Raising our 1st set of CX meaties

[Angelicisi]

Processed some birds today I love when they're all tucked away and resting

These weights were good for customers so it works out well averaged between 4 and 5lbs each.

Had a crawfish lunch and now off to make chicken feed since I procrastinated thinking we would finish all the chickens so why make 25 gallons of fermented feed?

 

[Angelicisi]

Thought we were taking a break through summer. Then demand was pounding on the door demanding more chickens so we have started to secure an area in our woods with ample shade. We are setting up a coop area we can cool also.
*the rabbitry is nearby in a similar area and the temps hold steady with fans and ice so we will use a similar set up to keep them as cool and comfy as possible

Ordering chicks soon (75 so far and 30 of those peeps are someone else's so we will do a batch of 45 this round)

We are brooding 30 as before, in our wire brooders until pick up. The other 45 - we are going to take advantage of the heat here and brood outdoors the 1st 10 days before they start free ranging. We're building a fully sheltered brooder coop and hopefully we can use the artificial heat source as little as possible this run.

I feel the fever coming on again...

 

[Angelicisi]

Well, the chicks arrived dead saved 14 so far. Ordered 25 more from a lady who drives them from the hatchery keeping then cool and comfy and they're good quality so we ordered 50 additional from her for sometime next week. So we will still be doing a summer batch.

The 14 are quarantined it was just so gross the way they arrived and they kept dying. So they are being raised on same food but in a brooder on wire in a whole indoor disinfectable place at the moment. I don't mix chicks from different places/breeders. I want to monitor health in the 14 so they will be on lockdown awhile.

The new 25 are brooding well, on fermented feed and crazy peeping hooligans. The coop in the woods will be finished this week.

Seems we spend the majority of money in protecting our animals. Even surpasses feed bills for CX! coop base is wired so nothing can dig under and inside at night. Hoop coop is ready to install, auto waterers are built and ready and electricity run waaaay out there so we can use a light.
This is sorta an experiment. The predator load is ten times in numbers at this wood line.
They range during the day, but at night will be cooped, in hopefully fort knox lol hardware cloth is plentiful! As well as some awesome motion lamps on battery power we picked up scares the crap outta coons sniffing around so far (but no birds there yet...)

So here we go again!

 

[LindaB220]

Well, the chicks arrived dead

saved 14 so far. Ordered 25 more from a lady who drives them from the hatchery keeping then cool and comfy and they're good quality so we ordered 50 additional from her for sometime next week. So we will still be doing a summer batch.

The 14 are quarantined

it was just so gross the way they arrived and they kept dying. So they are being raised on same food but in a brooder on wire in a whole indoor disinfectable place at the moment. I don't mix chicks from different places/breeders. I want to monitor health in the 14 so they will be on lockdown awhile.

The new 25 are brooding well, on fermented feed and crazy peeping hooligans. The coop in the woods will be finished this week.

Seems we spend the majority of money in protecting our animals. Even surpasses feed bills for CX!

coop base is wired so nothing can dig under and inside at night. Hoop coop is ready to install, auto waterers are built and ready and electricity run waaaay out there so we can use a light.
This is sorta an experiment. The predator load is ten times in numbers at this wood line.
They range during the day, but at night will be cooped, in hopefully fort knox lol hardware cloth is plentiful! As well as some awesome motion lamps on battery power we picked up

scares the crap outta coons sniffing around so far (but no birds there yet...)

So here we go again!

Keep us updated on the hoop coop. I'd like to build a big hoop coop run for my chicks. Money, Money,Money

 

[Angelicisi]

Wire cost kills us small farmers we don't even waste money on chicken wire we trade for it but hardware cloth and sturdy fencing/netting/staples/heavy duty zipties...adds up fast. Hopefully holds up well so we can absorb the cost in future batches... Still learnin tho!

Keep us updated on the hoop coop.  I'd like to build a big hoop coop run for my chicks.   Money, Money,Money  

 

[LindaB220]

Wire cost kills us small farmers

we don't even waste money on chicken wire we trade for it but hardware cloth and sturdy fencing/netting/staples/heavy duty zipties...adds up fast. Hopefully holds up well so we can absorb the cost in future batches... Still learnin tho!

There's a new thread on the Meat bird section. Fellow wanted to know if it would be profitable to wholesale butchers or co-ops. Why don't you fill him in?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/899277/selling-meat-birds-to-wholesale-buyers

 

[Angelicisi]

Long term sales yes...many more hoops to jump through with permits and more inspections tho (more $$ is required when branching out.) We still have to stay under 1000 birds annually. To go beyond that the equipment and building needed is expensive, worth it in the looong run, possibly - if you can be sure a set quantity of birds is being sold regularly - not just on occassion to a butcher but standing orders. CX cost serious money to feed and then to butcher (whether bringing it to a certified butcher at $3-4 per bird or buying equipment to do it homestead wise) a customer base MUST be steady to ensure no wasted meat or funds.

Plus, one has to contend with prices of big chicken companies and now China chicken. Hard to do on a medium level, but totally do-able. Just hard. More work stretching that dollar for a better profit and still keeping quality, healthy chickens

Totally worth trying if you love it...gotta love it tho.

There's a new thread on the Meat bird section.  Fellow wanted to know if it would be profitable to wholesale butchers or co-ops.  Why don't you fill him in?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/899277/selling-meat-birds-to-wholesale-buyers

 

[RedMini]

Plus, one has to contend with prices of big chicken companies and now China chicken.

What we (small chicken raisers) have over big chicken companies and especially ANYTHING from China...is that we can say its completely natural meat without any chemicals(if we do it that way, which i am). Yes, a lot of companies advertise hormone-free, free range chicken, but they can still sometimes use antibiotics (I read it on one of the major chicken companies' web site myself).
I know most people don't care about this, but its something we can have "up" on store chicken.

 

[Angelicisi]

Good job! Keep it all natural! It's hard sometimes and free ranging we do have losses to predators. We raise all natural chicken and rabbits. Quality surpasses any chicken I've had. I can smell the difference in a raw chicken now lol ew I know natural food is important to us too we use no medications, no antibiotics and the "steroid/hormone free" is used as an advertising thing now, big companies will put "no steroids/hormones" on packaging because the consumers assume that's all natural...USDA banned both in the US, so chicken sold has to be hormone/steroid free anyways so its sorta misleading stating just those two things. We look for no antibiotics/meds if we buy chicken somewhere.

What we (small chicken raisers) have over big chicken companies and especially ANYTHING from China...is that we can say its completely natural meat without any chemicals(if we do it that way, which i am). Yes, a lot of companies advertise hormone-free, free range chicken, but they can still sometimes use antibiotics (I read it on one of the major chicken companies' web site myself).
I know most people don't care about this, but its something we can have "up" on store chicken.

 

[Angelicisi]

Letting nature brood a batch of chicks coming. Started the coop in the woods...very excited a lil scared because its a ways away but in sight line but also in a predator thick area. We drapped netting through the trees and down behind coop. Going to wrap it in hardware cloth over the one inch coated netting on hoop coop as added protection. Buried chicken wire under 2 yards of riversilt (drainage). Added sand on top. Hoop coop being secured to base. Ramps being put in tomorrow. Auto waterer being set up because shade or not its hot and the CX will down 4 gallons a day as well as visit the pond.