Chronicles of Raising Meat Birds - Modern Broilers, Heritage and Hybrids

[Bookworm0124]

5.5x8 is 44 sq feet.

I ran CX in a 5.5x5.5 = 30 sq feet and 10 birds is a lot of poop. Fine for 2-4 weeks, then wow. Any more and moving twice a day is recommended. These guys will stomp the grass flat and poop all over it. I opened it in the garden and let them spread the fertilizer after 4 weeks.

My suggestion for your tractor, start with 10 or fewer to give the adults 4 sq feet per bird. If you are able to move the tractor (water, feeders, birds) as possible to keep them clean, find your tolerance. Glad I started small scale. OR what I thought was small scale. Head first would have overwhelmed me and my little operation.

Handles are required for tractors. Need to add more to mine. Lots of handles. My fingers don't fit through 1/2" hardware cloth.

Best wishes!

Thanks. I'm have 15 coming this fall expecting a few losses. I'll be moving it at least twice a day and by then the garden should be done so they'll have access to that. Handles are a great idea! Thanks!

 

[jolenesdad]

Thanks. I'm have 15 coming this fall expecting a few losses. I'll be moving it at least twice a day and by then the garden should be done so they'll have access to that. Handles are a great idea! Thanks!

It’s my experience that losses aren’t QUITE as common with BYCers and more involved chicken keepers, just as an FYI. ;-)

I’m with @RUNuts and why I opted to find a different solution to the tractor. While it’s true they are on grass and getting moved, they are still contained to 3 feet or way less and it’s a little hard to manage that.

But you mention the garden.....I think Cornish are fine at 3 feet per bird if they can get out for at least a few hours during the day. If I were making a tractor I would want at least 4 or 5 feet per meat bird if they were to be in full-time.

Just like everything else, it’s personal trial and error and I think you’re super prepared for your first time, probably a lot more than most of us have been.

 

[jolenesdad]

I realize that video tells a slightly better story especially in terms of these birds and their movement, so I made this little video this morning before my update this week.

If you're at work, there's music and my voice, so mute it. ;-)

 

[Molpet]

I realize that video tells a slightly better story especially in terms of these birds and their movement, so I made this little video this morning before my update this week.

If you're at work, there's music and my voice, so mute it. ;-)

Thanks
Nice looking

 

[Morrigan]

I realize that video tells a slightly better story especially in terms of these birds and their movement, so I made this little video this morning before my update this week.

If you're at work, there's music and my voice, so mute it. ;-)

That was great!

I've got yard envy. All that green, flat space is such a wonderful place for chickens. My chicken area is carved out of a rocky slope. It the spring it greens up nicely, but now we are in 100 degree, rainless days, it's pretty bleak looking.

 

[Newyorkrita]

That was great!

I've got yard envy. All that green, flat space is such a wonderful place for chickens.

Me too! Me too on the yard envy. The property there is just lovely and so much room.

 

[Newyorkrita]

I realize that video tells a slightly better story especially in terms of these birds and their movement, so I made this little video this morning before my update this week.

If you're at work, there's music and my voice, so mute it. ;-)

Fantastic!! Simply Fantastic!! So nice to see the meat birds going around and acting like normal chickens.

The video is well done and the scenery is really lovely. You have a really nice property there.

 

[Bookworm0124]

It’s my experience that losses aren’t QUITE as common with BYCers and more involved chicken keepers, just as an FYI. ;-)

I’m with @RUNuts and why I opted to find a different solution to the tractor. While it’s true they are on grass and getting moved, they are still contained to 3 feet or way less and it’s a little hard to manage that.

But you mention the garden.....I think Cornish are fine at 3 feet per bird if they can get out for at least a few hours during the day. If I were making a tractor I would want at least 4 or 5 feet per meat bird if they were to be in full-time.

Just like everything else, it’s personal trial and error and I think you’re super prepared for your first time, probably a lot more than most of us have been.

Honestly I'll probably end up making another bigger one or using some of my poultry fencing to make them a bigger area. Difficulty will be keeping the main flock from terrorizing them.

Also. I'm impatient. I ordered 12 Bielefelder eggs to hatch out. In theory there is an estimated delivery date of Monday. I'm hoping to keep two of the best hens and a rooster to keep as breeding stock for next year. Curious how they'd do integrating with the main flock. I do already have a roo in there, but I have 9 hens. So maybe two boys would be satisfied with 11 girls. My other coop is one of those small prefab ones and I'm not positive how two separate flocks would do free ranging together. However, my current roo is in the teenage boy phase so I'm not totally in love with him. We shall see.

 

[Bookworm0124]

Of course now I'm second guessing myself reading that they take 9 months to get to a good weight

 

[jolenesdad]

Of course now I'm second guessing myself reading that they take 9 months to get to a good weight

I’m a member of a bielefelder group and someone was recently talking about processing and they said that 14 weeks is optimal but they do not have much of anything as far as meat and then those that keep them to 30+ weeks say they have a lot of their weight in fat.

I think since they’re so new here in the states that they may not be an “immediate” broiler prospect for you but can be built and worked towards much more utility like they’re known for in Germany.

The autosexing trait alone makes it a HUGELY worthwhile project and I’m jealous. They’ve been on my “exploration” list for a while.