Anyone raise meat birds without a chicken tractor or barn?

[WillowHavenFarm]

We have raised meat birds for four years in tractors and don't want to do that any more for various reasons. We do not have a barn so raising them in a barn is out. Has anyone built a small stationary coop for meat birds with a small run? If so, I would love to see your set up and am curious if you had to keep putting bedding down into the run space. Our 14 layers have a 40 by 30 run and I was considering sectioning off a piece of that for the meaties but am stuck on what I can build for shelter that is inexpensive and is not a chicken tractor. We would raise 25 birds at a time and our current coop is not large enough to section off for both types of birds.

 

[Morrigan]

I've raised broilers in a coop (converted storage shed) and large run and in the past. The coop was 8X8 and the yard was 30X50 feet. My system was to feed them twice a day. The first feeding was outside first thing in the morning. After they rushed out of the coop to eat, I would shut the door to the coop for the day. Right before bedtime, I would put their second meal inside the coop to draw them all back in for the night. I found it a good system, and had healthy, active broilers.

Some things to keep in mind.

--8x8 was just barely big enough for 25 broilers as they got to 8 weeks. It worked out OK for me as that's when I started removing the largest of them in a staged butchering that ended up with the last birds being butchered at 12 or 13 weeks. But, if you want to do or schedule a butchering for a single day, plan on that happening no later than 8 weeks.

--Starting at around 4 weeks of age, you will need to clean their coop every single day. I had put down a layer of wood pellets, topped by straw. Every morning, I would pitchfork off the dirty straw and lay down a fresh layer of straw. You will have a big pile of dirty straw at the end of process, so have a plan for that. I gradually worked mine into my compost piles.

--To get them moving, create some interest in your yard/run. I would put sprouted fodder and produce at the far reaches, under bushes, etc. to encourage them to move about and forage.

 

[WillowHavenFarm]

Thanks for your reply. Did you find that the birds used that big of a run? My current run for my 14 hens is 30 by 60 and they don't utilize half of it. I have to mow it ever two weeks as they can't keep up with the greens that grow in there.

 

[Morrigan]

No, they didn't fully utilize it, at least not enough to keep up with the weeds. Nor do my laying hens for that matter. Like you, we need to weed whack occasionally. But, they did wander up and down the length of it, particular to get to the old produce and fodder I would leave out for them. They would also spot use it, finding different dust bathing areas and bushes to hang out under.

Particularly as they got older, they would spend most of there time near the waterers and under a shade/rain shelter we built. I would put a lot of straw down for them there, and occasionally rake it up, to keep that area from become too heavily soiled.

 

[RoosterML]

Not sure why anyone would not want to use a tractor. Once you realize how much cleaning you’ll be doing I think you’ll reconsider.

 

[RiverOtter]

I have. It works fine, so long as you provide an amount of space based on weight, not age.

Like, the space you use for 4 week old, 1/3 lb layers will be destroyed by your 4 week old 2-3lb broilers. This is why people hate them and call them dirty, filthy things. When they would never think of putting that number of 3# layers in a space that size.

I've found they use all the space I'm happy to give them, so long as not everything is clustered in one place. If there is food, water and shade 3 feet from the coop, they're going to stay right there - they're slow and fat and they know it! Space stuff out and they'll use the space.

Mine were happy to free range with the other birds. It was awesome to see them ponderously thunder across the yard to get their share of goodies.

 

[3KillerBs]

Mine were happy to free range with the other birds. It was awesome to see them ponderously thunder across the yard to get their share of goodies.

I have yet to raise meaties and probably won't do it until next year, but that's a marvelous image to look forward to.

 

[WillowHavenFarm]

We have uneven ground on our property, the tractors were quite a distance from feed and water so there was a ton of heavy schlepping of buckets, even with lids and tarps the birds got drenched in late spring rains, and we had more leg and respiratory issues than when we lived at our old place and had a building to raise them in. I did a ton of research before building our tractors and we raised 6 batches over 4 years which was ample time to learn that it did not work well for our property/ needs.

 

[WillowHavenFarm]

Thanks for your replies.

My husband and I talked about this today and we think we have a solution. We have a 12 by 16 shed on our property that currently houses garden supplies, a push mower, tiller, and pots. We hadn't thought about using that for meaties but we realized that we could put up chicken wire to separate the back 2/3 of it for birds and still store things in the front. Beyond that, all the space would need is a chicken access door cut into it. We discussed using cattle panels to make a 16 by 16 run on the South side of the building. We have bird net left over from covering our run so we can do a tent of that over the run to help with predators (we have hawks and eagles on our property). This would require only a half days effort to set up and if it does not work out well, we can use the cattle panels for other purposes. We have access to straw for pretty cheap so I can use that for the run if it starts to get gross and I already have a compost system set up so adding the soiled straw to that over time will be a great addition to my compost.

 

[Morrigan]

It was awesome to see them ponderously thunder across the yard to get their share of goodies

Great description. They can move when motivated.

@WillowHavenFarm -- that should work. As long as you are willing to shovel and rake straw, the meaties will stay clean and dry. Like you, I have a sloped lot. Add uneven rocky soil, and chicken tractors just were not feasible. Here are some from a few years back chilling under their outdoor shade structure.