First time raising meat birds - my journey of raising Cornish X in the city

[Ridgerunner]

I have no way of knowing which chick is which from week to week,

Might be a good thing, many people find the butchering easier if they don't name them or identify with each one as an individual. Unless you are keeping one to breed, averages may work OK for you.

I see people were posting while I was typing. So, yeah, no leg bands. But food coloring is passive. Different colors on different body parts gives you a lot of flexibility in marking them. A red on the head is different to a blue on the left wing is different to a red on the head and a blue on the left wing. Or yellow or green. You may need to renew it as they feather out but it is definitely doable.

 

[Morrigan]

Might be a good thing, many people find the butchering easier if they don't name them or identify with each one as an individual.

This is a very good point.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Might be a good thing, many people find the butchering easier if they don't name them or identify with each one as an individual. Unless you are keeping one to breed, averages may work OK for you.

I see people were posting while I was typing. So, yeah, no leg bands. But food coloring is passive. Different colors on different body parts gives you a lot of flexibility in marking them. A red on the head is different to a blue on the left wing is different to a red on the head and a blue on the left wing. Or yellow or green. You may need to renew it as they feather out but it is definitely doable.

This is a very good point.

Yeah, maybe I will just stick to the average weight of the 7 birds. It's my first time so it might be more emotional when butchering day comes around. I do handle the meat birds a little just so they are used to that, so I haven't really bonded with them, per se. But still.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I have a question about temperatures. Since the chicks are are a week old, I'm trying to keep the temp under the light at around 90 degrees. I have the birds on my screened in porch and it's 84 degrees today. I raised the light way up so it's about 92 under the light right now, and about 87 on the other side of the brooder. Yet my CX are all still panting! I don't want to make it cooler in there because my layers could get chilled, but I also don't want the CX to be too strained.

Is a little panting okay or should I raise the light or turn it off? They have access to fresh water 24/7 btw.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have a question about temperatures. Since the chicks are are a week old, I'm trying to keep the temp under the light at around 90 degrees. I have the birds on my screened in porch and it's 84 degrees today. I raised the light way up so it's about 92 under the light right now, and about 87 on the other side of the brooder. Yet my CX are all still panting! I don't want to make it cooler in there because my layers could get chilled, but I also don't want the CX to be too strained.

Is a little panting okay or should I raise the light or turn it off? They have access to fresh water 24/7 btw.

Many people have found that the suggested temperatures are somewhat conservative and that chicks can thrive with them a bit lower.

What about switching to a lower-wattage bulb and lowering it so that the maximum temperature area is smaller?

What do you have for ventilation in your brooder? Ideally, the area farthest from the heat should be the same as the ambient temperature of the surrounding area.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Many people have found that the suggested temperatures are somewhat conservative and that chicks can thrive with them a bit lower.

What about switching to a lower-wattage bulb and lowering it so that the maximum temperature area is smaller?

What do you have for ventilation in your brooder? Ideally, the area farthest from the heat should be the same as the ambient temperature of the surrounding area.

Thank you! I just went out and raised the bulb a little more, then put a box fan on on the porch - not blasting toward them, but just getting the air circulating in that area a little more. There's a slight breeze going into the open end of the brooder.

Not sure if a lower-wattage bulb is an option for me right now, but if it gets impossible to regulate the amount of heat with the current bulb, I'll have to invest in it.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you! I just went out and raised the bulb a little more, then put a box fan on on the porch - not blasting toward them, but just getting the air circulating in that area a little more. There's a slight breeze going into the open end of the brooder.

Not sure if a lower-wattage bulb is an option for me right now, but if it gets impossible to regulate the amount of heat with the current bulb, I'll have to invest in it.

Before I got the heat plate (thanks to a BYC member's generous gift during a crisis last spring), I had a collection of reptile night bulbs in various wattages that I would swap out according to the ambient temperature.

 

[Ridgerunner]

it's 84 degrees today.

I assume 84 F is a high. What's your low? The low is also very important.

I raised the light way up so it's about 92 under the light right now, and about 87 on the other side of the brooder.

You are using a wire dog cage as a brooder. Can you move the light off to the side so it is only heating a part of the brooder and let the far end cool off more? Since warm air rises you probably don't need to remove your "wind protection" at the bottom on one end, though that wouldn't hurt.

Yet my CX are all still panting! I don't want to make it cooler in there because my layers could get chilled, but I also don't want the CX to be too strained.

If you'd seen a broody hen raise chicks in cooler weather you'd better understand how well layer chicks can handle cooler weather. If 84 F were your low you would not need any heat now, not at 1 week old. If you just have a part of that brooder "warm enough" the rest could be around freezing and they'd be OK. My brooder sometimes has ice on the far end when I put chicks in straight from the incubator. They stay in the end that I keep toasty. And I keep that end well wrapped to keep heat in.

If you are brooding outdoors your biggest temperature challenges are the temperature swings. I've seen it go from below freezing to the 70's F in a day. As long as I keep one end warm enough in the coldest temperatures and an area cool enough in the warmest temperatures the chicks can find the spot they are comfortable. If you are brooding where it is climate controlled keeping a warm and cool spot should be a lot easier.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I assume 84 F is a high. What's your low? The low is also very important.


You are using a wire dog cage as a brooder. Can you move the light off to the side so it is only heating a part of the brooder and let the far end cool off more? Since warm air rises you probably don't need to remove your "wind protection" at the bottom on one end, though that wouldn't hurt.


If you'd seen a broody hen raise chicks in cooler weather you'd better understand how well layer chicks can handle cooler weather. If 84 F were your low you would not need any heat now, not at 1 week old. If you just have a part of that brooder "warm enough" the rest could be around freezing and they'd be OK. My brooder sometimes has ice on the far end when I put chicks in straight from the incubator. They stay in the end that I keep toasty. And I keep that end well wrapped to keep heat in.

If you are brooding outdoors your biggest temperature challenges are the temperature swings. I've seen it go from below freezing to the 70's F in a day. As long as I keep one end warm enough in the coldest temperatures and an area cool enough in the warmest temperatures the chicks can find the spot they are comfortable. If you are brooding where it is climate controlled keeping a warm and cool spot should be a lot easier.

Thank you! Yes, I do have the light off to one side of the cage, but I think because it was so hot yesterday, they were hot no matter what.

Brooding outdoors has turned out to be a bit of a challenge this time of year because of the temperature swings. Yesterday it was 84 and felt like summer. Overnight it cooled down to probably 50, and today the temp is hovering around 60 and feels like fall. I am home most of the day and my fiance keeps an eye on things at night, so luckily we are able to frequently check the brooder and adjust the light as necessary. I'm glad to hear chicks are more resilient to cool temps than the books make them out to be. I'll stop worrying so much and just keep adjusting it 3-4 times per day like I have been. I feel it's unlikely we'll get many 80 degree days from here on out, so that's a plus.

Does keeping chicks excessively warm keep them from feathering out quick enough? I want my CX to go out to the chicken tractor at 3 weeks old.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Does keeping chicks excessively warm keep them from feathering out quick enough? I want my CX to go out to the chicken tractor at 3 weeks old.

Good question. I think cooler temperatures help them feather out a little faster but that doesn't mean they stay in cooler temperatures. Just some exposure is enough.