Considering Raising Meat Birds. Tips?

[teriz1091]

I'm considering trying my hand at raising meat birds in the spring. What tips/advice do you have for a first-timer? We have a small flock of laying hens, so I have raised chickens, but have never dealt with meat birds.

Do their shelter needs differ from egg layers? Do they roost? What type of feed do they need? Our egg layers free range during the day & are locked up at night. I would prefer to keep the meat birds separate from the egg laying flock for the simple reason of avoiding the stress of figuring out a new hierarchy with the new birds. Is this reasonable, or should the meat birds be allowed to free range as well? How many is a good number to start with? I don’t want to be overwhelmed with birds to butcher.

Also, any tips on butchering & processing is very much appreciated. I’ve never butchered or processed poultry.

Thank you!

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Here's a great discussion @Birdinhand started that tracks his experience raising chickens for meat. Lots of details and photos. It's the best read I've come across on this topic.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ons-of-suburban-meat-bird-production.1115689/

 

[Folly's place]

Separate housing is a very good idea; mine go into a movable hoop house with their heat lamp at about three weeks of age, and they get moved around the yard at least weekly.
Decide what you want to grow; Cornishx birds grow very fast, have higher death rates because of the heart failure and joint issues they develop, and go in the freezer by eight weeks of age. They are the 'grocery store chickens' and have little flavor, IMO.
Freedom Rangers, or red rangers, are slightly slower growing hybrid meat birds, so eleven or twelve weeks to the freezer, and some can grow/ live longer. They cost more to raise because they eat more, but have more flavor, and are generally a lot healthier.
We usually raise 25 straight run chicks, once a year, and kill the cockerels first, and then the pullets, who grow slower.
At one time we butchered at home, but there's a very nice small poultry processing plant fairly near here, and that's where our birds go now. They come home chilled and vacuum packed, lovely!
Once a year is enough! Figure out how many you need for the year (freezer space too!), and if you are raising any for friends or family. Then start with smaller numbers the first year, not the maximum, and go for it!
You can also get straight run heritage breed chicks, or mixed large breed cockerels, from the hatchery, and grow them out. I've done that too. Plan on sixteen weeks or so to grow them.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mary covered it pretty well. My main suggestion is to start small, especially since you have never butchered poultry before. See if you can get a half dozen meat bird chicks at a feed store instead of a 15 or 25 direct from a hatchery. There are a lot of different ways to butcher them and there is a learning curve. There is a lot less pressure on you if you just have a few instead of a lot that are ready.

There are many different ways to actually kill the bird. My suggestion is to study that and try to decide which you can do without hesitating or flinching so you get a clean kill and don’t injure yourself. For a lot of people this is the hardest part. You can either skin or pluck them. Will you want to cut them up into serving pieces or keep the carcass whole? I cut mine up into pieces and save the parts not for the table to use to make broth but that can be slower than just going for a cleaned carcass. These decisions will tell you what kind of equipment and set-up you need.

How will you preserve the meat? Some people pressure can it. Most people freeze it instead. I don’t like the zip-loc type bags, the meat gets ice crystals too soon for me. Some people use vacuum bags, I double wrap mine in freezer paper. And as Mary said, how much freezer space do you have? That can be important.

How many chickens will you want in a year? I eat one a week but with trips to grandkids and other things I only need about 45 a year. Some people raise fewer, some a lot more. With any of this stuff there can be some trial and error in deciding what works for you. So start small and go through those errors with a few birds instead of a bunch.

 

[RUNuts]

I'll be doing it this year also. One of the considerations is to not butcher all at the same time. Butcher 5 largest at 6 weeks. The next 5 the next weekend.

I did 7 the first time and glad that I had help. We hand plucked and while it is easier than ducks, my hands still cramped. At one time, 3 of us would do 20 ducks. I was younger then...

I will probably get 25. 5 largest harvested at 6 weeks. 10 at 8 weeks and the last 10 at 10 weeks. Doing this every weekend is not appealing. Eating, on the other hand, is. Assuming all survive to harvest that is.

Chicken tractor is my thought also. Considering 25 in the spring and another 25 for the fall. Backyard raising, so not a lot of space and neighbors.

Figure out if you want to hand pluck, machine pluck or skin. How do you eat your birds now? If mostly skinless, done. If you rotisserie or bake, the skin flavor and juice is preferred. Buying a plucker depends on you.

Watch the utube how to's. Watch several. Everyone does it their own way. Best of luck!