Not sure if this is right spot for my ??

[MedinaChick2001]

I was wondering if it is ok to raise meat birds and my laying birds in the same area? I have 10 laying hens and would like to get some chickens to raise for meat.

 

[lacasitarojafarm]

Ya we did. When the meat birds get bigger you will want to parttition them off somehow as their poop is really smelly and they will eat all of the food and leave none for the other birds but you can make a partition out of almost anything.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

You can raise them in the same coop, but not the same living area as the adult hens. The hens would hurt them. Now I have successfully raised meat chicks and layer chicks together, but they need to be the same age (at least within a week or so). Older chicks and adults will pick on and maybe eventually kill younger chicks.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

I kept my meaties and layer chicks together the whole time (a little more than 10 weeks). They were on feed for 24 hours through 3 weeks of age. Then they were given access to the outdoors where I began sprinkling their feed on the ground so that the meaties had to move and scratch to eat and their waterer was kept a distance away from where I'd laid the feed down. I did not give them feed at night, but was out there early to feed them. At 5 weeks they were allowed to free range for a few hours everyday. I never gave mine vitamins and I do not feed them medicated feed. They were very healthy! Never had any problems. I did give them cracked corn the whole week before processing. On a very hot May day (in the nineties, which is unusual for that time of year), I took them to the Amish to be processed. Never lost one (the Amish will not process any that die before butchering). After processing they ranged in size from 5lbs to 7lbs. They are very delicious!!!! My layers stayed in their side of the coop until they were about 14 weeks and then they moved in with the adults.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I have not found it to be a problem, I just have to make sure that the layer chicks get enough opportunity to eat.