Thinking of raising meat birds next year - Colored Rangers or similar

[nekomi]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of trying my hand at a small flock of meat birds next year - I'm planning on buying either Colored/Freedom Rangers or some other similar breed - maybe even a "traditional" meat bird like Sussex, etc.

Anyway, I'd like to raise these birds either free-range on pasture, or in chicken tractors. My big questions are -

-Is there a formula for determining a healthy/sustainable number of birds/acre?
-How do you calculate how many birds you will need to feed your family (we typically eat a dish containing chicken 3x a week)?

Is Joel Salatin's book "Pastured Poultry Profits" a good read for folks interested in starting out with meat chickens?

Also, do any of you raise your meat birds to make food for your pets? I'm considering switching my cats and dogs to either a raw or homecooked diet and would imagine that raising my own birds would save me a bundle on pet food.

Thanks!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey!

we are trying the red broilers from ideal. so far so good. we feed 2x a day and then free range. ours are just about at slaughter age so we are finishing on corn and milk (we have dairy goats).

i use the meat bits for my dogs/cats when we dress poultry and cook down the carcasses for stock and they love it. dogs get the leftovers from the hog harvest as well...and i make a big ol' dog food omlette with our extra eggs. not sure i'm a fan of the raw diet...but we've really saved money on our pet food bills doing these things.

dont have info for your calcs - we figured we'd try 'the creepy meat birds' and only got 15. however, it worked out so well we'll probably do another batch closer to fall. we're really pleased with the red bros and will get them again. we like the idea of doing a few batches over the year instead of one big group.

good luck!

 

[brandywine]

Quote:
Well, figure out how much poundage you go through in a week, estimate, say, 5# of meat per bird, and go from there.

Is Joel Salatin's book "Pastured Poultry Profits" a good read for folks interested in starting out with meat chickens?

Yes, but remember that Salatin uses exclusively chicken tractors and cornish x.

Range broilers will do better with more freedom, and will be less labor and less capital intensive for shelter if you just give them a movable shelter, predator protection at night, and plenty of room otherwise.

Also, do any of you raise your meat birds to make food for your pets? I'm considering switching my cats and dogs to either a raw or homecooked diet and would imagine that raising my own birds would save me a bundle on pet food.

Thanks!

I feed my four dogs a raw diet.

They get all the necks, the backs of the birds that we don't cook whole, all the giblets, and the feet. The processor also gave me a bunch more necks and giblets that other people didn't want. They get a lot of other foods, too, not just chicken. Newbie raw feeders have been known to severely malnourish their pets by feeding just chicken necks and nothing else.

You will NOT save money on pet food by raising your own chickens, unless you are feeding your dogs something awfully expensive, like the dehydrated commercial raw.

You can improve the quality of your carnivore's diets, but raising your own birds does not save money, just improves quality and safety a lot.​

 

[spook]

I definately appreciate the slow food, but I like 5-6 weeks and get it all over and done with. Cornish x fed only veggie proteins.

 

[nekomi]

Don't worry Brandywine, I've done tons of research on raw and I understand how to balance it. As for my current pet food, I'm feeding Taste of the Wild grain-free which costs me roughly $45 for a 25-lb bag.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm still digesting and going to continue to think this over.