Our Broiler Project

[AAchicks]

We are working with the pup every day so hopefully we can train it out of him. He does okay when with us, but we do not (intentionally) leave him alone with them right now, for obvious reasons!

 

[Rysktal]

Oh fun project. Last year we did broilers in a small tractor, I wasn't happy with that set up at all. This year we are raising dual purpose chickens (heritage breed barnyard mixes) and they are just in with our regular flock and having such a happier life!

I got my chicks from a friend's farm and she is raising her chicks from the same hatch in a tractor...mine are definitely thinner than hers even though they are the same age.

 

[AAchicks]

Week 5:

Still holding steady at 3 CR, 7 RR, and 4 EE. The differences between broilers and EE are really starting to show not just in size, but body type. The broilers, especially the CR, are so wide! From what I read, I was sure that with supplementing with feed they would want to hang out at the feeders, but at 5 weeks old they will leave food behind to go forage. It is gone by the end of day, but they are not obsessed with it like I expected them to be. Must be something about what the horses left behind that is too enticing

 

[Molpet]

yep when they are in with layers...given a chance they will roam.. a lot healthier

 

[AAchicks]

Week 6:

Everyone is still there and looking super healthy. Interestingly, one of the EE’s is almost the same size as the broilers. And she (I think) is white, so I have to double check who it is when I do my counts. However, the CR are about twice as wide.

This next week will be interesting. We have a hurricane bearing down on us and expected to hit the coast as a category 4! I might make some arrangements to their location as they only have a makeshift shelter in the garden area for shade and regular rainfall. I think we will have to throw them in with the layers because at least then they will have a full shelter. Obviously have to take a break from free ranging for a few days, but I doubt they will complain with the food on a serving platter in front of them! If it wasn’t going to storm, I was going to try weighing some of them to get an idea on progress, but too much to do right now!

 

[AAchicks]

Week 10:

So I missed a couple of weeks there. The hurricane was a big distraction, but everyone made it through in our area okay!

As far as our project, we are still going strong. Still have (3) CR and (7) RR. We determined (2) of the (4) EE’s were pullets, so they were removed from the group and sent to the layer pen. We decided to leave the other (2) rooster EE in with the broilers for size comparison. I was hoping to be able to process the CR last weekend or this weekend, but the size is definitely not there yet. I don’t mind waiting though, so we will continue to monitor and process when they are ready. There is a weight difference between the CR and the RR (and of course between them and the EE’s). I will be investing in a scale shortly to know a little better.

(Darker one on the right is one of the rooster EE)

 

[ijon]

Looking good. I like the way you used hens to raise them.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

Week 10:

So I missed a couple of weeks there. The hurricane was a big distraction, but everyone made it through in our area okay!

As far as our project, we are still going strong. Still have (3) CR and (7) RR. We determined (2) of the (4) EE’s were pullets, so they were removed from the group and sent to the layer pen. We decided to leave the other (2) rooster EE in with the broilers for size comparison. I was hoping to be able to process the CR last weekend or this weekend, but the size is definitely not there yet. I don’t mind waiting though, so we will continue to monitor and process when they are ready. There is a weight difference between the CR and the RR (and of course between them and the EE’s). I will be investing in a scale shortly to know a little better.

View attachment 1554920
View attachment 1554921
(Darker one on the right is one of the rooster EE)

What do they weigh now?

 

[AAchicks]

12 Weeks:

We made it to 12 weeks and decided to go ahead and process the (3) Cornish Rock and (1) of the Red Rangers for comparison. Compared to the last chickens we processed (5 month old roosters from layer breeds!), these were a breeze. We used the pithing method followed immediately by severing the jugular. Once bled out, we dunked in 145 F water and plucked by hand. Everything came off really easy! We cleaned out the insides and then weighed. The (3) CR came in between 4.5-5 lbs. The RR not so great at just under 3.5 lbs.

Skins on the CR were slightly more yellow than in the store (which look very white to me), and sizes of the parts were very comparable. I have to say I was very pleased. For the RR, the skin on the (1) bird we processed was VERY yellow and it had quite a bit of fat in the abdominal cavity. I am hoping that although the size may be smaller, the flavor makes up for it!

We are a family of (4)- (2) adults and (2) kids. We opted to cut up in pieces the CR, and package the legs, thighs, and wings from each bird together and then package 3 of the breast together (so we ended with (3) meals of mixed parts and (2) meals for breast meat). The RR we left whole. All meat is "resting" in the fridge before going to the freezer. We will try the RR this weekend, so taste test results coming soon!


I am going to take the remaining (6) RR to 15 weeks and hopefully process them at that time. Final conclusion will be determined once the taste test is done and we can first, decide if it was worth growing out our own birds and second, decide on future breed to stick with. Despite taking 12 weeks instead of the 8-10 due to the free ranging and limited grain, I was very happy with the growth of the CR. If flavor is similar for the two, I would definitely opt for them over the RR.

One final note in regards to processed weights- Once we opened them, I was able to confirm that indeed we had all pullets. I wish I had that kind of luck when it comes to laying chicks, but was hoping for some 50/50 male-female ratio when it came to the broilers for comparison purposes. I suspect that the two we lost early on were males due to their slight size difference, but I did not open them up to check as it was a mute point by then.

Will check back in a few weeks once we finish processing the remaining RR's!

 

[AAchicks]