Meat chickens

[merawoods]

What would be the best and easiest chickens to raise for meat? I have killed some of my roosters before but that was from necessity. Now, I'm considering raising some for food and don't know which breed would be best. I do know that Cornish Xs are good and fast but take some dedicated work. I work full time so I need a breed that will also be easy to raise.

 

[pringle]

Try looking up buckeyes im pretty sure there low maintnence.

 

[chicks4kids]

Cornish X aren't all that much work...what is the magic number you're thinking of? Just make feeders and waterers out of 5 gallon buckets, and they'll be fine while you're at work. The key I think is going with larger feeders and waterers for obvious reasons...

...they don't venture far from those 2 things.....

 

[merawoods]

chicks4kids, I was thinking about starting with about 20. I already have 9; 2 roosters, 1 bantam hen and 6 standard hens, different breeds. I will have to construct a new coop and run for them since the one I have now would be too small to add that many more! Unfortunately, I can't let them run free since neighbor's dog tends to chase them and kill them, which is what happened to 3 of the last group I raised

 

[chicks4kids]

If you go with Cornish X, they seriously won't go far....really....like 4 feet from the feeders. So they truly don't need 4 sq. feet per bird because they won't go that far. Once mine got around 4 lbs., which was just in weeks, they didn't really want to walk too far anywhere.

If you go with a different breed, you could always consider a hoop tractor. I did cornish x last year, and am going with around 75 this year for us and other family....and I'll still go with cornish x due to the fact that they are fast growers(8 weeks). However, I have some roos around the yard that I thought were girls so they'll be in the pot soon enough too.

I gotta tell ya' though, last year was my first year doing our own. The worst thing was the plucking....will you have help?? It took me around 15 minutes to process a bird...with 20 birds, I hope you have help, otherwise it may take you a couple of days. If you can do it on your own the first year, definitely invest in making a chicken plucker....after plucking last year by hand, I will never do it again, and to this date, I haven't bought a store bought bird...oh, and my hubby is making my chicken plucker as we speak...

 

[BarnyardPunch]

Quote:
Chicks, are there plans online for a plucker? Or are you designing one on your own?

And lastly, does anyone know if there a thread about costs of growing meat birds to 8 weeks kicking around? I'd like to raise about 20, but want to calculate out how much that translates for feed.

Thanks!

 

[chicks4kids]

If you're wanting to make the chicken plucker, it's best to get the book.

A good key word for searching past threads is 'meat bird pricing'....alot will come up and should give you some idea of what your cost is going to be

 

[slaghunter]

And lastly, does anyone know if there a thread about costs of growing meat birds to 8 weeks kicking around? I'd like to raise about 20, but want to calculate out how much that translates for feed.

Thanks!

I have never done it but... After much reading some of the people with a lot of experience say to figure on 500 pounds of high protein feed for 25 Cornish x. So that's 20 pounds per chick. You would have to calculate your own cost.​

 

[Bossroo]

The broiler industry published figures show a 1.95 pounds of feed for a 1 pound live weight gain up to 8 weeks of age to reach market weight for the Cornixh X, then the feed conversion rate starts to go down. Others eat much more to reach market weight since they have a lower feed conversion rate and take far MORE time ( like 18-24 weeks) therefore it is impossible for them to come close to that gold standard. My RIR, BR,and NH gave me a yield on average 3 1/2 -5 lb dressed weight at 18-20 weeks of age. My Cornish X now yield for me on average a 4 1/4- 5 lb carcass at 6 weeks of age and 6-8 lb carcass at 8 weeks of age. That equation alone, gave me a $$ savings on feed and at least 10 to 12 weeks less labor. Since I puchase 1 day old chicks, I no longer have to keep a production flock over winter and run an incubator to hatch chicks, so I have an additional savings on feed, power, and labor costs for an additional savings per pound of meat produced.

 

[catdaddy66]

Quote:
That's some pretty strong positives for the Cornish x. Better consistency w/ weight, 12 weeks less work, better price on hatched chicks. What is the impact on profit?

I just might be convinced...

(just kidding, it was very informative and persuasive!)