Bresse Bad Behavior (Insane? Feather Picking?)

[3KillerBs]

I guess I'm just going on what others use to raise meat birds. I've seen tractors packed with birds, so I'm just not sure that it's a space issue.

The thing with that is that those dense-packed meat-bird tractors have been designed for use with Cornish X chickens in mind.

That is, very docile, bred-to-tolerate-confinement, fast-growing birds who will be slaughtered at 6-8 weeks old.

They're over-crowded for birds whose time until slaughter is measured in months rather than weeks.

 

[hrt4desh]

The thing with that is the those dense-packed meat-bird tractors have been designed for use with Cornish X chickens in mind.

That is, very docile, bred-to-tolerate-confinement, fast-growing birds who will be slaughtered at 6-8 weeks old.

They're over-crowded for birds whose time until slaughter is measured in months rather than weeks.

I understand. And that's another reason why we're going to switch to a different breed. If I could get non-GMO Dixie Rainbows, I'd probably do that because they're beautiful. (I didn't know they existed until just this week.)

I was looking for a sustainable meat bird that I could hatch and raise on my property. When I found that a virtual neighbor had some Bresse, I thought I'd try them. They just take too long and the cost far outweighs the benefits.

I'll definitely look into Red Rangers for next time.

Thanks for your input!