Questions--never had meat birds before

[cslater]

We're trying to raise meat birds for the first time. We have 50 that are 3 weeks old. Their bodies are pink & blue and they just don't have many feathers. Someone told us that was normal, but when we went to the feed store the much younger ones they have there are fully feathered. Also, when you pick them up their bodies feel very 'hot', is that normal?

 

[Beekissed]

It's normal. The ones at the feed store might not be fed the way yours are being fed. If you are feeding as per usual, they are outgrowing their feathers, which is typical for the breed. They have growth spurts that will have them showing pink patches throughout their growing until their feathers have had a chance to catch up. Some folks feed so quick and butcher so young that their feathers never really catch up the the expansion of their skin over the body.

Were the much younger birds at the feed store also meat birds? If not, it could explain why they are feathering out so nicely...their feathers are growing at the same rate as their bodies.

 

[cslater]

Okay, thank you!

 

[Thunderboltt]

We just butchard our first batch last night 25 birds at 9 weeks and they still didn't have a lot of there feathers. I thought that was strange also. We started with 40 but a coon killed 15 of them before we could figure out how to keep it out. It went right though the chicken wire.

 

[Sundown_Farmer]

That's kind of a good thing. Fewer feathers...easier plucking.

Sorry about your bandit issues. You're right, chicken wire doesn't stand a chance against them. Hardware cloth does pretty well though.

 

[Thunderboltt]

Really not easier plucking because it has little pen feathers that are hard to remove. I made a drum chicken plucker for $79.00 i used the usual drum Assembly but my drive i used an old brush hog PTO and attached to the feather plate. then attached it to our tractor.

 

[Beekissed]

The pin feathers on meaties seem to come out much better if you just scrape over those pins with the knife blade...sort of like scaling a fish. They pop right out with ease and you don't have to pick each one.

 

[what did I do]

Meat birds are gross birds, no feathers, eat like pigs, massive big poop, drinking fools, pushing others around but boy do they taste good. Yours are normal and I think its normal to think they are gross.

 

[Beekissed]

Mine aren't normal then....no big poops, no excessive drinking, fully feathered...but they do shove at the feeder. I don't think mine are gross at all...cute, fat fellas that just have a big appetite.

 

[Thunderboltt]

Mine where kinda ungly half feathered and all but they say that is normall. The one we butchered last week are vary tasty.