City Meat Birds

[glock206]

I have been raising layers for just over a year now and absolutely love the fresh daily eggs. I have been thinking about trying some meat birds for a while now but have been hesitant about doing so since I live in the city and am limited to a set number of birds that I can have. Well I was at the feed store today to get some layer pellets and there was the bin of cornishX and i just couldn't pass them up. I ended up getting 5 which with my layers puts me right at my limit. I am excited to give this a try and get some fresh meat for the freezer. I will post pictures of them soon and will post detailed progress reports as I go. Has anyone one else done small quantities like this with good results and being somewhat cost efficient?

 

[Birddog1148]

I was just at my local TSC and they have their chicks in as well. I have 6 layers as well that are just about a year old now and am wanting to try some meat birds as well this year. And I am a city dweller as well. Just checked back in here to get an idea what I need to set up coop wise for the meat birds.

 

[glock206]

Well after a busy few days i was finally able to snap a quick photo of the new chicks. So far all are healthy and active and little eating machines. I got the coop and run all set up for them and will move them out there once they have feathered out a little more.
For the coop I re-purposed a rubbermaid outdoor storage shed. It is about 5 feet long, 2.5 feet deep, and almost 4 feet tall on the high side. I think this will make clean up much easier and it already had a top the opened up and two doors on the from so access is simply as well. I built a small run and cut a small door in one end of the coop so they can just go back and forth between the two areas. The run is 6 feet by 3 feet and has a lift up lid for cleaning and feeding. With both areas added together each bird will have about 6 square feet of room. I do plan on letting them out to free range when I am home, so hopefully the room I have budgeted will be adequate. Next on the list is to complete an automatic watering system and starting to try out doing the FF method to help control the smell.

 

[mrshaggie810]

I hope it goes well for you! We rent, and live on just a 1/2 acre, but I really wanted to try some meaties, so we got 3. I'm hoping it goes well and is cost effective as well.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Good luck, they will be worth the effort. There's nothing better than fresh chicken.

 

[glock206]

I have now had the chicks a week and they will be two weeks old on monday. So far they are all very healthy and active and eating like champs. Their food consumption is at about a quart feeder every two days or so and water consumption has been hard to track since I seem to be constantly changing it. These chicks definitely make a much larger mess than any of the other breeds I have raised so far.
I do have one concern though, after looking at other posts and pictures in the meat bird forums, the growth rate of mine is not on the same pace. They are definitely growing much faster than laying breeds, but not as fast others cornish X. I called the feed store where I bought them from and asked them what hatchery they get their chicks from and I was told Welp. I went onto Welp's website and I saw that they sell both Jumbo cornish X and slow cornish. I now believe that the birds I got might actually be slow cornish. If this is true then I think my whole plan for staggering batches of chicks is going out the window.
Has anyone grown the slow cornish? If so, how much longer did it take to get them to butcher weight?

Thanks Garren

 

[blucoondawg]

It's odd they would advertise CornishX and then sell the slow variety, the slow ones will take longer to grow and are also more expensive as chicks.

 

[kacklinkelly]

Thanks for the info shared on this thread. I am also interested in starting with just a few meat birds.
However, I have promised my husband that I will wait until the three we have been caring for start
paying us back in eggs. They are almost 6 months old and taking their sweet time. The other
thing I am concerned with is learning first hand how to harvest the meat birds rather than
learning via you tube. I will follow up on my AZ forum before I get them to see if someone
is available to give me a lesson or two before I attempt it on my own.

Keep us posted with your experience.

 

[stone_family3]

Last year I did 12 in the city. By 12 weeks I had an average bird of 9lbs. There were some down sides IMO, they stink and were generally gross birds. It was very hot last year and several became overheated, but only one died. They were very lazy and generally wouldn't graze, I let my daughter Chase them so they would actuality move around. They were very sweet birds, but I will never raise them again. This year I am opting for production red roosters and extra grow time.

 

[blucoondawg]

Last year I did 12 in the city. By 12 weeks I had an average bird of 9lbs. There were some down sides IMO, they stink and were generally gross birds. It was very hot last year and several became overheated, but only one died. They were very lazy and generally wouldn't graze, I let my daughter Chase them so they would actuality move around. They were very sweet birds, but I will never raise them again. This year I am opting for production red roosters and extra grow time.

I have been reading on the fermented feed, they claim it allows the birds to eat less feed and improves their digestive system allowing them to take more nutrients out of the feed and it makes there poop like regular chicken poop. I don't care for the CC birds myself but the fermented feed may make them more enjoyable and possibly healthier/less lazy.