Broiler Meat Birds: To Brood Or Not To Brood

[SmokinChick]

"BTW what is the point of this thread? I thought it was about breeding broilers and was just looking for advice from someone who has done breeding for Cornish X chickens. Love the photos also! I might have to put some on for their last day tomorrow. "

The point was to see the reaction to drivel! And the OP got 3 pages of infighting. Well played troll.
I tried to kill this thread on page 1. Figure it out people, the OP doesn't give a hoot about your feeling for or against CX.

 

[Arielle]

You know, after doing extensive reading and applying some logic, I've came to the conclusion that pasture doesn't provide much for broilers as far as nutrition goes. Chickens have a mongastric digestive system like we do, and they really aren't able to get much from greens, especially protein. Also, if you think about pasture quality, it is only really nutritious for a few weeks per season. I do think having them on pasture and moving them daily is beneficial from a cleanliness aspect. Keeping them on clean ground help control cocci and other fecal pathogens.

I am in New England and get snow. My chickens eat my lawn all year long. By spring it is ony an inch high. THe nutrients gained by eating the greens are far more important than you realize. THe meat quality and the egg quality is far better than grain only feeding. ANd this in turn when we eat it, is healthier for us than purely grain fed.

THere is a farm in VT that raises hogs only on pasture and whey and some brewery grains. THe piglets also get eggs. THe sows are fed hay for the winter. NO grain, no commercial grain. NO pellets. NO corn. ( He runs 40 sows, birthing 2x a year on pasture.)

 

[Arielle]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...f-free-ranging-heritage-turkeys#post_11834708

try reading this.

 

[cassie]

After seeing the comments about Cornish X on this thread, I have to ask. What on earth are you people doing to them? True, they aren't very active. But neither is my brother-in-law. And they do poop a lot. That's because they eat a lot. If you are willing to make an environment suitable for them, they do just fine. If you aren't, they won't. I raised mine 25 at a time in a 12 X 12 box stall that was well ventilated but not drafty. I used shavings as bedding. I added shavings as necessary. I never allowed the bedding to become wet or dirty. The meat chicken pen was never smelly. Odor is caused by dampness and a lack of ventilation. The feeders and waterers were hung high enough so they had to stand to eat and drink. The feeders and the waterers were on opposite sides of the pen so the chickens had to walk a bit to get from one to the other. I added a broiler supplement to the water. Once in a while one would get leg problems, but not often. Any chicken that was having trouble got processed then and there. I kept my chickens longer than most because I like big roasters. Most of mine dressed out at a minimum of eleven or twelve pounds. One weighed 16 pounds. Their feathers were always white, and none were ever caked with filth. They did go through stages where they were kind of naked simply because they grew faster than their feathers. I fed broiler feed or turkey feed depending on what I could get. My chickens always looked and sounded content.

 

[DaveMorey]

Now that the debate has ebbed on whether CX are mutants or not(I don't want to restart it). I am looking for some advice. I have raised dual purpose birds all my life. So CX are new to me. I currently have 25 one week old CX chicks. I bought them for their growth potential and without the intention of them ever joining my laying flock in the coop. I am however raising them in a brooder the same way I raised all of my other chicks. I intent to put them on grass as soon as they don't need as much heat, but only during the day and return them to the brooder at night. Now my questions. In what way does one ration the food and when is best? My brooded is in my garage with plenty of ventilation and room for expansion. It is currently 4'x8'. At this point they are healthy and active just like all of the other chicks I have raised. So beyond the feed rationing should I just continue to monitor their living space and expand as necessary? The coop is not an option since it will start getting cold soon here inVermont, it's already been in the upper 30's and low 40's but the days are still fairly warm and I will take advantage of them at every opportunity to give the chicks some variety and a change of scenery.

 

[cassie]

You can tell by looking when to expand the living space. As for limiting the feed, most people have feed available fo 12 hours and take it away for 12. I took up the feeders at seven at night and put them back down at seven in the morning.

 

[Arielle]

You can tell by looking when to expand the living space. As for limiting the feed, most people have feed available fo 12 hours and take it away for 12. I took up the feeders at seven at night and put them back down at seven in the morning.

THose newer to cornishX don't have this knowledge yet. WOuld you please add the details.

 

[bigredfeather]

If you put down fresh bedding and by the end of the day it's completely saturated with poo, you need to expand. Keep expanding until they can go at least a day or two without having to add more bedding.

FYI - Commercial houses allow about 1/2 square foot per birds.

 

[Arielle]

If you put down fresh bedding and by the end of the day it's completely saturated with poo, you need to expand. Keep expanding until they can go at least a day or two without having to add more bedding.

LOL thank you.

 

[bigredfeather]

I used this method to determine how many I could put in a tractor. I can have 95 seven week old birds in my 11'x13' and it's almost a mess within 24 hours with that many. With that many, there's still plenty of room, but any more would burn the pasture vegetation.