Meat birds, Meat birds got some questions on meat birds

[MRNpoultry]

I heard they poop alot more than other chickens fom someone else to. Do they require any speical care and more time than regular chickens.

 

[FutureChickenMan]

the poo as fast as they can eat. you gotta remember these guys metabolism/growth rate is so excelertated it's unbelievable. As for care, do some searches in the meat section.

 

[MRNpoultry]

I'll do that, I guesses the more they eat the more the poo.

 

[greyfields]

It really depends on what kind of broiler you get. Jumbo Cornish Crosses hardly move and their undersides are bald because they just sit there all day.

Broilers 'poop more' than other birds in the sense that they eat greater quantities of food more quickly than a hen would. If any other chicken ate the same ammount of food, they would poop an equal ammount. It's just simple math. The intense pooping can be advantageous of you're using a tractor and want the ground fertilized.

I found my Freedom Rangers to be very active. I'm told the red/black broiler options are similar. You're taking breeding your meat birds which would normally finish in 42 days and extending this growth process to 56-70 days. That extra times buys you better disease resistance and vigor.

Economically, if the extra 2-3 weeks don't 'cost you money' by doing fewer crops, they are identical. All broilers will consume roughly 2.5 lbs of food per pound of live weight gain. By choosing your breed, you are only deciding how quickly you want them to achieve finished weight. The faster options are the ones with health issues, the slower ones have fewer of these if you can afford the extra duration to raise them.

If you were an industrial operation using confined birds, the difference between a 42 day crop and a 56 day crop would be be 3 fewer crops per year... considering they make less than $0.20 per bird, it's a HUGE deal.

For us in the backyard, though, we are not constrained by this and we ought to be raising our birds more ethically than industrial farming. I know I'm not in this business to recreate those conditions simply on a smaller scale then throwing the birds on a bit of pasture to make myself feel good.

 

[MRNpoultry]

The larger companies is one reason why we whould get meat chickens. If we get them they whould be on our friends land probaly.

 

[MRNpoultry]

We whould want a more active bird, can you slaughter them when you want one are is that the same as the cornishs. Sorry if this a dumb question.

 

[greyfields]

All chickens bred to be broilers will quickly grow too large to be economic. So you still will need to do them as crops.

 

[MRNpoultry]

Ok, since broilers eat alot of feed in there 8 week lifespan whould a heavy breed come out at the same price in the end.

 

[greyfields]

No. Because:

a) they won't convert food to meat as efficiently as a broiler (FCR's are in the 4.0+ range)

b) with a 14+ week lifespan, they have ample time to develop 'rooster traits' such as stringy, tough muscle

c) they'll annoy the living hell out of you crowing and chasing your hens everywhere

 

[MRNpoultry]

Those are some good reasons.