Raising Orpingtons or Rocks for meat

[irf1983]

Quote:
Well said sir. I am convinced. I think I'll be ordering a batch of Freedom Rangers early October so it won't be so hot when I process them. You mentioned building additional housing. I was planning on putting up a new run for the meat flock. Do they also need a coop to go in at night? Thanks for your advice, and I'm sure my wife thanks you too.

 

[Bossroo]

First things first... educate yourself in proper chicken husbandry. Most books and backyard chicken raisers are not the best sources for information on growing out meat birds as they are geared more for egg production and/or the dual purpose breeds or advocating the self sustainability. Check out the information provided by hatcheries specifically for raising meat birds. Contact fellow BYC people that are actually raising the meat birds at a profit. Always remember the old Scotish saying... " The eye of the master fattens the cattle". It applies to all classes of livestock. Chicks will need brooding for first 2-3 weeks , then out they go. Look into building chicken tractors ... there are many posts regarding this subject right here if you have grassy fields. If you have a heavy predaor population and /or little rainfall to keep your grass green like I do... I keep my CornishX inside a horse stall made more predator secure with hardware wire all around and the top inside my horse barn. I keep them for 6-8 weeks then they get an invite to freezer camp. Be sure that they have shelter from the hot sun , rain and dew as a wet chicken is not a happy chicken. Good luck, and have FUN !!!

 

[irf1983]

Quote:
When you say brooding, do you mean being kept indoors with a heat lamp? I've got foxes that patrol my coop, so I'm building a 260 sq ft covered pen from fence panels. I'm guessing i don't need a coop for roosting at night. If I get freedom rangers, are they ok to free range with my layers? Do the chicks need to be on a starter feed before going to a broiler feed. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Bossroo]

When brooding... you can keep them in anyplace that will not drive you or your wife out due to the stink that will be generated for 2-3 weeks. You will need a heat and/or light source as well as shelter from drafts for that period of time. ( check with the hatchery). So, you have the fox... one of the most intelligent predators out there. When you have fox, more likely than not you have racoons, etc as well. This nececitates as many redundant features as you think will be as predator proof as possible, top, sides, bottom. Use as heavy guage 1/2" x 1/2" hardware fabric as you can buy as that will be the cheapest insurance that you can get. Meat birds usually just lay on the ground to sleep, so you may or may not have a need for roosting boards. I would provide a seperate shelter for shade, wind, rain from the layer flock as the meat birds require different management for feed ( 22% protein start to finish). The meat birds have much different feed nutrient requirements from the egg layers... they make meat, while the layers make eggs. Feeding the egg layers the higher protein will only waste the calories as they will just store it in the form of extra fat. You can free range the meaties along with the layers, but think of the work in seperating the 2 groups every night. Free ranging for them eating green grass and chasing bugs sound nice, but in practicallity the meaties will run off most of the calories gained from those sources . The only real advantage would be in a slight difference in taste in their fat. May I ask your preference for the freedom rangers? If it is for the feather color, well one can't eat feathers. They will have to be fed for at least 12 -14 weeks to yield a similar weight carcass as the CornishX in 6-8 weeks. Both will still eat the same amount of feed but there is a 4-5 week's difference worth of labor . This gives you more time to spend with your wife and family. What breed of layer do you have? My choice would be to use the Leghorn... the most efficient bird in converting the most eggs while eating less feed per year of any chicken breed out there. Equates to more $$$ saved for the same work. Good luck, and have FUN !!!

 

[irf1983]

I was thinking the freedom rangers because of all the health risks I have heard are associated with the cornish. From what I have heard they just sit with their face in the food and stink to high heaven. The FR seemed like a happy medium. But I do see your point about the time difference. I do have some leghorns, both great layers, although my white leghorn is the broodiest chicken i have by far. In her first year she went broody 4 times. I also have dominique, EE, americauna, brahmas, crested polish, marans, and probably some others i am forgetting. Where do you order your meat birds from? Hope you don't mind me constantly picking your brain.

 

[chickensrfood]

I just started up the idea of keeping some meat birds.

I ordered 5 of the cornishx from ideal and I amazed at their growth so far. They are 4 days old and almost 3x the size of the leghorn chicks they are with (all the same age).

I am feeding an 18% protein for now and have heard varying opinions everything from them not needing the broiler food to them dieing without it. I figured with such a small group I can use them as a learning experience. If they all make it to the table in 8 weeks I will not change their feed on my next batch which I am planning for around 100 chicks.

They are already showing the thick legs I wish I could breed these guys.

 

[Bossroo]

Most of the health issues are caused by human error, and /or those that don't educate themselves on proper protocal in raising meat birds. Then, instead of analysing what whent wrong and making the badly needed adjustments, they start bashing them. Wow, I'm impressed ! Always remember the old Scottish saying... " the eye of the master fattens the cattle". If one starts any business, one first educates oneself, then writes down a business plan, then executes that plan. If something doesn't work as planned, one makes adjustments to the plan or the businesss fails. Raising any barnyard chicken is easy, raising a specialized meat bird takes a little work, but the rewards sure outways the effort. Many kids play High school football, fewer can play in College, fewer still can play in the NFL. To do so takes way above average commitment and extra hard work... but the rewards are oh so GREAT. In 3 years, I have only had 4 that were dead on arrival.... NO other losses. I order from any hatchery that has the best price at the time then I look for the one closest to me when I want to make an order. Use that leghorn broody to your advantage... when she has been setting on eggs for 2 weeks, place a dozen or more Cornish X chicks under her after sunset and remove the eggs. Keep her and her new brood seperate from the rest of the hens. She will make you proud. Regarding the layers... there is a chart posted on BYC showing breed characteristics and egg laying ability. Use the search feature here to find it. ( Note that is a breed chart and does not include sex link egg layers or terminal Xbreds. For information on them refer to Commertial Corporations that specialize in developing/ raising them). You will find the information invaluable in saving you $$$ when looking for replacements. No problem in asking for advice.

 

[MrChicken207]

What BossRoo is saying makes good sense, from a business management point of view. Those of us who have a different outlook might feel that non-terminal crosses, or such crosses from non-production strains of the parent breeds would be the way to go. The same thoughts would go for production layers (and hybrids), versus non-production strains of those birds. If you want to perpetuate your own flock, year to year, It would be easiest to go with a "dual purpose" breed, such as rocks, orpingtons, wyandottes, or dorkings. The next step would be to have one of these breeds and a "heritage" variety of cornish (i.e. dark cornish). and then you would have a small flock of each (about a dozen birds each) and keep each separate breed going, butchering extra roosters, AS WELL AS producing crosses between the two.

The bottom line is this: it all depends on your own personal philosophy, and plans on raising birds.

 

[Lil_Miss_Farmer_Chick]

We received a variety of BO's, BR's, Silkies, EE's, and Frizzles this April. I ordered 12 BO's for meat, a replacement shipment of my silkies gave us 13 BR's all male. Out of all of our orders we have approx. 30 roos for processing. I too wanted to have a reproducable means of food year round. We have about 45-53 birds as of this moment and we go through 100lbs. of feed every 2 weeks, that equates to less than $25 bi-weekly to all the chickens. They are allowed to free range all day but we feed them the grain free choice to insure proper nutrition. The BO's and BR's are 16 weeks today and they weigh approx. 5-8lbs. The higher in the pecking order the heavier the bird is what we have found in our flock. We will be processing them all in about 2 weeks. We are just waiting on a freezer. We have a family of 7 - 2 parents, 1 nana, and 4 children ages 3, 7, 12, and 18. I think that the chickens are an acceptable weight for what our family eats at any given meal.
I think the choice of bird is an individual choice that requires a bit of thought on what your family's needs are and how much money you want to invest.
I am comfortable with our choice, it fits our family, we have other birds for eggs so we must feed them anyway, and I feel we are within our budget to feed them.
Everyone is different and has a different situation, go with your gut, if it works great, if not, try something new next time.