Got the green light for meat birds!!!

[DLCShark]

My wife told me today that once my hens start laying good I can start a run of meat birds! I'm excited to get a batch of Cornish X. My girls are almost 6 months old so I think eggs could come anytime now especially since I got rid of the pushy Roos.

Now it's time to start prepping. I want to build a tractor for 15-20 birds. And possibly start building a plucker(once I find a power source it's on!). I also want to look into mixing my own feed for them.

Any suggestions on any of this?

 

[trunkman]

I wouldn't jump into everything too quickly, start with the birds you want and get a feel for the work and amount of feed involved after you build them a coop or enclosure you'll keep them in and see if you like doing that. Then come processing day, can you handle the processing part? I remember my first time, I had a bit of a time taking the chickens life then the plucking and gutting and storing in the freezer. You may think 10 birds can be done quickly the first time but you'll find it may take you the better part of the day if not all day on the first go round.
I've timed myself with one bird from start to finish and it only took 12 minutes after having done it a half dozen times, multiply that by ten birds, not including set up time, clean up time, packing time. You're in for a long day!

Hope I didn't discourage you but get a feel for it before you go too big. My first try at meat birds was 15 birds,"I had processed 3 times before" and had some experience and it took me just a little over 4 hours to get 7 birds completely done and in the freezer with help from my wife and brother.
Turns out I love raising my own meat birds, love the taste, I know what I'm eating, it costs more than store bought but well worth it. My neighbor and I just received the 50 meat birds we ordered last Wednesday and are planning to process them over 2 different weekends and there will be 4 of us doing the processing. Ok I'm rambling on here, good luck and you'll love the taste!

 

[DLCShark]

Currently I have 5 hens(all around 6 months in age). I had a total of 11 at one point 3 roosters and 8 hens. I processed one Roo and sold the other two. Three of my hens were eaten by the dogs. So I've gone thru some growing pains. I plan on having a tractor built and plans for a plucker on the table before I order my meat birds. I do have a friend that is willing to help me process. I have one rooster in the freezer from my only attempt to process a bird. It was a lengthy process but I know I can do it more efficiently in the future. I want taste the difference of a home grown bird vs store bought. I'm not concerned with the cost right now. I know it will be a bit more expensive especially in the beginning. But as I get my method down and network with others I think I can get the cost lowered.

Time will tell...thanks for the comments and advice. I will keep you posted.

 

[katbriar]

I do suggest raising your meat birds In The same way you do layers. Giver them plenty of room rather than a tractor and you'll have beautiful, active, healthy birds with fewer health problems.

 

[DLCShark]

I was hoping to build a tractor that's big enough for them to roam but small enough for me to move around.