Freezer Space

[NHchickenflock]

i assume this has been asked before but does anyone know how much freezer space is required per bird? Maybe a rule of thumb?
I am going to be processing 150 Cornish x in 6 weeks and trying to plan ahead.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

i assume this has been asked before but does anyone know how much freezer space is required per bird? Maybe a rule of thumb?
I am going to be processing 150 Cornish x in 6 weeks and trying to plan ahead.

Will you be keeping them as whole birds or breaking them down? This will play into the overall space needed to store them

 

[NHchickenflock]

I would say 95% will be whole birds

 

[duluthralphie]

I have 25 CX's and 25 DP's in one 7 cubic ft freezer and it is about full. Half are whole birds half are cut up.

I have 20 more CX's to do, Averaging 8-10 lbs, I figure I need one 7 cu ft freezer forthem.


( I raised them slow and larger than most people)

 

[CrazyTalk]

Also, you said you're processing in 6 weeks, but you didn't state how old the birds are now. Are you just getting them and processing in 6 weeks (2.5-5lbs), or are they older, and we're talking about 10lb birds going in the freezer?

 

[NHchickenflock]

They will be 8 weeks
Hoping around 6-8 lbs

 

[NHchickenflock]

So around 21 CFT work?

 

[Happy Chooks]

I raised 25 and 23 made it to slaughter. (lost a few in the first weeks) I usually like them whole, but I cut some in 1/2 and froze them for space. I'm liking the one's cut in 1/2 the best. (the whole ones take so dang long to cook, it's like roasting a turkey) These birds get large and 1/2 of one feeds a family of 4 for a minimum of 1 night with leftovers for my lunch. Some of them have fed us 2 nights and enough left over for my lunches. Mine were processed in batches, from 8-10 weeks.

We have 2 large freezers with other meat in them (steer and hog), so I can't really say how much freezer space they took up.