Newbie looking into meat chickens this Spring

[cmobley]

I raise my Cornish cross birds on 27% game bird starter from start to finish. With 27% I can raise them in 6 weeks instead of 8. The weights range from 4.5 to 6 lbs in that time frame. I’ve raised meat birds several times doin the 18% feed with off and on feeding I don’t do any of that any more 27% non stop feed out of 25 birds lost one due to heat one to an owl and one for failure to thrive. I use a 10x20 chicken run off Amazon comes with everything you need wire and all. It’s light weight and movable and cheaper than building one of similar size.

 

[Amber0514]

The homesteaders losing meat chickens probably have Cornish X, and they can be a bit sensitive to certain things, resulting in losses if precautions aren't taken. It probanly wasn't disease (although it's not impossible). They don't do well in extreme heat, so that's something to consider. You said spring though, so you should be good. Like someone else mentioned, overfeeding can lead to issues. If you read guides on how to raise Cornish X, they are typically written to tell you how to raise as much meat in as little time as possible. They usually stress feeding very high protein. While you certainly can do that, health problems will likely ensue as the CX will gain so much meat before their frames and body systems can keep up with it, resulting in lameness and heart issues.

I've found that feeding 20-22% protein for the first 2-3 weeks, and then 18% for the remainder works very well. When I did that, I had 6.5-8.5 lb dressed chickens at week 8 and no losses after the chick stage (lost a weak chick at week 2). However, I did think they became a bit immobile by the end still, mostly laying around all day, so I experimented with the next batch. They ate 18% protein from start to finish. At 8 weeks they were about 4.5-6.5 lbs dressed, but still very active. I actually liked that size bird better for eating so that's probably how I'll do things moving forward, but maybe I will give them 20% the first week to boost feather growth a bit.

It's all about finding what works for you, but be cautious about giving CX too much protein. You'll get some really huge meat birds that way, but you'll also have more losses and an overall lower quality of life for those birds.

 

[Amber0514]

I'm wondering if you have any experience raising layers and broilers together but using an 16% protien feed and then allowing the broilers in the tractor one time a day to do one 20% feed/tractor time. I was also wondering how do you process your broilers once they are ready,any special equipment?

 

[FunClucks]

I'm wondering if you have any experience raising layers and broilers together but using an 16% protien feed and then allowing the broilers in the tractor one time a day to do one 20% feed/tractor time. I was also wondering how do you process your broilers once they are ready,any special equipment?

If you keep eggers and broilers together, make sure the eggers get enough to eat. The broilers will push them out of the way to get the food. If you don't have a YardBird plucker machine (or similar) it can take about 2 hours to go from live chicken to bagged in your fridge. At least that's how long it takes me to do it all by hand by myself. With the machine, it may still be 1-1.5 hrs per bird, you'll have to see how it goes for you. Fast folks can do it in 1/2 hr or less, but that's not me.

 

[Amber0514]

If you keep eggers and broilers together, make sure the eggers get enough to eat. The broilers will push them out of the way to get the food. If you don't have a YardBird plucker machine (or similar) it can take about 2 hours to go from live chicken to bagged in your fridge. At least that's how long it takes me to do it all by hand by myself. With the machine, it may still be 1-1.5 hrs per bird, you'll have to see how it goes for you. Fast folks can do it in 1/2 hr or less, but that's not me.

 

[Amber0514]

Thank you so much,so it is possible to raise the both together but need to make sure the eggers are getting enough food to produce eggs essentially. My biggest thing was to have them in 1 run/ with a decent coop for the eggers with 3 nesting boxes and then a chicken tractor for the meat chickens to be in during the day as well and remove the food bin at night so no serious overeating happens.My run is 13 feet by 6.5 feet and I was thinking of having 6 broilers and 6 eggers

 

[FunClucks]

Thank you so much,so it is possible to raise the both together but need to make sure the eggers are getting enough food to produce eggs essentially. My biggest thing was to have them in 1 run/ with a decent coop for the eggers with 3 nesting boxes and then a chicken tractor for the meat chickens to be in during the day as well and remove the food bin at night so no serious overeating happens.My run is 13 feet by 6.5 feet and I was thinking of having 6 broilers and 6 eggers

Sounds like you've got enough space in the coop for EITHER 12-14 cornish cross OR 5-6 regular chickens (either eggers or slow growth broilers need the same amount of space each). If you don't already have chickens and feel like you've done a lot of research and feel confident, I'd recommend getting about 10-12 CX and raising them till they are processed at 2 months old, then taking a month to re-do your coop, and then raising eggers in it. Or you could assess your tractor and consider having the meat birds in it permanently. What methods of predator management are you planning to use? The recommendation is 4 sq ft per CX, but I like to give a bit more (6 sq ft per CX) so there's more litter to absorb the poop and not such a chore to keep it freshened.

What kind of broilers are you thinking of getting? If you get a slow growth broiler, like a 3 month to processing time bird, raising them with eggers could work out okay - they are usually about as active as eggers and can perch and stuff, but are 2-3x the size of the eggers. I would feed everyone 20% protein all-flock feed (chick starter without added calcium) for as long as you have the broilers at least. I feed my eggers 20% year round for their health. Have oystershell and grit available free-choice all the time in separate containers from each other and from their food. For eggers, they need a minimum of 15 sq feet per chicken to be healthy and happy in my experience. For meat birds about the same if you have active ones like the slow growth broilers. The broilers will make more poop than the eggers, so have a plan for managing your litter/ adding more wood chips often. Slow growth broilers will not overeat like cornish cross do, so no need to remove food at night.

If you plan to have them in a chicken tractor, how are you going to transport them into and out of it? Cause herding chickens 2x a day gets old quickly. Most folks keep them in the tractor the whole time, but you'll need to consider predator protection and how secure the tractor and your setup is. For occasional tractoring, transport should be fine.

Now, if you're wanting to raise cornish cross with eggers, I wouldn't do it. They will literally tear each other up to get at the food in the morning, and will climb over and injure smaller chickens. If you had a larger secure covered run, I'd say put chicken wire down the middle, and let the cornish sleep on the (DRY) floor on one end, while your eggers get the coop at the other end. You'd need to turn the litter daily to keep the poop down. CX are sensitive to heat and cold, you don't want them to ever get rained on or have wet feet, because they get sick and chilled easily, and once they're big, if they flip over by trying to step up on something they could suffocate or have a heart attack - they can't flip back over on their own. They'll stop eating once it's fully dark and they can't see, so no need to pull food in that case, but if you have lights outside around their area they'll eat as long as they can see the food. Expect to lose at least 3-5% of your flock to heart attack and leg issues around butchering age. Also research green muscle disease, as CX are prone to this if they get startled once they're big. Nothing beats CX for $/lb of chicken produced, but they require specific management.

 

[Amber0514]

Sounds like you've got enough space in the coop for EITHER 12-14 cornish cross OR 5-6 regular chickens (either eggers or slow growth broilers need the same amount of space each). If you don't already have chickens and feel like you've done a lot of research and feel confident, I'd recommend getting about 10-12 CX and raising them till they are processed at 2 months old, then taking a month to re-do your coop, and then raising eggers in it. Or you could assess your tractor and consider having the meat birds in it permanently. What methods of predator management are you planning to use? The recommendation is 4 sq ft per CX, but I like to give a bit more (6 sq ft per CX) so there's more litter to absorb the poop and not such a chore to keep it freshened.

What kind of broilers are you thinking of getting? If you get a slow growth broiler, like a 3 month to processing time bird, raising them with eggers could work out okay - they are usually about as active as eggers and can perch and stuff, but are 2-3x the size of the eggers. I would feed everyone 20% protein all-flock feed (chick starter without added calcium) for as long as you have the broilers at least. I feed my eggers 20% year round for their health. Have oystershell and grit available free-choice all the time in separate containers from each other and from their food. For eggers, they need a minimum of 15 sq feet per chicken to be healthy and happy in my experience. For meat birds about the same if you have active ones like the slow growth broilers. The broilers will make more poop than the eggers, so have a plan for managing your litter/ adding more wood chips often. Slow growth broilers will not overeat like cornish cross do, so no need to remove food at night.

If you plan to have them in a chicken tractor, how are you going to transport them into and out of it? Cause herding chickens 2x a day gets old quickly. Most folks keep them in the tractor the whole time, but you'll need to consider predator protection and how secure the tractor and your setup is. For occasional tractoring, transport should be fine.

Now, if you're wanting to raise cornish cross with eggers, I wouldn't do it. They will literally tear each other up to get at the food in the morning, and will climb over and injure smaller chickens. If you had a larger secure covered run, I'd say put chicken wire down the middle, and let the cornish sleep on the (DRY) floor on one end, while your eggers get the coop at the other end. You'd need to turn the litter daily to keep the poop down. CX are sensitive to heat and cold, you don't want them to ever get rained on or have wet feet, because they get sick and chilled easily, and once they're big, if they flip over by trying to step up on something they could suffocate or have a heart attack - they can't flip back over on their own. They'll stop eating once it's fully dark and they can't see, so no need to pull food in that case, but if you have lights outside around their area they'll eat as long as they can see the food. Expect to lose at least 3-5% of your flock to heart attack and leg issues around butchering age. Also research green muscle disease, as CX are prone to this if they get startled once they're big. Nothing beats CX for $/lb of chicken produced, but they require specific management.

I was planning on doing CX but was hoping to raise them all together. I'm aware of the hot and cold sensitivity which got me thinking of splitting them doing broilers first then jump into eggers which is still an option. Do you have any recommendations for slow growth broilers. My plan was Rhode Island and Plymouth rock as eggers.I am just not well versed in broilers much. This would be our first year doing broilers.Any knowledge is welcomed. I raised chickens throughout my high-school years but never for meat.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I'm wondering if you have any experience raising layers and broilers together but using an 16% protien feed and then allowing the broilers in the tractor one time a day to do one 20% feed/tractor time. I was also wondering how do you process your broilers once they are ready,any special equipment?

Are you asking me?

If so, I don't have any experience with this, but I imagine it would be a little difficult to manage if you have to catch the meaties every day and put them in the tractor. I think it would be better to either let them free range or be in a run with the eggers, or just raise both groups separate. Also, the 16% protein layer feed is too low protein for meat birds (and arguably eggers too), and has too much calcium for them. If you raise them together, maybe do a 20% all-flock feed. 18% protein has also been fine for my Cornish X and I actually think it helped them grow at a more natural pace. Eggers do fine (if not better) with higher protein feed. Just have a calcium source like oyster shell out for them on the side.

 

[Amber0514]

Are you asking me?

If so, I don't have any experience with this, but I imagine it would be a little difficult to manage if you have to catch the meaties every day and put them in the tractor. I think it would be better to either let them free range or be in a run with the eggers, or just raise both groups separate. Also, the 16% protein layer feed is too low protein for meat birds (and arguably eggers too), and has too much calcium for them. If you raise them together, maybe do a 20% all-flock feed. 18% protein has also been fine for my Cornish X and I actually think it helped them grow at a more natural pace. Eggers do fine (if not better) with higher protein feed. Just have a calcium source like oyster shell out for them on the side.

Thank you for your feedback. It is much appreciated