How many meat chick should I raise monthly?

[natyvidal]

Hi everyone.

My family is trying out raising our own chickens GM for consumption.
I bought 25 chicks, Cornish/white rocks breed.
Fast growers, and more meaty. They are one month old. I am feeding them non GMO chick feed, I think it’s 20% protein.

From looking at them I have more cockerels than pullets. I am planning to process around 5 months or when they reach the right weight!

The thing is that I want to keep some of the roosters and hens to continue breeding and producing more chicks for future consumption.

Question. For a family of 5 where we usually eat chicken two times a week; how many roosters and hens should I keep that will continue to provide us with chicks to supply our eating them?

This is how I figured it out.

We will need three chickens a week, that is 12 chickens a month, which is 144 chickens a year.

I don’t want to use incubators to hatch the eggs. I’ve had bad experience with them. I would prefer the hens to lay their eggs and hatch babies. At that point I’ll retrieve the babies and raise them in a brooder. Also, I really don’t need their eggs to eat since I already have my heritage breeds hens doing that. And they will all free range coming back to the coop at night.

I think only 1 rooster and 4 hens will do. Will that be enough? Or two roosters in case something happens to one of them and 8 hens? How often do this breed lay eggs? Oh! Oh! I just read that they lay about 160 eggs a year! That might mean I’ll need mor pullets to supply the demand?

Shut!!! This is all so very interesting!!! . But, it’s also so confusing! .

Any insight, input or information is greatly appreciated!

 

[NatJ]

I bought 25 chicks, Cornish/white rocks breed.
Fast growers, and more meaty.
I am planning to process around 5 months or when they reach the right weight!

People usually process them at 6 to 8 weeks. So 2 months or less.

The thing is that I want to keep some of the roosters and hens to continue breeding and producing more chicks for future consumption.

Very difficult.
If you just treat them like normal chickens, they eat too much, and they tend to die of heart failure before they even finish growing up. (I think they often start dying between 2 and 3 months of age.)

To make that work, you have to pick your breeding stock early, and restrict their feed (deliberately stunt their growth) to have them live long enough to breed. And you have to keep their feed strictly limited the whole time you keep them--enough to be able to lay eggs, but not enough to get so fat they die.
It can be done, but is not common. I personally don't know the exact details, just the part I already said.

We will need three chickens a week, that is 12 chickens a month, which is 144 chickens a year.

I don’t want to use incubators to hatch the eggs.

If the hens hatch the eggs, you should plan to raise all the chickens for the year in the spring and summer, not evenly distributed throughout the year.

I would prefer the hens to lay their eggs and hatch babies. At that point I’ll retrieve the babies and raise them in a brooder.

If you let the hens raise the chicks, instead of using a brooder, it will probably make less work for you.

I think only 1 rooster and 4 hens will do. Will that be enough? Or two roosters in case something happens to one of them and 8 hens? How often do this breed lay eggs? Oh! Oh! I just read that they lay about 160 eggs a year!

When a hen goes broody, she quits laying eggs and just sits on the nest to hatch them.
I do not know if these hens will go broody or not.

But if you really want to hatch eggs from those birds, it might make sense to have your meat birds, and a separate kind that goes broody and does the hatching (maybe some of your other hens will volunteer? A hen does not care who laid the eggs. As long as she's broody, she will happily sit on any eggs you give her.)

That way you could have just a few meat chickens laying eggs, then each time a different hen goes broody, you give her a clutch of meat-type eggs to hatch.


If you are able to buy Cornish Cross chicks cheap from a store near you--that probably makes more sense than trying to raise your own.

And if you really want to raise your own meat birds from eggs you produce, it may be easier to use your heritage-breed chickens and just plan to raise three times as many (because they are smaller), instead of Cornish Cross.

Also, if you breed your Cornish Cross to each other, the chicks will not all be like the parents. The ones you buy are a hybrid (cross of two kinds), so their chicks will have some variation--they may be like one or another of their grandparents, or a different mix of traits.

You certainly can try what you are proposing, but it will not be the easiest way to get chicken meat for your family.

Shut!!! This is all so very interesting!!! . But, it’s also so confusing! .

I agree. Many things about chickens are both interesting and confusing

 

[speedy2020]

The Freedom Ranger would be better choice. They do growth slower and ready to butch around 11-16 weeks and has less issue with leg/heart problem. If you let them free range, it should growth slower.

 

[poultryprofessor]

There are a lot of factors that go into determining how many birds to raise and when.

First... a comment on the breed and your plan:

Are you raising commercial-type meat chickens (often referred to as "Cornish Cross", but they are not a simple two breed cross)? These birds have yellow down as chicks and feather out white. They have a different conformation than your laying-type strains or dual-purpose breeds - larger breasts, thicker thighs. This should start being evident at <3 weeks of age. If so, these birds can be expected to reach 6 to 7 lbs by 6 to 8 weeks of age (depending on nutrition/management). If you let them go longer, you may encounter health issues like leg and heart problems. This can include sudden death. I have successfully raised broilers on full feed to 10 weeks of age, but these were birds that happened to grow a bit slow as youngsters. Even still, the males hit 10 to 12 lbs and definitely waddled more than walked. If you are raising a slower-growing broiler (like a Red Ranger) or a heritage breed, you can process them whenever they reach the size you want. Keep in mind the carcass weight on these birds is about 67% of their live weight (broilers are usually closer to 70%).

Are you planning to process your own? Is this something you have done before? If not, understand that there is a learning curve and it may take you all day just to process 25 birds. If you have processed broilers yourself, you'll have a better idea of how many you can realistically do in a given time frame. I have worked with an experienced team to process 100+ birds in one morning, but it has also taken me what felt like all day to process <10 birds when I didn't have great equipment or a lot of help.

Are you planning to have someone else process your birds? If so, identify processors that will work with you and figure out what their processing schedule looks like. Some processors work year round, but others may be seasonal. You wouldn't want to plan for a November processing date if your processor closes for the season in October.

How much storage space do you have for your meat? Do you have room for a year's supply of meat? If not, how much room do you have for meat storage? If you can only fit 25 birds in your freezer at a time, you will need to be sure to empty your freezer between batches. That adds a level of complexity to your plans, especially in the winter.


Now let's think about the actual birds...

Assuming you are in fact talking about commercial-type meat birds, I would not recommend trying to breed them yourself. It is possible, but it isn't as simple as just keeping a few females and a male. These hens are not known for being good layers or for being broody, so I wouldn't expect them to reliably hatch sufficient stock to supply your needs. Additionally, they are a hybrid so they will not breed true. If you do get chicks, don't expect their growth to be uniform.

In general, you will be much better off simply buying day-old chicks from a hatchery. They can generally be purchased for <$3/chick shipped with better deals for larger quantities.

If you do not want to buy new chicks for each batch and are looking for something "self-sustaining", consider heritage dual-purpose breeds. They won't be the same (they grow a lot slower, don't put as much muscle on the breast, etc), but you could keep some females and males to produce and raise chicks for your meat needs.

How much space do you have available for raising these birds? For some people, space is a limiting factor. If you only have room to comfortably house 25 birds at a time, you will need 6 batches of 25 to meet your needs for the year. If you can house 150 birds at a time, you could produce a year's supply of meat in one batch. Personally, I would aim to split the difference - raise 3 batches of 50 or 2 batches of 75.

What type of housing do you have/want for them? Will they be in a barn, or outside? Is your housing able to keep warm in the winter? Cool in the summer? If not, you will need to consider what time of year you can comfortably raise these guys. Most people aim for late spring/early fall. Broilers don't deal with heat well, so you will want to avoid the heat of summer. Grass obviously doesn't grow in the winter, so if you want them on pasture you will need to avoid that time period.


My recommendations:

• Find a good hatchery that will supply you with day-old broiler chicks
  • They typically can be purchased on demand or with a 1-month notice depending on the procedures of the hatchery. Sometimes farm stores like Tractor Supply run specials when they have extras.
• Run 3 batches of 50/chicks/year
  • Timing would depend on your area and needs, but around here (central Missouri), I'd start my first batch in April and have my last batch processed before November.
  • Big advantage here is if something happens (weather, predator, etc), you don't lose the entire year's supply in one go.
• If you are planning to process your own and haven't done that before, see how this first batch goes before making decisions for future batches.

Good luck with your birds!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Excellent post.

My main suggestion is to try a small batch first. See how it goes and get the kinks out of your system. There is always a learning curve.

I eat one dual purpose bird a week but I only need to hatch about 45 a year. With vacations and trips to see the grandkids 45 a year is enough. It took me a couple of years to determine that.

 

[natyvidal]

Excellent post.

My main suggestion is to try a small batch first. See how it goes and get the kinks out of your system. There is always a learning curve.

I eat one dual purpose bird a week but I only need to hatch about 45 a year. With vacations and trips to see the grandkids 45 a year is enough. It took me a couple of years to determine that.

Thank you for encouraging words. I bought the chicks from a neighbor, whose flock I’ve visited and she explained a lot about this breed and I saw the parents walkibg around and breed for her. She is certified by government has all types of permits to sell to the public. The truth is I will need to experiment with them until I find the right balance. But, How many are in your family? Just you? Just to get an idea of how many humans a year will 45 chickens feed?

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are only two of us. I cook a chicken for supper on Thursday night. Leftovers go into a soup on Saturday night. With a fairly small chicken, like a pullet, that's it. If the chicken is a larger cockerel I get a lunch or two out of it. I use dual purpose chickens.

How much you need will depend on how many you are feeding and how you cook it. If you have growing kids you might need more than us, a pair of older retired folks. It took me a couple of years to determine how many I needed on average. We don't eat chicken every week. We may travel or have something else going on. On Thanksgiving we have a get-together with friends. Some bring a turkey or ham, I bring two cooked chickens. You just have to find out what works for you. It's good to have a theory for a baseline, but trial and error will proof it for you.

I like Saturday nights. I can vegetable soup mostly from stuff I grow myself and using chicken broth I make. We open a quart of soup and heat it up with shredded chicken. We break out cheese and crackers. A very simple satisfying meal. Washing dishes is easy.

Thursdays aren't bad either. I cook the chicken and usually sweet potatoes I grew. Either fresh veggies from the garden or stuff I canned or froze, depending on the season. Clean-up is a little more involved but not that bad.

 

[natyvidal]

Sounds great what you are describing. Thank you again.

 

[Molpet]

See how much chicken you eat in a week....
I eat about 6 lbs of bone in poultry a week. Most of my cockerels dress out about there. I also have heritage turkeys, jakes dress out about 12 lbs. So half a turkey and 3 chickens a month is usual. 36 cockerels and 6 turkeys is about what I go through.

 

[natyvidal]

My husband and I eat one chicken a week. Then I need another chicken for my daughter and friend.
And half a chicken for a third person that live with us. So I know I need 2.5 full chickens a week. That makes 10 chickens a month. That would be 120 chickens a year. I think I prefer to breed 60 at one time then process them and freeze them and then start the other 60 and always have 60 in the brooder? The breed I am trying out will be ready to eat at 4-5 months. Plus one month hatching. What I am realizing is that I might not be able to depend on the parents to sit and hatch the eggs for me. I will have to learn to use the incubator.
Ma’am. Just talking with you has cleared a lot of information in my mind! I am having a better and clearer picture of what I might have to settle for. Thank you so much for your time!