Chicken coop questions

[NS Gearhead]

Very interesting! So there's no bottom... Do the birds stay in when you move them?

Meat Kings can get up to 12lbs each, so would 5X10 be enough for 12?

 

[TSO]

Yup empty bottom. You pickup one side and drag it forward. They learn to walk with the movement (which is only the length of the tractor). Occasionally, when they are young and small, you might get one that squeezes out while moving, but that's rare and they're easy to catch.

Just remember, there is a point of diminishing return on meat birds (similar to other livestock). Butchering them too early means you are missing out on potential meat volume, but butchering them too late also means that you are adding fat and letting the muscle mature beyond the likely desired density... basically what I'm saying is that letting them get up to 12lbs is probably wasting feed and just gaining you bird weight that you likely won't get back once processed.

Granted I have not raised the breed you are stating, but the Freedom Rangers are pretty big birds compared to most, and even at 10 weeks, the processed weight (finished, ready to eat) averages around 5-6lbs.

Don't get caught up in getting a huge bird.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Yeah I understand. I've been chatting up a guy at work that had a hobby farm. He said pigs should be harvested at around 200lbs. After that they just add fat.

Anyway, a little reading for ya;

"Thanks to careful genetic selection, Canada's commercial chickens have enormous breasts, twice as big as the ones they had in the '70s. Comercial white broiler chickens, often called Meat Kings, can grow twice as large and as quickly as the '50s chicken, reaching slaughter size in six weeks. They're a cross between White Plymouth Rock or New Hampshire hens and Cornish roosters."

 

[TSO]

Yeah we usually butcher our hogs around 275 lbs, and they are still very lean. We end up getting around 150lbs of finished product per hog at that weight.

Looking into the "meat king" it looks like a Cornish Cross. Very typical meat bird. If you keep them 12 weeks you'll probably get about 6-7 lbs finish-processed weight. But their mortality rate dips quite a bit as the age. They will suffer broken legs and heart attacks. Their legs, even though they are grotesquely thick, don't support the weight well. And their hearts can't keep up with their growth rate.

Of course you'll still get 75-85% survival rate at that age.

If you choose a Heritage Breed, like a Jersey Giant, Freedom Ranger, etc... They are genetically more viable and you can age them.

With the Cornish Cross, you'll find that you'll want to process them at 8 weeks. Averages finish-processed weight will be around 5 lbs.

 

[aarolar]

What's involved in butchering chickens I have considered it several times but it's my understanding it's a pretty messy job. As of now all our red meat is deer and most of our veggies are home grown I would love to get away from store bought white meat too.

 

[TSO]

We don't process our own anymore. We have a local processor that gives us a good rate.

If we were only doing 12 we'd do our own, but for as many as we do, and the price, it's worth paying someone else.

It's not difficult... bleed them out (hang them upside down in a cone, slit jugular), de-feather, a few slits, pull all the guts out, that's about it. Very easy. My wife is much better and faster at it than I am.

 

[NS Gearhead]

They will suffer broken legs and heart attacks. Their legs, even though they are grotesquely thick, don't support the weight well.

I think this is how my buddy decided when to harvest. First broken leg; it's time.

 

[aarolar]

The feathers are where I see the most hassle.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Good example of chicken tractor!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWyfECbXriE

 

[NS Gearhead]

The feathers are where I see the most hassle.

Oh yeah! I'll probably bring them in to be processed. Same place I'll get the chicks.