Done With Meat Birds

[enel 1]

This is not intended to be an insult, nor is intended to be unkind, but people who are suffering 30% losses need to really reevaluate their methods of raising, their facilities, and their feeding practices. I don't think that the problem is the breed of chicken.

Once the chicks are in your hands and the post office hasn't killed them, you should not be losing chicks.

i agree to an extent with what your saying but the reason commercial farms dont suffer high mortality is because they pump there birds full of antibiotics other wise they would have a really high mortality rate and we def wouldn't be buying them for .99lb

 

[Beekissed]

Commercial poultry businesses methods of raising poultry isn't the greatest example of correct husbandry or we all wouldn't be so eager to raise our own. The poultry houses in my area take out hundreds of dead birds each day...the stench of their rotten carcasses is breath-taking in these parts. They do suffer high mortality rates but they raise so many thousands of birds that their loss is financially okay with them.

I agree with OB...it's not the breed, it's the husbandry methods if someone is suffering high losses.

 

[knjinnm]

Hi All,
I agree poultry farms have mortality rates but considering the farms are raising Cornish X Rock type of birds and pumping them with a lot of high protein food 24/7 for 156 days mortality will be higher than back yard raised Cornish X Rock birds.

I recently read that poultry food can no longer carry antibiotics because of the risk of transfer to humans plus I believe it's cheaper to dispose of a few birds then to spend the money medicating thousands of birds.
It's all about numbers.
Jac

 

[knjinnm]

Anybody feeding the birds fermented feed?

 

[Keric]

We used to have a few that die due to heart attacks, but since we started removing their feed at night our losses were significantly lower.

 

[knjinnm]

Check this thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds

 

[LilyD]

I have raised both Cornish X and Dual Purpose birds and I have chosen the DP birds for raising for many reasons.

First my Cornish X never would free range. We gave them access to 5 acres of pasture and they would not eat a thing outside. They laid around and just hung out unless of course it was feeding time. Then they turned into little velociraptors that would eat their food, the layer food and anything else left in the pen. If I fainted and fell down in there I am sure I would be just bones by morning. That's how voracious they were. I even had one who got into the layer coop and ate so much food that he tore his own crop open.

I know there are a ton of people who have chosen the CRX and who say that they gave them the opportunity to forage and free range and they were great but grew a bit slower. I can say from my experience with the strains that I was sent, that didn't happen.

The second reason was that we lost a lot of them by the second week of having them. We regulated the food as we were told on the website for them but even with being very careful and taking extra good care of them we still lost a lot. Depending on where you get your chicks from you have a chance of getting better or weaker strains for CRX. It's kind of like gambling. You also have the problems of leg and heart problems with these birds that aren't present in DP birds.

They do eat a lot and in my estimation they eat much more than DP roos ever do. I have no proof of this but just my experience.

They are not a self sustainable breed. In order to get more birds I would need to purchase more each year, whereas my DP birds I can breed and I only add new stock to add new genetics to my lines on occasion, I don't have to purchase each year.

Now for my DP roos there are still advantages and disadvantages to them as well.

First. I chose Brahmas and Dorkings as my primary birds for meat. The Brahmas are friendly and great at foraging so my feed bill is really only heavy for those birds I keep over winter. I breed my birds starting in spring when the temps start to warm up and I will usually end up with between 50 and 75 cockerels that I need to process by the end of the year.
I keep my roos for 18 to 24 weeks depending on how they are growing which is definitely longer than 8 weeks for CRX but since they are foraging for their own food for the most part it doesn't cost me more for feed than it would to keep CRX for 8 weeks. They are fed fermented feed twice a day and also veggies and fruits from the gardens and the occasional bit of bread just because they love it. They range with my layers usually right up until processing age and learn how to forage from the older chickens as they grow up.

Some drawbacks to DP roos is that they don't have as much breast meat as the CRX. It's just not possible. The Dorkings though have great flavor and have quite a bit of breast meat for a DP roo. Brahmas have more dark meat than light but still plenty for my family. You do have to keep them longer so they will crow and get hormones it's inevitable but I have very understanding neighbors so this isn't a problem for me. Processing can happen all at once or in smaller groups for these birds which is a plus since they are healthy they can be processed a little at a time as I have time.

As to the thought that DP are not a feasible source for someone who wants to fill their freezer for the winter, I have to say I highly disagree. I fill my freezer every winter with nothing but DP birds and we have not bought store bought chicken since we started this. We eat chicken once or twice a week and have plenty of birds to make us all the way through the winter until I grow more. I do not spend ridiculous amounts of money feeding them and they are very decent size. I also process my older layers as stew birds and my older roos once they no longer are fertilizing the eggs. The rule is that everyone pulls their weight here and that includes the chickens. Pullets can be sold to others who want hens for laying, roos can be sold as well but anyone left that won't be kept for breeding the next year becomes food. The meat is very tender and wonderfully flavorful too.

I agree with the poster that said it's a personal choice for each person but I hope that my giving you a bit of my experiences would help you to decide what you wanted to do.

Good luck.

 

[knjinnm]

Some drawbacks to DP roos is that they don't have as much breast meat as the CRX.

And that is why many people are crossing CX with dual purpose breeds,
trying to get the best of both lines.

 

[LilyD]

And that is why many people are crossing CX with dual purpose breeds,
trying to get the best of both lines.

I am trying something similar. I have Silver Gray Dorkings who have nice breasts and legs for a DP bird and then I have my Light Brahmas who are larger bodied with less breast meat than the Dorkings. I am going to be hatching some purebred eggs this year but I will also be crossing my Brahma hens with my Dorking Roo and vice versa to see if I can get some mixes that surpass the parent stock. Who knows I have heard from others that the mix is a great one so I am willing to give it a try.

 

[Keric]

we are gettin the brahmas soon. I am anxious to get them going and plan to breed them for eggs and dp. hope that the culls from breeding will give us good reasonable roasters. I am not sure but it seams that brahmas are more dark meat than breast meat.