Where are the red rangers coming from?
they Make these ridiculously developed guides for the cx rearing. I got knee deep in actually talking directly to Hubbard genetics this year about potentially housing my own breeder flock of red ranger type birds as a future business endeavor... THATS another whole topic (which I do have a longer than life now thread in the meat forum that includes some of the genetics and corporate info Ive found.
ANYWAY yes Cornish run hotter. I have found 90 degrees works best for me because I have zero drafts and I follow the strict 6 inches a bird space, so they’re sharing some body heat too. Yes, I use it for heritage birds, too. It should be at *least* 90 degrees. But i find 90 is absolutely fine. The science and literally trillions of dollars in this industry have so much research poured into things, and, at first I thought naturally brooding completely was the way to go and the methods of rearing for meat birds were just to get them larger than maybe they should be anyway.
However, over time I have modified my understanding. While I still don't agree with the CX particularly, I love my hybrid broilers, red rangers, etc. I also have realized that while the "industry" is going for meat and growth, I was thinking about it too literally. What they are doing in a general sense is maximizing the potential of the bird from a young age, and now I understand we can all follow this, even if you're looking to maximize the potential for an egg layer.
Meat birds - I do this for 1-2 weeks. I still don't know if I like 2 weeks of non stop lighting on the chicks, but, even the label rouge program and humane standards programs at the highest levels allow for a period of time at the beginning of life for 24 hours of light. The most stringent ones call for a regular lighting period after 4-7 days.
heritage birds - I do this for 1 week.
A day or two before I move to a grow out pen with heat plates, I add the heat plate. its important to clarify that i heat the ENTIRE space to 90, no hot spots. When I add the heat plate, I do not overhead heat that area, I put it off to the side and i reduce the heat by a couple of degrees. I use multiple thermometers in the brooder to ensure there aren't hot spots.
With meat birds, I keep them on paper towels with feed scattered EVERYWHERE. They don't have to travel more than a few inches anywhere they are to find food. The more times you can get a chick to fill and empty its crop during the first 3-4 days of life, the more efficient it will be its entire life at converting food to energy. Also to note, I now give grit from day 1. Giving grit to chicks ensures super efficiency in the gizzard, and, they make more use of the resources in the feed. I see a MASSIVE change in the overall robustness of my birds since offering them grit from day 1.
I don’t like them
