Raising our 1st set of CX meaties

[Angelicisi]

2 weeks old
All seem to be doing great.
All are on the FF only now.
I put shavings in the brooder...Ug.
Was using newsprintand - didn't like then laying in damp poo. So I added layer of hay. It helped.
We got a free large bag of pine shavings- smells great! Cleaned brooder, added shavings. They loved it and it absorbs/covers poo better for cuter birds lol BUT was 3x's as much work before adjustments were made. Waterer was full of shavings constanstly-feed too. And the fact that I added 2 weeks in these fat tards thought it was food and ate it the 1st hour. Lol but all are ok now.
They've been outdoors during the day (late afternoons) feels so cold to me now lol I'm scared they'd be popsicles in the mornings.
That forecast blatantly lied to me. Lol

I'm busy lately and take soooo many pics I cant find the other pic of the day old chick on the scale :/ I did write down the weight on their chart. Lol

 

[chefchick]

When mine were still in the brooder, I raised my waterer off the pine shavings and it helped (I put a piece of plywood just a bit bigger than the waterer on a block of wood- low enough for them to hop up and get a drink). Your babies are getting big! We ate one of ours the other night. Every time I make a home-raised bird I get raves about it being the best chicken ever. My daughter took some leftovers in her lunch the next day, and her friends concurred...best chicken ever. I just made herb butter with fresh rosemary, garlic,sage and thyme and put some under the skin, stuffed the cavity with more herbs and a garlic and a cut up lemon, and basted it now and then while it roasted. YUM! I shared a bird with my MIL and she did the same- minus the lemon and garlic, and they said the same.

 

[enola]

That plucker looks so simple to make. I could really get going if I had one of those, since I find the plucking to be the worst part!

Raising the broiler chicks on wire would save some money on your per bird costs. BUT I have to admit, throwing the bedding on the compost pile works really well

 

[Angelicisi]

Oh I do composting we have a pile (or 3), a set up of 2 quick flip bins and a barrel composter next to each garden
We don't pay for hay/shavings or newsprint. We barter. I have a huge array of garden plants and farmers LOVE a good trade for they have excess of!
This year we have started rabbits and they're poo is amazing.
-warning- chickens are a gateway to thinking POO can be awesome!-
Lol really tho, cleaning rabbitry out- waste bins get dumped directly into the rows of gardens and the plants eat it up.
This was a few months ago the garden itself has veggies growing for us and the chickens.

 

[enola]

I can't wait until I have a place of my own... When a person rents it is hard to justify improvements..... I would hate to move and leave all of labor and hard work behind

 

[Angelicisi]

Weathers nice today thru tomorrow- chicks went into the hoop coop today.
FF is awesome...love it! Got a new set trough feeders the hubby made me I have gotten really good at getting it to an oatmeal consistency, making it easy to scoop and not have to drain it. Still enough juice to set the next batch tho for a perpetual ferment.
The layers have had a great molt on it.

All chicks looking good, feathering in bright white feathers. Being in the grass and foraging has kept them clean. In the brooder they get ugly fast lol.

Most weighed 14/15 ounces today.

I'll be bringing them indoors to the brooder for Tuesday & Wednesday night's due to the temp drop :/ maybe...ill be wrapping the bottom of the hoop coopc in a pallet wrap plastic to cut drafts, but they're still small and the coops fairly large so I figured least I can do is make it a bit cozier.

Next 4 days

 

[pipemum]

I butchered the 6 as cornish game hens. Weighed one last Monday and she was 2.5lbs. I feed them tons last week. Weighed about 1.5 lbs processed.

Processing went fine. The drill plucker was nice, but whoa, hilariously messy.

I have 2 more "big" broilers left and 6 of the slow growing broilers. The big ones will be ready in 2 weeks, and the 6 in 3-5 weeks. I'm not really sure, they ARE slow. Kinda defeats the purpose of broilers.

I bought a bag nutrena nature wise meat bird food. I don't like it. Smells different. Oh well, fermenting with some grains.

BTW, chicks are looking good, Angelicisi! I like their setup. Yeah, mine weren't in the brooder long, but they are nice and clean outside. The slow growing broilers have super soft feathers, like "regular" chickens. The regular fast broilers have soft feathers, but not quite a soft as normal chickens. Or maybe they just don't have as much downy feathers? I don't quite know, but there is a bit of a difference.

And yes, I have to raise their waterer, even outside, otherwise it fills with dirt and shavings. I have a hanging nipple bucket, but I'm not sure they use it, besides, it is still hot enough here that I like all my chickens to have access to 2 sources of water. My regular coop has a nipple bucket and on the ground waterer as well.

 

[pipemum]

I wonder, if you put a cardboard box inside their pen, filled with shavings, if that would keep them warm on the cold nights? It'd be easier than bringing them inside/outside all the time. Like, an upside downbox, with a entrance way hole for them?

 

[Angelicisi]

I set up a 3 n half sided box, but decided to wait on it.
Last two nights they get near the shelter but not all get IN it and I don't get home until about 11pm. So I scooped up the Nuggets and brought them in, I just was nervous to lose any to exposure (sorta nit supposed to happen here lol)
. They're fast now lol and I had to chase a few down. Didn't expect that with these guys. I like it

 

[Angelicisi]

Well we have 1 pounders now lol all of them are just over 1lb, a couple almost reaching 1.5lbs.
Soooooo fast.