cannot find good researchable material that tells me how much feed they should be eating at this age. I found 1 article that said .43lb per day per bird. 114 x .43 = 50lbs per day!

I certainly don't feed them that much. I am currently stepping it up to 25lbs per day plus just moved them out of the miserable tractor into a fenced in area about 100x 100 or 10,000 square feet. I have the next 100 ordered and IF these make weight by butcher date, 17 days, I will invest in 2 poultry nets to start using my own sort of paddock system. 2 sets so I can set one up, then another to open into so I don't have to chase them. Lot's of manure, moveable pen or stationary with different trap doors to different area....

If it doesn't work, then I will just turn to raising meat for my family.

 

[loanwizard]

I guess I need to get out there and see what they weigh now.

 

[Peruvian]

50 lbs/day isn't probably too far off as they get older. I assume you had figured how much you would need to get them to weight based on feed conversion ratios? I suspect FRs have a 4+:1 ratio so you will need about 20lbs of feed per bird. 20lbs x 114 birds is just under 2,300lbs of feed by the end of 9 weeks. They will eat much more towards the end, but I would think you should be somewhere around 1100+lbs into them by now.

 

[wsmoak]

I have no idea if it will be profitable. I cannot find good researchable material that tells me how much feed they should be eating at this age. I found 1 article that said .43lb per day per bird. 114 x .43 = 50lbs per day!

I think it's going to vary quite a bit based on their environment. If they're warm and comfy they won't need as much food as if they're out in the wind and cold (like today!)

The FR site says 2.5 lbs of feed per pound of gain at 8-9 weeks, 2.7-2.8 at 10-11 weeks, and up to 3 lbs depending on other factors.

Unfortunately I think mine are *over* 3lbs of feed per pound of gain. I need to find all my feed store receipts, I got overwhelmed with how much they were eating and lost track. Next time I'll order all the feed in advance (and hopefully get a discount!)

Good luck with yours, I can't imagine keeping up with over a hundred of them. (Or processing them when it's time.)

-Wendy

 

[loanwizard]

Honestly, every time I see a feed ratio table, my eyes glaze over, and I am very good at math lol! Looks like I better stock up as they only have 17 days left.

 

[Peruvian]

It's funny, I've stopped worrying about how many days or weeks old my birds are. I raise batches of 30 CX at a time and buy 500-550lbs of feed. I feed them 24 hrs/day for the first few weeks and then 12 hours with food and 12 without. When the feed is done, so are they.

 

[Yknot]

I think the whole point of using red broiler type instead of cx is that the reds are supposed to get more feed from pasture. Less bag feed means less money spent. Then there is size and weight, the reds are supposed to compare with cx but take a little longer to hit weight. Then there is taste, people are saying the reds taste better. I am sitting on the fence waiting for more info. The cx might be hard to beat.

 

[loanwizard]

Might be hard to beat. The reason I chose reds is because that is what I have a contract for and the health problems I have heard about with Cornish. That said, these reds are not like my layer peeps either. In my opinion, much less personality, but that could be because I have had 100 of these crunched in a tractor. It is neat watching them discover space and real pasture these last 2 1/2 weeks. I will have a better gauge with the next 100 that are due in Friday. By the time they are out of the brooder I should have 2 sets of poultry netting and will try a moveable paddock system.

 

[loanwizard]

I have received my next batch of 103. My 114 7 week olds are surprising me a little. I took them out of the tractor.... never again, although it is my fault for putting too many in too small a space. They now have their own coop and a hillside. They put themselves to bed at night and range the fenced hillside. They appear much happier. Feeding 50lbs per day. They have 10 days to go, although I am talking now to my mentor and buyer about possibly extending their life to get them to a greater weight.

Stupid question. How do you weigh a live chicken? Fish scale? Hold them on a bathroom scale and compare with and without?