Greetings, all. I wanted to try my first batch of meat birds, and considered both red rangers and heritage whites. The whites were easier for me to get. I got only six. One did not develop properly and died at about 4 1/2 weeks. The remaining five are now just over five weeks old. These chicks have been a steep learning curve. I wanted to share my experience.
The chicks start out as classic yellow fuzzballs. They soon distinguish themselves by their insatiable appetites. They eat constantly. They eat more. They eat still more. Basically, if they are awake, they are beak down in the food bowl. These chicks were also quite rambunctious. They overturned every water container I put in with them. They required a full size water container at three weeks just to stop them tipping it over. They routinely flip over their food bowls, too, including the long metal type. They seem to be full-tilt chickens, eating and growing and partying as fast as they can!
The one thing they are slow at is putting on feathers. Now at five weeks they are huge, stinky, and not fully feathered. I had a real housing crisis on my hands when they quickly outgrew the brooder before they were ready to be outside. The weather turned unseasonably cold at an inconvenient time. An emergency cardboard box was secured, onto which they promptly dumped their water. Sigh!
They have just now been outside for a couple of days, and the layer hens are hazing them, of course. They are also starting to show some signs of growing faster than their legs can handle. They are not lame, but they sit down a lot more than any of the layers ever did. Their legs are wide apart, and they have an awkward gait. Still, they enjoy scratching and pecking, and will occasionally flap their wings to take off running across the yard. They are also the most poop-covered birds I have ever had, routinely having poop on their feet and wings.
I wanted to post for anyone who is planning to get heritage whites and has no prior experience with meat chickens. If you are set up for small batches of layers, that is likely to be inadequate for these guys. If possible, you may want to get them during much warmer weather to be able to move them out sooner. And plan to buy a lot of feed. Mine needed to have their feeders filled twice daily. I will let y'all know how they taste in another few weeks.
The chicks start out as classic yellow fuzzballs. They soon distinguish themselves by their insatiable appetites. They eat constantly. They eat more. They eat still more. Basically, if they are awake, they are beak down in the food bowl. These chicks were also quite rambunctious. They overturned every water container I put in with them. They required a full size water container at three weeks just to stop them tipping it over. They routinely flip over their food bowls, too, including the long metal type. They seem to be full-tilt chickens, eating and growing and partying as fast as they can!
The one thing they are slow at is putting on feathers. Now at five weeks they are huge, stinky, and not fully feathered. I had a real housing crisis on my hands when they quickly outgrew the brooder before they were ready to be outside. The weather turned unseasonably cold at an inconvenient time. An emergency cardboard box was secured, onto which they promptly dumped their water. Sigh!
They have just now been outside for a couple of days, and the layer hens are hazing them, of course. They are also starting to show some signs of growing faster than their legs can handle. They are not lame, but they sit down a lot more than any of the layers ever did. Their legs are wide apart, and they have an awkward gait. Still, they enjoy scratching and pecking, and will occasionally flap their wings to take off running across the yard. They are also the most poop-covered birds I have ever had, routinely having poop on their feet and wings.
I wanted to post for anyone who is planning to get heritage whites and has no prior experience with meat chickens. If you are set up for small batches of layers, that is likely to be inadequate for these guys. If possible, you may want to get them during much warmer weather to be able to move them out sooner. And plan to buy a lot of feed. Mine needed to have their feeders filled twice daily. I will let y'all know how they taste in another few weeks.
