I think Zac Brown said it best: "Git'cha little Chicken Fried, cold beer on a Friday night, pair a jeans that fit just right, and the radio up..."
Or in my case --- 26 'lil chickens, 1/4-ton of food (450lbs to be exact), chicken poo everywhere, and the radio up!
One of the stops on the 2012 Coop Tour raised Cornish Cross meat birds. They have the coolest "chicken tractors", field rotation schedule, and custom food and water set-up! They raise 60 birds every year - 30 for themselves, 30 for a neighbor. Even though they did not yet have their birds during the tour I was completely impressed with what I saw! They raise their birds during the summer and rotate the "tractors" around their 1.5ac field; the birds get fresh ground every day and their field gets fertilized!
* See pix of the Chicken Tractor on my blog "A Great Day for a Coop Tour 04/21/12 *
Yup, I decided to give it a try this year. It's the most amazing thing to experience - Chick to Traeger in 8 weeks!!!! (and they're yummy, too!)
My neighbor Christina (you know, the one with the "pretty coop" for her "pretty chickens") agreed to go in on the birds with me, sharing 1/3 of the expenses for 1/3 of the birds. I wanted 12 and she wanted 6. I figured I'd start with 24 hoping for a final slaughter of 18 birds. Due to scheduling, I needed to get them right away so I could be done and have birds in the freezer by the 24th of April.
My of research found that the mortality rate was quite high (20-30%) due to the rapid growth rate so I wanted to plan accordingly. Also, I found that average "dressed" (slaughtered) weights on these birds to be somewhere in the 4-5lbs range at 8 weeks (you loose aprox 30% weight at slaughter). I did HOURS of research, went to several chicken workshops in the area, got all my supplies, and I was ready to go!
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4'x8' sheet of plywood ripped down to 2'x4' strips to make pen area
starting size: 30" x 48"
2 heat lamps, 2 thermometers, & pine bedding pellets |
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| galvanized "L" corners allow for expanding the size of the pen as birds get bigger |
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note board & calendar to monitor chickens progress and keep notes
(for next time?) |
Housing for these critters did not work out as planned so I had to set up shop in my greenhouse. I borrowed my husband's work radio and had the tunes cranked while I cleaned out the greenhouse to make room for the new tenants - and never shut it off (turns out the chickens were quite fond of Pink Floyd and The Cars). I got everything ready and ordered my chicks. I was hoping to get them direct from a local hatchery, but couldn't make the pick-up schedule work so I got them from
Burns Feed Store in Gresham.
Friday, March 1st (3 days old/Feb 26 hatch date)
On my way home from work, I picked up 26 Cornish Cross chicks. I had 25 on hold, but couldn't leave a chick down, so took the last one they had!
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| 2 feeders & 1 (3gal) fount |
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| they seem pretty happy with their new digs! |
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first time I have raised baby chicks
since I was a kid... cute 'lil peeps! |
These birds are sold as "straight run", meaning you will get both male and female birds. As they are raised for meat, they will eat a high protein diet to pack on the weight - no laying hens here!!
The feed store had them on a 20% protein feed, but I wanted to pace myself thru this process.
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| tuckered out! |
I switched them over to 18% medicated chick-starter & vitamins/electrolytes (with probiotics) in their water to ease them thru the transition to their new home. On March 3rd, I started them back on a 20% feed.
When I purchased my feed I got 250lbs of 20% protein feed & 200lbs of 18% chick feed - I got only (1) 25lb bag of medicated feed (just to start them off). My plan was to stagger their feeding schedule between the 18% and 20% feeds to allow their bones to catch up with their bodies, and to possibly reduce the risk of stroke and crippled legs as they got older. Once they were done with 50lbs of 18% chick feed, I switched them over to the 20% grower feed and continued to switch their food back-and-forth for the duration, finishing with the 20% prior to slaughter. It was all about timing, and it made perfect sense in my head at the time...
Day1 - Day 5: 24hr access to food
Day 6 - day before slaughter: daytime feeding only - take feeders up for 12hrs each night, or they will continue to eat like pigs! (increasing the risk of stroke and lame legs).
18 hrs prior to slaughter:
NO FOOD (water only) - this will allow most of the food to pass thru the bird making it easier to slaughter and reduce the risk of contamination during the process.
I wish I had taken a picture of the pallet of food I had for these guys!! The food & bedding took up 1/6 of my greenhouse... I had (5) 50# bags of 20% feed and (8) 25# bags of 18% chick feed. I also had (9) 40# bags of pine stall pellets - I found these to be quite effective as bedding thru this process.
Week 1 complete, and all is well.
Count: 26 birds
PEAS OUT!
~GP
