Raising meat chickens

[Vickydolittle]

I have a couple questions about raising meat chickens (like Cornish cross or freedom rangers).
1. I was thinking about starting them late spring again (May, our temps in texas late in the month are very high and the chicks would need minimal heat). That being said, is it safe to have a heat lamp or plate outside in a chicken tractor? Last year having laying chicks inside was rough. They just produced so much waste (15 though) and dust that as the weeks went hard, it was harder to keep up with them changing the bedding every day.

2. I was thinking about getting a couple more laying hens. Can I raise them together or do they have to be separate because of the whole grower-feed situation?

3. Would raising laying hens in a chicken tractor help my free range hens get used to them so when they're old enough they can share the coop?


Thanks in advance!

 

[nuthatched]

Grower feed won't hurt any bird.

 

[eworms]

1. I wonder about outdoor temperature swings? I imagine that if you can create a space without draft, then a brooder plate would be safe enough. May here in Texas can have hot days and cooler nights. Give the chicks some room to move about as the day heats up. I imagine they'll cluster under the brooder at night.

2. Probably fine?

3. How close will the tractor be to the free range birds? If it's right in their midst, it may help.

 

[Vickydolittle]

1. I wonder about outdoor temperature swings? I imagine that if you can create a space without draft, then a brooder plate would be safe enough. May here in Texas can have hot days and cooler nights. Give the chicks some room to move about as the day heats up. I imagine they'll cluster under the brooder at night.

2. Probably fine?

3. How close will the tractor be to the free range birds? If it's right in their midst, it may help.

That's what I was thinking too. They'd be fine during the day, but would need supplement heat source during the night.

I would be moving the tractor around, but they'd generally be within the vicinity of where the full grown chickens go as I'd like to still keep a close eye on them.