New Here...Help, what have I done???

[MissPrissy]

I raised 27 of those monster sized meat birds this past fall.

You can read about some of my experience in this thread .

 

[got-horn?]

Thank You ALL for the great information! I feel alot better now. I am looking forward to a freezer full of chicken too. We always have beef filled freezers but I LOVE chicken.
I found out this morning the chicks will be shipped the week of March 12th. That gives the boy time to get the extra coop ready. I may have to keep them in the mudroom for a couple of weeks though just because I don't want them to get too cold. I wanted to order some cochins and some more polish chicks but figured these meat chickens will be enough chicks to take care of.
Thanks Again!

 

[greyfields]

At 9 weeks they are ready to go! If you keep them around too long, they become very un-economical because they'll eat more than you can sell a chicken for.

As an alternative to Cornish Crosses, you could try raising Freedom Rangers which are more suited for free range and organic production. They have fewer health issues.

Also, it is a breed characteristic for Cornish to have a bare keep line. This is often reflected in the Cornish cross, which gives is where the bald bellies begin to come from.

 

[blue90292]

if you're going to show, you have to show the whites, i believe. and keep the brooder clean. they need to be pure white at the show.

 

[WDPKS]

Our kids have been raiseing meat birds for 4-H fairs for 17 yr in Ca.
Don't worry about the 25 chicks, a rule of thumb is that for every meat pen (3birds) you will need to raise 12 to pick from plus you have to figure in losses & maybe legs blowing
You need that many to choose from because they need to be like a colone on 1, the reason is that a market wants uniform birds all the same in the case, not fat ones mixed with skinny ones, uniforms makes a better looking case.

At 9 wks you'll have to worry ablut the birds going over weight if they are gd meat birds, so hold them with a moderate protein till about 3 1/2 wks before the fair, keep an eye on their weight you want them to weigh as near 5-51/4# as you can it is easier to put on weight than is to hold them back, if you have to hold them then you lose conditioning to feed them to grow slow then pour it on the end with a turkey/gamebird grow, something with a high protein, we use a "not less than" 24% protien. Feed a supplement of bone meal, it helps from legs blowing out. Change litter often, because of brest feathers & brest blister, & sores on the bottom of their feet, the problem is they don't roost. You do best with picking birds of the same sex. If you don't have 3 good uniform birds but you have 3 fair birds, then go with the fair. the reason is like I said
they are judge on uniform so 3 fair with judge better than 2 gd 1 fair

I'm sure there might be people scratching their heads with what I said but remeber this is for a competition.

let me know if I can help with anything

Bill

 

[got-horn?]

WDPKS!!!!!!!
Thank You soooooo much! That is exactly the information I was looking for. I printed your info off and will be giving it to my Grandson. You can bet if he has anymore questions about the birds I will be stalking you here for the answers
Thanks Again and have a great day!

 

[seymojo536]

Bill has given you some very good advice.

As a suggestion, contact the 4H director and ask if there is a list of the 4H groups available.
You should be able to find a group that concentrates on poultry. Raising a pen of birds is very different from a goat or steer. Usually, I have found that poultry people are more willing to share info and their "secrets" than the others.

I would venture to say you will have a hard time keeping 9 week old birds under 5.25 lbs.
They'll will be more like 8 lb birds or 10 lb birds. At our fair we have 7 week old birds and a 7 lb each weight limit and it's a job to keep the good ones under that limit. I have seen these guys put on 6-8 ozs a day towards the end. You should probably consider a second batch so that they are closer to 6 weeks old by fair time.

Now for my tip of the day; when your birds are 5-6 weeks old, take a large bucket of cold water and dunk each bird in it just up to their back. Do this every other day until fair time.
This will pop those breast feathers out and make the bird look more mature. Also each time you handle them, check for blisters and other defects.

Remember: The goal is to have 3 birds exactly alike.
Good luck and have fun.

John

 

[WDPKS]

John thats interesting about the cold water, we also have the problem of weight/maturaty so we played with birds from different hatchers with pullet / cockeral/ stright run to get what will work for us.

Its interesting to get different "body styles" & growth from different hatcheries/breeders

I can't blame the hatcheries they do a great job breedeing for growthy birds using the lest amount of feed for conversion but its sure a pain to met the fairs conditions sometimes, even with turkeys.

Got-horn, just let me know when you need more help, thats what we are all here for

 

[got-horn?]

You ALL have no idea how much I appreciate your help!!!!
I called the closest chicken leader which is about 120 mile trip for us. I was willing to take my Grandson to their meetings so he could learn alittle bit more about meat chickens. I was very disappointed in her answer. I was told she didn't have time right now to help him. She told me to order chicks to be 9 weeks at fair, throw them in a coop and pour the feed to them. She told me it wasn't rocket science!!!
I have known this woman for years. This is our 4th generation of 4-H. Her Grandkids are now showing with my Grandkids. Boy how things change. I know exactly what you are talking about with the "SECRETS" nobody wants to share. I don't agree with that at all. I still do this for the kids. We are suppose to be teaching them responsibility and citizenship not how to cheat to win. I don't know about the poultry, but I can tell you there is alot of cheating going on in the other animal projects. It is sad really because the kids are taught that way by adults. I taught my kids, now the Grandkids, they are in it to raise the best animals they can AFFORD,good showmanship, try to come out of it at least even, making some money if at all possible, and lastly if a Grand Championship comes their way that's icing on the cake. Some say that's not the way to look at it but that's the way we do it!
Anyway sorry about the rant, I'll climb down off my soapbox now.
I would like your opinion on the age of the birds though. Do you think I should see if I can get them younger? If they come March 12th they will be exactly 8 weeks the opening day of fair. I don't want to have all these chickens be too big. It sounds like maybe 6 weeks would be a better age??
Thanks again for all your help. My Grandson is so excited to get started. He says he's going to use all that *poop* to grow watermelons!!!
Have a Great Day!!!

 

[seymojo536]

Oh man!, Don't have time to go over the basics with you?
Just throw them in a coop? It's not rocket science? Move over, I need some room on your soapbox...

Or maybe I should take a minute to be thankful for the 4H people we have here. Naw, that kind of treatment that you got gets my dander up. Keep trying, there has to be someone who cares about the poultry department at your fair, you just need to find them. Otherwise, no kid who be showing.

Unless you are using some slow-growing crosses out there I really can't see a 9 week old bird staying under 5 lbs. I know they exist but we just use the cornish x rocks. Also, this may be a lot different from your area, but all the kids at our fair get their birds from the same hatchery on the same day. That reduces the variables down to who does the better job of caring for the birds.

I hear you about trying to do this the right way. It's pretty clear to me which kids are totally involved with their animals and which just met them outside the show ring. That's a shame, because those buy-a-trophy kids are missing the real reason behind 4H.

You just keep hammering on those too busy to talk people, they knew the job was dangerous when they took it.

Let us know what we can help you with.
And tell you grandson that chicken poop grows the BEST melons and pumpkins!