What is your Meat Bird setup?

[AspiringHomesteader]

Hi, what is your meat bird set up? How many birds do you raise a year, what breed are they, and how how often do you eat them? Also do you raise all your meat birds at once for the year or do you raise them in batches?

 

[Squishychicken]

I plan on raising meat birds this spring so I want to see how others do it.

 

[Molpet]

I raise in batches about a dz at a time.. but it is just for me.. i started w/cx pullets and ran them w/the layers. fed 2x a day so they were healthier.. buchered at 12 wks, 8lbs dressed...held a pullet back.. bred her to my barnyard mix roo.. hatched 3 boys and a girl.. bred the boys to some mixed hens... incubated 2x and 5 broodies....harvested the boys 4-7lbs dressed at 16-19 wks .. about 1/2lb to 1 lb heavier than non cx mixed

 

[Morrigan]

One batch of 25 CX each fall. I like fall because it is warm while they are chicks, and I can get them outside at 2 weeks, and then it cools off as they get older and prefer colder weather. I do a staggered butchering starting at week 8 or 9 with the largest birds, and ending at week 13. Dressed weights of between 5 and 10 lbs.

Like Moppet, I feed them 2x a day -- all they can eat for 15 minutes. I also give them access to a yard where there is some natural forage, plus old produce tossed in. I put them in a large, secure shed in the evenings to reduce risk of predator losses.

 

[jdw]

we raise white broilers in tractors and poultry netting. they overnight in the tractors and we let them forage during daylight hours in roughly a 2 acre paddock. we start 100 chicks every 9 weeks from early April through October. we raise for ourselves,family and friends. as well we raise a few dozen Pekin ducks and broad breasted white turkeys, kind of an addiction. we raise the turkeys and ducks in tractors as well. they have access to grasses,clover ,bugs, field mice that get in the way and commercial feed as well. we eat our birds 6-10 meals a week.