Broiler chicken breed and method

[buddhabrahma905]

We might be raising a batch of broiler chickens this spring, but wanted to know if anyone had good luck with a particular strain or breed of chicken. Also, does anybody have any suggestions on methods to raise them. And lastly, does anybody have tips on raising other poultry for meat such as ducks or guineas. Bear in mind i live in a neighborhood though, so it cant be TOO industrial.

 

[foreverlearning]

Most raise the white cornish x for meat. I have tried the black broilers and have found them quite slow to grow compared to the cornish. Someone that I know has tried cornish x and red broilers and stated that the red broilers are much more food aggressive then the cornish x. All breeds tend to act like they are starving even while walking around with a full crop so it is important after 2 weeks to restrict their feed to a 12 on and 12 off schedule. Your birds, fingers, and toes would like it better if you fed them with a trough. I made a 4 foot one out of a $3 gutter and ends. I suggest a hoop coop to house them in. They show plans for both a tractor and a hoop coop in the meat bird section. I prefer the hoop coop over the tractor because I can walk in it and check on things. Both designs are cheap and easy to build. Water is very important because if they run out of water they stop growing for a while. I suggest a bigger watering system such as a 5 gal bucket, pipe, and nipples. You can also buy bigger waterers at any farm supply store.

 

[buddhabrahma905]

We were thinking about raising them in a tractor, but they may be raised in a hoop coop as well. But can excess females be kept as layer, because i've heard that they lay double yolk eggs.

 

[foreverlearning]

They tend to be poor layers and have health problems long term if you allow them to grow as quickly as they can. They are cross breed to grow quickly and don't breed true. If you make them slow their growth to close to normal (restrict feed much more) it will cancel out most of the health problems. Double yolks is not something to look for as it is a sign of reproductive problems. They drop a yolk once every 25 hours (with few exceptions) and two yolks would be two days for one egg as every yolk should be another egg. If you are looking for a duel purpose breed there is a regular cornish that you could raise for either.