Raising Chickens for Meat

[ChickieBooBoo]

I would start with the Cornish X's, I find them a lot easier to do then heritage type birds. Why dont you try processing them yourself? The first time I did it I was really scared that I would screw everything up but it really want that hard.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

At least if I get pullets and something happens that we can't process them, we'll just have more eggs. But if we get cockerels and that happens, we'll just have more TROUBLE! On the other hand, I just hate the thought of eating perfectly good egg laying hens! Sigh.

If you are looking at meat only CX type birds, don't count on egg production, many are not intended to live that long and won't be great layers anyway.

If you want to go in with thinking you could fall back to keeping them for eggs only, then yes go with pullets but dual purpose ones. On the down side though meat will be much slower to grow and you don't get nice plump chickens in 2-3 months as most dual purpose chickens are mostly bone and feather at that age.​

 

[MamacatPatch]

Our first batch of chickens four years ago was about 30 'straight run' chicks we picked up at the local Feed Store. Over half of them were roosters!! They were the most horrid creatures God ever put on this earth. Hubby, who was raised on a farm with cows and chickens says, "No problem I can can butcher them!" He caught the first one, went into the woods with a hatchet and found a tree stump. Twenty minutes later he comes back into the house with a green tint to his face.

"You don't look so good," I said.

"I'm not," he said, "I can't do this." He had managed to take off the rooster's head but couldn't pluck him!

SO, we FINALLY found through the grapevine a woman who was able to butcher the roosters at her farm for a small fee. I had to help snag all the roosters [we kept three that we liked], tie their legs up, throw them into the back of the truck, unload them at her farm and listen to her and her hubby butcher our roosters while they screamed.

First time I've EVER experienced this and I lost it. I started screaming and crying. Felt like I was butchering MY CATS!!! I will NEVER EVER go through that again. Yeah, I'm born and raised in a town so this country living is a brutal adjustment for me. The only reason we're going to try raising chickens specifically to EAT is we want organic free range chickens and can't find any around here! It might end up being another bad experience, but I thought I'd try it anyhow.

Bottom line tho ... is buying the chicks, raising the chickens, taking them to wherever to be butchered, etc., really more cost effective than finding someone already doing it? I just don't know.



Marci

 

[wyoDreamer]

In Northern Wisconsin where I lived, we had a number of Amish farmers in the area. A number of them processed backyard chickens and turkeys at a reasonable price.
So maybe if you have any Amish or Menonites in the area? My friend tells me she located them off a note on the bulletin board at the feed store.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I started 6 weeks ago with my first ever meat chickens too. (Cornish x) I just wanted a small operation to basically "see how it goes". I ordered 8, 2 died the first day, which I hear is pretty normal for the Cornish x. What I would do if I were you is to make up your order of layers that you want to buy, and then just throw a small straight run of the meat bird of your choice. Just a couple to see how it goes and so it's not a big deal.

That being said, these Cornish are NOT like regular chickens, they are stinky, poopy, eat a TON of food, and are VERY prone to having health issues. There is actually a ton of info on here if you search about the different meat breeds. I have tried to raise mine to the best of my ability and they still have issues.

After my 6 Cornish are gone sometime in the next couple weeks I am going to try these famous "Freedom Rangers", I heard they are very similar but don't have so many health problems.


Hope this helps!
-Cari

 

[Lorije1]

Believe me... if you get Cornish x you will be doing them and you a favor when processing day comes. This is my first go 'round with them and I can not wait to get them in the freezer - they OWE me that! Wow they are big, dumb, stinky eating / pooping machines! I have posted a million times I could never do it, so my friend went in with me $ and her BF is going to do the deed.... but if he can't make it on D day, I will do it myself!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Quote:
ok then, first CX is cornish cross - hatcheries call them all sorts of things just like you mentioned, some are supposed to grow a little slower. DO NOt buy the "frying pan special" if you are wanting to avoid scrawny, sreaming, meanies.
fat juicy chickens one trip to butcher is CX all male or all female. and to answer your question posted further down, I agree personally I find it more cost effective to find someone set up and professional to do the job. check with the feeds stores that sell birds, call your local 4-h leader, put an add on craigs list or even try on here.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Omniskies]

McMurray's CX are great, but a little overpriced. Shop around and you should be able to find the same birds for a lot less. Last I heard, there are only three companies in the US that raise CX and those three companies send their eggs out to all of these hatcheries (if anyone knows any different, let me know). So there's a really good chance that the 43 CX from one hatchery are exactly the same as the $1 CX from another hatchery.

Also, you may want to wait instead of ordering these birds immediately. They are going to cost you a lot more than they would any other time of year because of all of the heat they are going to need over the winter. Early spring is a better bet (March-April). By the time they are ready to dress out the weather will still be cool, but at least you're dealing with fewer ice storms.

Although, with that being said, I have 360 CX eggs arriving on December 13th that I'm splitting with a few people for a winter processing-fest. So I guess I can't say much

 

[MamacatPatch]

Quote:
Wow now I wonder if this is all worth the effort, time, money and trouble! [Even though I quoted your response in my post, I am referring to all the responders

]. I have to put in the order NOW to McMurray's to ensure delivery in April/May! One year I waited and they were sold out!!

When we decided to butcher our gang of rooster thugs two years ago [after hubby turned green trying to do it himself] we looked and searched EVERYWHERE for someone to process those stupid birds. It was solely by accident that someone knew someone who knew someone who had a small farm that sometimes butchered birds. They did a good job, but this time we'd have about 25 or more birds to do and I doubt they would handle that many. We want enough chickens to keep us in supply for a year or so.

Time to crunch some numbers I guess. I just ran across a site in my searching today that wanted $107 for FOUR free range chickens!!!!! No way we'd pay that!!! We do have Amish around but not locally although they DO sell Amish products in our local stores INCLUDING CHICKEN. Maybe we should just buy some Amish chickens at Kroger's and call it good! This is turning into such a fiasco already!!!

Appreciate very much everyone's input and help!!!

 

[marquisella]

I started a thread about my experience with Freedom Ranger chicks, that arrived wednesday at:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=425876

Pictures included, so far, they are good. I will try to keep up with weekly reports.

Sue