Egg Laying Hen Flock w/ Meat Hens Rotating Through

[bmoggach]

I'm curious to understand or know if people have a flock of egg laying hens that they also rotate a small group of meat hens through during the year. I would like to add 5-7 meat hens every 10-12 weeks if possible, but wonder about the risk of introducing chicks so frequently.

Appreciate any guidance you can provide!

Thanks,
Brad

 

[QueenMisha]

As long as there's enough space and enough of the meat birds, they usually do OK. Yesterday I moved my 15 Cornish Cross into the main pen for their second 6 weeks of growth, the others pecked at them some, but since the CX were more interested in staying in the coop eating and drinking than fighting, they decided to leave them be. The first day or two will always be rough, but I've always kept my meaties with my main flock without issue.

Why do you say hens only? Broilers (the only kind of bird that would be finished in less than 12 weeks) do not grow old enough to develop hormones before slaughter, if that's what you're worried about. The roosters do not have time to get "roostery" and act just like hens until butcher - no crowing, mating, or fighting.

 

[Mrs. K]

There are two kinds of meat birds. The cornish cross birds that grow an incrediabe rate, and are ususally ready to harvest between 8-10 weeks. They eat a lot of food, and produce a great deal of poop and must be harvested on schedule or you will lose them.

Then there are the pioneer birds, and red ranger birds. These grow a bit more slowly, and the harvest schedule is not so tight, but will still produce a nice carcass at about 12 + weeks.

I have been thinking about trying what you are proposinng, and I think I would go with the pioneer or red ranger birds. However, the above poster HAS done this, where as I am still in the theory stage.

Mrs K

 

[QueenMisha]

There are two kinds of meat birds. The cornish cross birds that grow an incrediabe rate, and are ususally ready to harvest between 8-10 weeks. They eat a lot of food, and produce a great deal of poop and must be harvested on schedule or you will lose them.

Then there are the pioneer birds, and red ranger birds. These grow a bit more slowly, and the harvest schedule is not so tight, but will still produce a nice carcass at about 12 + weeks.

I have been thinking about trying what you are proposinng, and I think I would go with the pioneer or red ranger birds. However, the above poster HAS done this, where as I am still in the theory stage.

Mrs K

This is a great point of discussion.

In my experience, Cornish Cross will work better for frequent rotation. This is because other chickens seem to think of Cornish Cross differently - I wouldn't be surprised if in their little chicken brains, they thought of them as another species. This has to do with their behavior, mostly. They are content to sit and eat for hours on end. Because they are mostly sitting in the same place, occasionally waddling to the waterer and back, the hens don't find them interesting or antagonizing. If you watch bullying in a flock, you will notice it escalates quite quickly - a chicken is picked on, it gets nervous and tries to run, which results in the picker getting more aggressive, and the picked on bird running MORE frantically, so on and so forth. Cornish, when picked at, will flop a few feet away and sit down again. They aren't active at all. However a Ranger/Pioneer is going to act a LOT more like a normal chicken - running, screeching, doing all the pitiful things a regular picked-out bird is prone to do.

It would also work better because Cornish grow larger, faster. You can put Cornish Cross outside at 3 weeks, no problem. 4 if the hens are brats. A Ranger/Pioneer of the same age will be quite a bit smaller, since the weight they put on tends to be at a later age.

This isn't to say Rangers/Pioneers WOULDN'T work. I expect there would be more picking and aggression, but with proper management, it's definitely still feasible - my original Rangers were raised as part of my big yearly crop, and did well, despite the higher amount of picking. The Cornish Cross are simply easier, is all, and that's why I use them as the main fowl for my big yearly crop and smaller rotations through the year as well.