Sunshine and Cornish X

[hemibob67]

Hello, I will be raising 25 Cornish X in a 8x10 tractor for the first time. I plan on putting a sun shade on it and moving it twice a day. I have 4 1/2 acres of lawn to work with on this, but I was wondering am I better off keeping it in a shaded area or do they need the direct sunshine at times. I'm in Indiana.

 

[CoopCrazy]

I have next to no shade and also live in indiana so i will be interested to see what other say...

 

[hemibob67]

Quote:
have you raised Cornish X in the past?

 

[CoopCrazy]

NO this will be my first year as well.. I am planning to do 25 in spring and 25 in fall .. I live on top of a hill that used to be a corn field so I have next to no shade.. I figure I will just have to keep an eye out for panting.. I have heard that cornish x do much better in the heat then in the cold .. So hopefully they are heat resistant...

 

[MeatKing]

Not too sure if this helps any... Our summers can get pretty hot here, so one day I came home from work.. (Chickens are in a building, and refused to go outside!) The were panting and their (crops?) Were turning purple... I opened everything right up and turned on the fans, then they were fine... So I think it could get too hot for them... Maybe this was cause they were in a buliding with no fans on?

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Get your self a $5 blue tarp and a $10 box fan from Wal-Mart. Use them to keep your birds comfortable and cool.

Far too many time people complain about the health of Commercial Broilers when the blame falls upon the 'farmer' for not providing adequate airflow or cooling.

Jim

 

[CoopCrazy]

I think the OP is plannign on using a portable tractor like myself .. So ventilation wont be a problem.. We are just wondering if Direct sunlight will be too hot with a tarp on half the tractor.. I havent had coffee yet so if that doesnt make sense just tell me and ill try again.. Off to get coffee...

 

[hemibob67]

I'm not really worried about too much sun because they will have a shade tarp and good ventilation, but my question is "Do they have to have some direct sunlight or am I ok putting the tractor in areas that are shady all the time?"

 

[Brunty_Farms]

If you use a tarp... or any other plastic material to shade your broilers you better have a fan and keep it running. You need higher tops if you don't use a fan because the tarp will cook them alive.

I use steel siding for my tops, keep the white side up because it will reflect the sunlight.

However to answer your question... they do like the sunlight... especially in colder weather and in mornings. Many times I will find them out laying in the sun first thing in the morning warming up. But when things heat up they seek the shade and as long as they have plenty of water, space, and shade they will be fine (remember though shade by a tarp.... must keep a fan like Lazy said... otherwise you can have a lot of dead broilers on your hands).

I keep 2/3'ds of my pens in shade. The rest is chicken wire. (chicken wire is not a good idea if you have stray dogs or a lot of predators)

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
They don't need the sun, no. However sometimes they do benefit from it, especially on cold days and in the mornings. Make sure you have good ventilation for that tarp.