Poppa's Chicken diary..

[Timmy59]

Yes, I'm a grandpa, 6 times.. As the title states I'm going to keep a lil diary here for myself and anybody that want's to tag along..
Layer flock White Plymouth rocks, 2 roosters and 8 hens..
Purchased from Meyer hatchery.
Hatched 8-17-20
Feather sexed 7 roos and 8 hens..
12-15-20 the roosters have started crowing,
they are much more petite than the meat birds..
We'll be in hopes of eggs by the 1st of Feb 2021..

Broiler flock, slow grow aka BYB, back yard broilers
Currently 4 roosters and 10 hens
Purchased from Welp hatchery
Arrived 9-4-20 likely hatched 9-2-20
25 chicks @ $2.71 each $67.75 order total..
Feather sexed 9-5 and THINK 14 roos and 11 pullets .. ??
10-6 looking good, 1 red among the bunch..
10-18 separated by sex...
11-22 we sold 11 roosters leaving us 4..10 hopefully
12-20 4 roos and 10 pullets.. Haven't started crowing yet..
1-2 roos started crowing..
Both flocks are housed separately in an 8x8 coop and have a 20x80 yard..
I'll get some pictures taken and put up here this week end, I may also try to get some weight on them, no promises..

 

[Timmy59]

So a diary has to have pictures right, and some weights wouldn't hurt anything either..
1st up and this post the Meyer Plymouth white rocks.. Rooster 1 6lbs 5 oz, rooster 2,, 6lbs 8 oz.. hen 1 - 3lbs 7oz and hen 2 - 3lbs 13oz.. The hens look and feel very petite..

 

[Timmy59]

We like mixing our own feed blend.. 16% layer pellets, cracked corn roughly 6% and calf manna 25 %..

 

[Timmy59]

The BYBs as I will be calling them..Meat birds.. This really put a smile on poppa's face.. Rooster 1--- 10 lbs 2ozs rooster 2--- 9lbs 13 ozs and these outfits are only 4 months and 1 week.. I weighed several hens and they were impressive too 6 1/2 to 7lbs on them..

So the meat hens are round about double the weight of the white rocks..

 

[Timmy59]

The yard and budget coops..

 

[Timmy59]

So 2 flocks, 1 layer and 1 meat.. The layer flock has a slew of feathers on the floor and the meats birds have few feathers on the floor.. ? The meat birds have been seen eating their feathers more than once and never seen on the layers ??

 

[Mrs. K]

Why are you not butchering your meat birds?

 

[Timmy59]

Because I work for a metal building supplier I'm able to haul home scraps or other mishaps which definitely works in our favor.. The 2 chicken tractors are 6x10 , 6 ft because that is what 2 panels are on the roof.. On the sides is a snap lock panel which are 16" wide and I haul home a good amount of it since I oversee the mfg of this panel..

 

[Timmy59]

Why are you not butchering your meat birds?

The wife and I spent both days of the last weekend in June putting up chicken, 64 birds for 288 lbs, 60 parted out and 4 put up whole...
These meat birds were purchased for a sustainable meat bird.. So that we have meat birds 24/7/365.. We are small time farmers/ preppers/ homesteaders.. The yellow toes are because I was holding the toes and they were not scalded..

 

[Mrs. K]

Just another way of doing them, I do a dozen at a time, but then I harvest them 3-4 birds at a time. Easier on me, the freezer, and it allows the littler ones a chance to grow up.

But I do the quick ones. I don't want mine that big.

To each his/her own ways of doing things.