Is anyone else raising fall broilers? Our chicks came today: 8/18

[SIMZ]

Great set-up and some good looking chickens!

 

[JNB]

Hi Everyone

Im raising a batch of Cornish X my first for meat I have 36 and they are a little over a week old... WOW they grow fast.. I decided to put 4 layer chicks in the brooder with these guys to grow together. The layer chicks are a week older than the meaties and they are drawfs in comparison..

I am using a regular chicken coop for the brooder this time I have closed it all up. Its 6 ft x 4 ft floor space and 8 ft high. The layer hens that are usually in it are out in the chicken tractor still and our weather here has been mild so I figured that Id give it a try.. So far so good. The chicks have tons of space and when they are older I can just open the coop so they can go out into the run area.

I am feeding a mix now of flock raiser and game bird food. I really like the idea of trying the Fermenting the food. Have done a bit of reading on BYC about it and think will be starting this for them at about 2 or so weeks old.

Since this is our first time butchering We are planning to do it about 8 weeks. We have a neighbor that is going to help us do the process. in exchange for me raising the chicks. So we will see

 

[SIMZ]

It's amazing how quickly they grow, isn't it?

We've been putting powdered vitamins and electrolytes in the water and it seems to be making a difference. We've never done that before the first few waterers, but this time have kept it up. The little things have totally normal looking chicken poops. Gross, I know, but it's very different from what is normally going on. They're on the same food as before - that's the only difference.

 

[catnipchickens]

I thought to post this here.....

Does anyone here have an opinion of whole oats vs. crimped oats? I was considering feeding a 33% wheat bran, 33% organic layer feed, and 34% whole oats and then soaking/fermenting it. I only mention the layer feed as its the only feed I can buy locally that doesn't have soy or miscellaneous grain and plant products in it (we try hard to stay away from canola). Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Sandrachx]

how did you like raising the freedom rangers? i got 35 slow-growing black broilers from Ideal in early august and 2 weeks later received 56 freedom rangers (ordered 35-they shipped more). i found that the black broilers to be very skittish and frighten easily. from day 1, the freedom rangers are much calmer and still inspect my shoes when i go in to water/feed. hoping they don't pick up the black broilers insecurities.

i've been amazed at the reduced waste in the coop with these slow-growers - no diarrhea vs. massive ick with cornish X. will be putting up electrified fencing this weekend to let them outside during the day.

 

[Sandrachx]

What is the website for the black meat birds, I have not heard of them either and I am interested in checking them out. Thanks,

i got mine from Ideal Poultry - received an email from them saying they were on sale for 90cents each. couldn't pass up the sale price. don't think there will be a problem with black pin feathers since i'm having them processed.

 

[loanwizard]

how did you like raising the freedom rangers? i got 35 slow-growing black broilers from Ideal in early august and 2 weeks later received 56 freedom rangers (ordered 35-they shipped more). i found that the black broilers to be very skittish and frighten easily. from day 1, the freedom rangers are much calmer and still inspect my shoes when i go in to water/feed. hoping they don't pick up the black broilers insecurities.

i've been amazed at the reduced waste in the coop with these slow-growers - no diarrhea vs. massive ick with cornish X. will be putting up electrified fencing this weekend to let them outside during the day.

I have enjoyed raising Freedom Rangers. I have about 100 layers and these were different, but in the poultry netting not altogether different. I have not raised any of the Cornish X so really have no point of reference to go on. I am considering a late fall batch of 100 or so, but that would put me into December and if we have an early cold... I don't relish hauling water.

My main problem is that even at 12 weeks I didn't get the average 4.5-5lb packages that I wanted. That said, even my last batch of 150 didn't use a ton of feed. I get the impression that these birds can eat a lot more than what I have been feeding them.

I aslo might raise some cornish just to gain the experience although my processor says their taste cannot compare with the freedoms taste. so.... I don't know....

 

[Sandrachx]

wow, loanwizard! i did 100 cornish x last year and said i'd never do that many again. i'm here by myself (husband works offsite 10 hrs/day) and navigating feeding times was stressful. i told him i needed those grab bars used in shower stalls for support just to step over those crazy birds! so, this late spring we did 50. not so bad, except for all the spitting waste matter. i've enjoyed these slow growers (90 of them) so far and cannot wait to try their meat. do you give them feed 24/7 or do you do the 12on/12off schedule?

 

[loanwizard]

wow, loanwizard! i did 100 cornish x last year and said i'd never do that many again. i'm here by myself (husband works offsite 10 hrs/day) and navigating feeding times was stressful. i told him i needed those grab bars used in shower stalls for support just to step over those crazy birds! so, this late spring we did 50. not so bad, except for all the spitting waste matter. i've enjoyed these slow growers (90 of them) so far and cannot wait to try their meat. do you give them feed 24/7 or do you do the 12on/12off schedule?

Well.... I raised 100 the first and 2nd batch, 150 the last 2 batches. Like I said, I had trouble getting them to weight but used 1/2 the feed and guessed I needed to feed more.

As chicks, they were fed whenever I noticed the pan empty max twice per day checked. In the pen they got a 5 gallon bucket per day until maybe the 8th week when they got 5 in the am and 5 in the pm about every other day.

I stepped on a lot of toes and developed a kick step to reach the feeders lol!

 

[SIMZ]

You guys are cracking me up!! So true about trying to get through them! One of the reasons I don't do 12 on/12 off was because the mornings became so scary!!