Friend needs help...

[wolfinator]

A good friend (and me) decided to get a bunch of broiler chicks, hers are around 13-14 weeks now. She got the flu and had someone else that was supposed to care for them while she got better. Problem is, they never cleaned the coop out and now her birds sound croupy. She asked me if they were still safe to butcher and eat. I haven't a clue what to tell her so I'm asking everyone for advice on this. My broilers were butchered at 6-8 weeks. We bought them together back in February, our first time trying but she waited to have roaster size ones.

She just wanted to know if the meat will be safe to eat. She's only found articles on eggs, not meat birds.

 

[nuthatched]

The meat should be fine.

 

[wolfinator]

The meat should be fine.

Good, she'll be glad to hear that. She said she's got $600-800 invested in them, mainly feed so she was worried.

 

[SourRoses]

She said she's got $600-800 invested in them, mainly feed so she was worried.

How many for that cost? I'm just curious.

 

[Hopulence]

What breed of chicken are they? 13 weeks is a long time unless heritage breed.

Also, why are they in a coop? Unless you mean chicken tractor/pen?

 

[wolfinator]

How many for that cost? I'm just curious.

She bought 24 in all. I think she said the first few weeks they went through maybe 50# in 10 days or so. If they were eating like mine, by week 4 she was going through about 2 50# bags a week. I know at one point she was buying meat bird feed 50# bags every other day/4 bags a week. I told her she needed to butcher them as they were getting huge and were over 8 weeks at that point. She was supposed to have someone lined up to process them but it fell through, then she got really sick (said the flu) and that put her in the situation now. She tries to keep her receipts for everything involving animals, she was shocked that it had cost her over $600 in feed almost 2 weeks ago, then add the cost of birds which was around $130. So, her estimate of $600-800 is a little low when adding in cost of birds. Using her costs by receipts plus price of birds plus additional feed bought over last 2 weeks, she's probably pushing $1000 easily. That's roughly $40 a bird (if not more).

She said she'd never buy another broiler chicken again, she'll buy locally processed ones next time.

Sadly she called to tell me last night, she's lost several over the last few days, one died while eating.

I just wish we lived closer, we're 4 1/2 hours away so we could have helped her. She pretty much got caught up in the idea of raising her own food but didn't realize everything involved. She was visiting me when she bought them and was heading home that evening so she wasn't worried about traveling with them. I fixed a crate for easier traveling with food and water. She kept the heat on full blast to keep them warm. At this point, she then called her husband to inform him what she'd bought and was bringing home. He called us both crazy... He travels a lot for his job as a contractor and can be gone 2-3 weeks at a time, sometimes longer. A few years back, he was sent to Puerto Rico to help restore power and was gone 4 months.

This was my first time too raising chicks for food and I must say, it's not for everyone including me. I've yet to eat what I raised and had butchered, they're still in the freezer. I've traded a few for having some work done around the house.

 

[wolfinator]

What breed of chicken are they? 13 weeks is a long time unless heritage breed.

Also, why are they in a coop? Unless you mean chicken tractor/pen?

They are C. C. broilers. They put them in a 6x8 shed they were making into a coop for future egg hens.

 

[FunClucks]

I bought 25 cornish cross, 21 of which survived to processing at 5-9 weeks. I put them in a 10x16 open air covered run at 4 weeks old, and I think I could go down to 10'x15' but less than that I don't feel like they'd have enough room. Others may disagree with me, but I think 25 CX in 48 sq feet (6x8 shed) is too small. Also, it's a heck of a lot more work to deal with the poo. So that's one thing to keep in mind if she does this again.

It took me a very long time to process those 21 chickens. I started at 5 wks, and processed every day after work (1-2 chickens an evening), and on the weekends (4-6 a weekend). It took till they were 9 wks old before I was done. Granted, I don't have an automatic plucker, and after the first seven I skinned them instead of plucking (it was faster and I don't eat the skin much anyway). Took me 1.5-2 hrs per chicken from coop to ice chest, and it was just me doing it.

One thing I'd recommend is that since they're so large, when she goes to process them, part most of them out. The breast meat is so large compared to the leg meat, by the time the breast is cooked, the legs will be way overdone if she tries to roast these. Maybe do a couple roasters just to see, but you'll probably be dealing with raw and overdone chicken all on one bird. Or you could pressure cook them - that would make sure everything gets cooked properly. If you cut apart the thighs, breasts, legs, etc, then you can package them into family size portions, and put similar thicknesses of meat together, for easier cooking.

I'd start processing them immediately. The longer she waits, the more will die. They are way past due. Unless you can commit to processing no later than 8 weeks, a slower growing broiler would probably be a better choice than CX.

If them having dirty feathers is an issue, one thing I do is give mine a post-mortem bath. I hang them up by their feet, wet them down, and rub them all over with dish soap. This helps remove some of the dirt and grime before I either pluck or skin them.

Good luck to your friend. I think she can still salvage things. Hopefully next time she'll plan things better.

 

[wolfinator]

I bought 25 cornish cross, 21 of which survived to processing at 5-9 weeks. I put them in a 10x16 open air covered run at 4 weeks old, and I think I could go down to 10'x15' but less than that I don't feel like they'd have enough room. Others may disagree with me, but I think 25 CX in 48 sq feet (6x8 shed) is too small. Also, it's a heck of a lot more work to deal with the poo. So that's one thing to keep in mind if she does this again.

It took me a very long time to process those 21 chickens. I started at 5 wks, and processed every day after work (1-2 chickens an evening), and on the weekends (4-6 a weekend). It took till they were 9 wks old before I was done. Granted, I don't have an automatic plucker, and after the first seven I skinned them instead of plucking (it was faster and I don't eat the skin much anyway). Took me 1.5-2 hrs per chicken from coop to ice chest, and it was just me doing it.

One thing I'd recommend is that since they're so large, when she goes to process them, part most of them out. The breast meat is so large compared to the leg meat, by the time the breast is cooked, the legs will be way overdone if she tries to roast these. Maybe do a couple roasters just to see, but you'll probably be dealing with raw and overdone chicken all on one bird. Or you could pressure cook them - that would make sure everything gets cooked properly. If you cut apart the thighs, breasts, legs, etc, then you can package them into family size portions, and put similar thicknesses of meat together, for easier cooking.

I'd start processing them immediately. The longer she waits, the more will die. They are way past due. Unless you can commit to processing no later than 8 weeks, a slower growing broiler would probably be a better choice than CX.

If them having dirty feathers is an issue, one thing I do is give mine a post-mortem bath. I hang them up by their feet, wet them down, and rub them all over with dish soap. This helps remove some of the dirt and grime before I either pluck or skin them.

Good luck to your friend. I think she can still salvage things. Hopefully next time she'll plan things better.

She, actually some help she had, did 13 of 17 (another had died overnight). She traded the biggest ones to get help in processing. The other 4 were still walking around and breathing fine so they were "spared" as she put it. Several birds weighed out at almost 20 pounds after cleaning.

She only had them locked in the building due to a bad thunderstorm with hail predicted the other day, they normally they're in the pen otherwise. She took my advice and put up umbrellas for shade and overhead predator protection.

We both agreed to never do this again. It was a bit rough for me being my first time too.

 

[FunClucks]

She, actually some help she had, did 13 of 17 (another had died overnight). She traded the biggest ones to get help in processing. The other 4 were still walking around and breathing fine so they were "spared" as she put it. Several birds weighed out at almost 20 pounds after cleaning.

She only had them locked in the building due to a bad thunderstorm with hail predicted the other day, they normally they're in the pen otherwise. She took my advice and put up umbrellas for shade and overhead predator protection.

We both agreed to never do this again. It was a bit rough for me being my first time too.

Wow! 20 lbs is one humungous chicken!

I'm sorry you guys had a bad experience with meat birds. I had 17 egger chickens for a year before trying meat birds, and no joke, CX made 3x the poop, ate and drank 3x the food and water, etc. It was a boatload of work and I had done a lot of research and thought I knew what I was getting into. Still had some hiccups. Still was sad come processing day. But I love to eat chicken, so they can either have a great life with me and one bad day, or a short life in a commercial chicken grower facility. I think their lives with me will be so much better than anything a commercial grower will provide, so as long as I continue to eat chicken, I will probably continue to try and process my own birds.

Personally, I'm trying some different meat birds this year to see if I can find one that grows slightly slower than CX with almost as much meat. That would lead to a less stressful processing timeline, and lower poop loads.

Growing and processing meat birds is not for everyone. Some folks don't know this until they try it.

If you do change your mind in the future, perhaps investigate dual purpose birds or slow growing broilers. Even though CX is not a good fit for you, another breed of meat bird might be.