How many?

[lil'chickies]

So how many birds do most of you order to stock your freezer? I've about got hubby convinced it will be more cost efficient to order a bunch just for meat and stock our freezer. We can eat a lot of chicken. Do you keep a flock for eggs and order some for meat? Do you raise them differently from your egg flock?

 

[becky3086]

I would suggest you look over the posts and do a lot of research. Meat and egg chickens are different.

 

[CityClucks]

How many depends on the number of people in your family, etc. Our family of four would put up 50-60 in our freezer.

 

[Bil]

We are planning on doing around 100 this summer. 50 for our freezer and 50 for my wife's sister's freezer. We'll split the costs and work. We figure we eat about a chicken a week. Next year we'll know if we need to do more or less.

We also have chickens for eggs, but these are completely different than the ones we'll have for meat.

Bil

 

[miss_thenorth]

I put up 50 chickens in the freezer last year--we average (for our family of 4) a chicken a week. Ours grew big, so that chicken a week gives us leftovers too. My kids favourite lunch for school is chicken caesar wraps.-toss romaine, chicken, caesar dressing in a bowl, wrap in tortillas. delicious!

 

[lil'chickies]

I was thinking 50 to start. We easily eat a chicken a week. Sometimes 4 times a week.

 

[miss_jayne]

lil'chickies :

I was thinking 50 to start. We easily eat a chicken a week. Sometimes 4 times a week.

i did 125 last year and will do about 300 this year. i trade them pound for pound for beef and pork, wood to burn etc.

doing 50 should be a piece of cake. especially if you do Colored Range Chickens.​

 

[jaku]

If you've never done them before, I'd start with 25. 50 is a lot to do on butchering day, and you really should start out with a small number to see what's involved with the whole process of meat birds. You can always order more!

 

[minifarmer]

I would say 50. That allows for a few unexpected deaths and you can hang onto some of the hens for eggs . This cuts down on the butchering.(the cornish crosses I've had layed for about 6 monthes before I needed more chicken in my freezer and my poulet rouge (freedom rangers) from JM hatchery are (as did my cornish x ) out laying my egg chickens. karla