Meatie Questions

[Frogdogtimestwo]

I would like to raise some CX's but I have a few questions. First I live where there is no grass, are they going to taste any better than store bought? And I live in a fairly hot climate but with a lot of rain in the summer. I plan on using a covered tractor, would I be better off with freedom rangers over the CX's? Thanks in advance!

 

[cassie]

I don't know if this will help. I live in the central valley of California. Summer temperatures are often over 100 for days on end. I wouldn't dream of trying to raise meaties in the summer here. We order our chicks to arrive in September or so when the worst of the heat is passed. If we want a second batch we want them gone before the heat arrives in May or June.

We raise ours 25 at a time in a 12 x 12 box stall in the barn. Two sides of the stall are solid. One side is open to air and the other is solid half way up. We bed with shavings and have hanging feeders and waterers. We feed them turkey feed, as in turkey starter, turkey grower, and maybe turkey finisher.

There is a minimum of labor with this method because I do not clean it out until the meaties are gone. I just add shavings as necessary. Since there is plenty of ventilation and I do not allow the bedding to become damp there is virtually no odor. Someone on this list all but accused me of being a liar because I said my meaties don't stink. I told him/her that they were welcome to come sniff for themselves.

We think our meaties are delicious and we get many compliments from people who have bought our chickens.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

That is what I was planning on doing also was shavings, deep litter method because we do not have grass. Our days range in the 80's with lows of 50 at night. I only have one stall and our horse would be really put out if I tried to kick him out

I was planning on building a permanent cattle panel tractor to use like this one https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3227101 without the nest boxes etc of course. I think I will get prepared and order them in the fall. I already have 10 coming next week but they may not make it due to the heat etc. Thank Cassie for the advice, your situation is similar to mine and that is the information I am looking for.

 

[bja105]

Someone on this board raised meat birds in Las Vegas last year, she seemed happy with her meat.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

Do you know the method they used? I am trying to gather ideas, THANKS!

 

[jBlaze]

Quote:
What type of birds are you doing?

I have the 12x12 stall, almost exactly as you describe, lol. We have used it for pigs previously. Did you allow them out of the stall? I am really thinking getting the Freedom Rangers and alloing them to roam out of the stall to keep the flies down. In NW Oregon, it is usually not too hot here except just a few days in summer. My only thing, is figuring how to secure that open side against predators. We have coyotes in the fields around us and I don't want them to find out what chicken tastes like, lol.
Thanks.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

Well for me that would be easy, we have a huge coyote problem so all our pens are lined with electric fence 3 strands.

 

[cassie]

Quote:
What type of birds are you doing?

I have the 12x12 stall, almost exactly as you describe, lol. We have used it for pigs previously. Did you allow them out of the stall? I am really thinking getting the Freedom Rangers and alloing them to roam out of the stall to keep the flies down. In NW Oregon, it is usually not too hot here except just a few days in summer. My only thing, is figuring how to secure that open side against predators. We have coyotes in the fields around us and I don't want them to find out what chicken tastes like, lol.
Thanks.

I don't let the meat chickens out of the stall because I do not have the facilities to do so. For fly control invest is some fly predators. It is money well spent. BTW, we raise Cornish X.

 

[Bossroo]

Quote:
We too live in the Central Valley of Cal. where 99* ( on the low side from June through mid Sept.) to 105*-- 117* for days and weeks on end. NO rain. We used to raise RIR, NH, BR, etc and now have switched to Cornish X exclusively as we can raise them in batches of 25 --3-4 times a year for 6-8 weeks in the cooler times of the year to yield 5-8 pound carcasses. Then we are done. We found the other breeds just take too long to grow out, suffer in the heat ( we had to refill the waterers constantly throuout the day or we had dead birds. we also have misters in all of our horse stalls) so they don't eat enough to grow out economically to 3 1/2-5 pound dressed wieghts at 20 -24 weeks. We too raise them in one of our horse stalls ( wire covered on all sides, top, and bottom) due to so many predators, on shavings with NO odors due to ventilation and very low humidity. No fly problems as we use diatomatious earth and fly predators. ( very tiney wasps that we order). This setup gives us plenty of time to enjoy wine coolers and Bar B Ques during the HOT summers instead of sweating up a storm toiling away trying to keep up with the chores.

 

[chicken ridl]

I had 60 X Rocks last year yes 60 in a 10 x 14 chicken house and they could go out side into a covered 12 x 24 pen. I would be very careful with a tractor in the hot and sunny outside. I am in Illinois (were are goveners make are licence plates) It gets hot but probely not as hot as were you are.
I had all the windows open and the door open with a screen door closed and a fan inside the chicken house. And one blowing in the screen door. And thats were they were in front of the door. They were like hogs swarming me in the morning when I went to feed them.
I tried to keep the floor clean but it was impossable so I gave up and kept adding straw. I did have some smell at the end. But remember they would not leave the feeder. They would lay there eat and poop. They have zero personality don't look like much and smell. But man are they tasty. You won't belive how much better they are than the store bought birds. And most of all you know what they have been feed.
We had some friend over on buthcering day and done all 60 at once. left them hole and put them in as many coolers of Ice water as I could get.
Got the out the next day and cut them up. We bagged some hole and froze everything.
My dad laughed at me saying he could buy chickens at the store for .69 a pound. So I gave 2 to my mom and now have a standing order for 6 more.
That was my first time ever rasing and butchering chickens. I built the wizbang chicken plucker and I could not have done it with out the help of all the people on BYC.
And most of all my wife and friends.
I am getting turkeys this year and might do some more X rocks later on after the turkeys get moved to an outside pen.

Good luck keep reading BYC there is always someone willing to help you out here.