Raising meaties on the cheap.

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Quote:
Yes I do.

Get modern meat chickens. Feed them the most expensive broiler feed commercially available - that would be Purina Show Chow (it costs 26 cents a pound locally).

If you don't raise them to cool and follow the breeder recomended lighting program for 42 days 10 lbs of feed later ($2.60) you should have straight run birds that weigh an average of 5.25 lbs live.

Temperatures to cold, not enough hours of light, inadequate nutrition and keeping birds beyond market weights drive the cost way up. Food scraps are OK (if limited), forget the grass - it is like stoking a nuclear reactor with coal. "Treats" if not inadequate are then to expensive.

Loosing birds is like throwing feed away. And the nearer they are to slaughter weight the more feed you waste as they go into the dumpster.

 

[Boondock Saint]

I just read in a hatchery notes that @ 5 days old you should feed cornish x 12 hours, and then take the food away for 12 hours, doing this in a cycle until they are ready to harvest, this will keep them from having heart attcks and loosing the birds...

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Quote:
The genetics companies that produce the parent stock of modern broiler chickens DO NOT recomend anything like the 12 on/12 off light schedule. Research shows the best feed conversion and rate of gain for the entire flock includes no less than 18 hours of light in a 24 hour period.

The "heart attacks" blamed for broiler chicken losses by backyard producers are generally husbandry issues rather than genetic or nutrional in nature. The symptoms of the backyard heart attack broiler are generally defined as some other malady in commercial birds. Most often it is a bacterial infection.

I often hear "their hearts just exploded due to . . ." Well this dosen't really happen and besides a heart attack is the death of heart muscle. The "heart attack" is an over simplified explanation used for the uninformed or by the uninformed. It is also promoted as a tear jerking tactic by animal rights organizations and vegans.

I am involved wtih three different meat chickens for show projects each year. This year out of 77 started two were stepped on and all the others but one made it to slaughter weight. It just died. They never had less than 8 hours of darkness, were fed feed with a very high level of kilocalories and amino acids. The biggest of the 6 week old birds weighted 6.2 lbs. The three that went to show were held back a little so the were right at 5.5 lbs- the upper limit of that class. They were reserve champion meat pen and the judge said that they placed there because one had a bruised wing tip. They were raised after brooding at whatever the barn temperature was. The two 8 week old roasters weighted 9.65 each - exactly. They never saw a temperature less than 84 degrees and as hot as 100. The Seven week old roasters were raised in an outdoor pen after two weeks of age and they went to show at 8.4 lbs each.

Oh - and at the broiler farm the last flock we shipped never had less than 6 hours of darkness and we sent 94.7% of the birds we received back to slaughter. They were 41 days old and averaged 5.32 lbs for straight run. The feed conversion ratio was 1.82 lbs of feed for a pound of live weight. We had the best flock slaughtered that week. Made the bonus!

 

[halo]

Very interesting.

 

[eKo_birdies]

i think the point we have here is.... sure, go ahead, leave the lights on.... it's just all the sooner they will eat themselves to death. just one of the beauties of the modern commercial meat cross!

i'm glad i don't have to do the above mentioned to come out ahead. guess it literally pays to have informed customers....

 

[sonew123]

hmm My meaties have food available alomost 24/7 I let them run out for a few hours-but they get lights turned out at 9pm and in teh light at 7 am so thats 10 hours without light -too much??

 

[Beekissed]

I saved money on mine by free ranging from 2 wks. old and only feeding once a day. I gave mine a laying mash mixed with whole grains but I think next time I can even go cheaper with more cracked corn in a regular grower ration.

I left no lights on and used no brooder....used a broody hen. My chickens seemed to be the same weight as other people's at 8 wks, so it seems that all that high protein, free choice feed and extended lighting is kind of silly. I only fed what they would eat at that time...no extra...and I fed only in the evening near sundown.

I waited until 11 wks to process mine but that was merely due to my current circumstances. They had already stopped growing at around 8 wks and seemed to reach their growth potential on this regimen. They averaged 10 lbs live weight and 5-6 lbs finished.

The quality of the finished bird was exemplary....tender, moist, flavorful. Their bones were strong and the hearts and vascular health was all normal. I started with 20 and ended with 20, despite some injuries early on to two of them.

We butchered on July 4th weekend and the temps in the area had been in the 90s since the beginning of June.

You can see my thread on their progress in the meat bird section of the forum under "Letting My Broody raise my meaties."

 

[sunnychooks]

Quote:
The genetics companies that produce the parent stock of modern broiler chickens DO NOT recomend anything like the 12 on/12 off light schedule. Research shows the best feed conversion and rate of gain for the entire flock includes no less than 18 hours of light in a 24 hour period.

I think Boondock Saint was commenting on the feeding schedule, not lighting issues. Could you clarify, please?

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Quote:
The genetics companies that produce the parent stock of modern broiler chickens DO NOT recomend anything like the 12 on/12 off light schedule. Research shows the best feed conversion and rate of gain for the entire flock includes no less than 18 hours of light in a 24 hour period.

I think Boondock Saint was commenting on the feeding schedule, not lighting issues. Could you clarify, please?

Sure. You bring up a point that needs clarification. Often when one lives and breates this stuff as I do to much is assumed.
I think in terms of feed being available all the time and the lack of light be the only restriction on eating.