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

[LilyD]

You don't have to process all at the same time. Spread them out. Work at your pace. The first time, I segregated and with held feed from 6. The last 2 got a reprieve after I got aggravated.

I've done it both ways and by far I like doing them over time better picking out the largest and letting the others continue to grow. I can do 6 in about an hour and a half now with a turkey fryer as a scalder and a tub plucker.

 

[jolenesdad]

Welp has 1.00 broilers next week! ;-) Free shipping. I cancelled my Ideal order and went with Welp. I also ordered from Meyer - 7 Straight Run Delaware and 8 Straight Run Rainbow Rangers. Im curious about delaware for sustainability, and I know hatchery stock won't really tell me much, but it's a start. I may hold back the hens and pop them in my laying flock if they don't grow fast, or sell them as laying birds.

Y'all are making me jealous with your "process-as-they're-ready" stories. I'm going to try and put that out there for myself as a goal in the next year or two. For now, my plan is to take the first set of cornish around 10 weeks like this time and select the healthiest to leave behind, and then go sometime around 13-14 weeks with those leftover cornish, the Rainbow Rangers and Delaware males and my Marans and Welsummer cockerels will be 16-17 weeks then. It will let me know what to focus on in the future! Photos next week when they're all settled in. This weekend I'm going to make a plan for how I'm going to raise all these together. I'm hoping the mix really keeps the cornish moving.

 

[RUNuts]

The mix may keep them moving. I've heard stories of CX picking on the other smaller (slower growing) breeds and hogging all the feed. Have a plan to separate if needed. Hope it won't be needed. I'd say elevate some of the feed, but my CX were jumping up 12" to a shelf to get the bucket I put down. Needed a taller shelf to fix their bowls.

Did you check Windy Meadows for delivery? Are they sold out? $1/chick is good pricing. How much is shipping, if I may ask?

The process as they are ready is more my limitations. I decided to home butcher. Just wasn't willing to pluck myself to exhaustion.

A friend suggested a child lock to hold my freezer closed. Velcro strap contraption. Not a bad idea. Still haven't done it, but your story tells me I should. For next time.

 

[jolenesdad]

My freezer that got here today has a LOCK! I did t even know. Someone was watching out for me.

I’m a little concerned the Delawares will be small but if they’re too picked on I’ll just separate until they aren’t. I have a separate brooder they could stay in in the same area, for 6 weeks.

My current plan is to brood them all together the first two weeks and monitor. Then I’m going to separate for their overnights. Delawares and Marans in one and we can see where the rainbow rangers fall.

I’ve been thinking about food. I haven’t felt so inclined to “limit” feed for the Cornish... but I think I may this time. They can eat in the morning in their coop, I’ll put them out in the big pen or pasture from like 8:30-7, and they can eat until dark. That’s two hours of light and food in the morning and night.

 

[jolenesdad]

The mix may keep them moving. I've heard stories of CX picking on the other smaller (slower growing) breeds and hogging all the feed. Have a plan to separate if needed. Hope it won't be needed. I'd say elevate some of the feed, but my CX were jumping up 12" to a shelf to get the bucket I put down. Needed a taller shelf to fix their bowls.

Did you check Windy Meadows for delivery? Are they sold out? $1/chick is good pricing. How much is shipping, if I may ask?

The process as they are ready is more my limitations. I decided to home butcher. Just wasn't willing to pluck myself to exhaustion.

A friend suggested a child lock to hold my freezer closed. Velcro strap contraption. Not a bad idea. Still haven't done it, but your story tells me I should. For next time.

I couldn’t get next week and I am slightly concerned with heat if I really try and slow them down, I’m pushing it....

Free shipping from welp! 25 bucks all in... 25 broilers here next week.

What’s slightly annoying is they “hatch from all strains” so they can’t tell me what line I’m getting. Not a huge deal but I find some of the company literature interesting to read.

Also, got an email that says they should ship on Tuesday. You will receive no further emails. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But windy meadows told me they would sell me hatching eggs! May try that route next fall for fun.

 

[RUNuts]

But windy meadows told me they would sell me hatching eggs! May try that route next fall for fun.

Hatching eggs you say?!? Interesting.

Yes, Windy Meadows tries to sell out, so order well in advance.

Having said that, $25 for 25 chicks delivered! Wow. You may make me rethink. If it weren't for the 31 eggs in the incubator, I might be sold. Hmmm. I need more land.

 

[jolenesdad]

Yes I emailed him and asked about hatching eggs... he said they can do that but cannot ship them.

Whole Foods has this 5 step humane scale and 5+ doesn’t exist in chickens, but it would if farms hatched the meat bird eggs on their site and were processed on site. I dont think many farms could have the capacity to process under inspection on site, but it made me curious if it was even possible for broilers for us at consumer level to achieve those highest humane standards.

Anyway, I wouldn’t have been surprised for them to say they contractually couldn’t sell me Ross 308 eggs. Alas, they can!!!

.....all these little projects are stacking up. That’s the fun of it... chicken projects never end.

 

[RUNuts]

.....all these little projects are stacking up. That’s the fun of it... chicken projects never end.

Chicken math at its finest!

 

[jolenesdad]

Chicken math at its finest!

“It’s just research”

 

[RUNuts]

“It’s just research”

Did you say that with a straight face?


For science!