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Raising Meat Chickens...What a Difference a Week Can Make!!!

5/11/2016

3 Comments

 
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Let me start off by saying that these are NOT my laying hens.  These are Cornish Rock Cross meat birds and they grow exponentially faster than any chicken that I have ever known.  This is our 3rd time raising these birds to fill the freezer and though I very much enjoy the end product, getting there is quite interesting.  

You see, these birds were specifically bred to eat to the max, grow exponentially fast, and have the largest breasts you have ever eaten.  Now, before you go off calling me on GMO or other Frankenstein breeding practices, this is a well recognized breed. I didn't come up with this breed and there is no more genetic manipulation going on than when one breeds a specific dog for certain desired traits. (Think of a Dalmation, you want spots, right?)  So here they are a week in.

These birds will reach butcher weight in 9-10 weeks. Yes, you read that right, less than 2 and  1/2 months till full broiler size of 6-8 pounds each.  I know, I know, many of us are so far removed from where our meat comes from that you might say, "I would never be able to raise and butcher my own meat." Let me tell you, I said the same thing several years ago.  But these particular birds go from sweet, cute fuzzballs to ginormous and kinda gross birds.  I say gross because they grow faster than their feathers do so they look rather funny.

These chickens will all be heading outside to an outdoor pen when they are ready to come out from under the heat lamps.  They will have access to fresh grass, bugs, water, sunshine and non medicated feed while they are growing.  What that means for my family is that there are no factory chickens being raised in filthy conditions here.  No chickens being stuffed full of antibiotics to ward off the inevitable diseases that come from too many birds being packed into hoop houses or barns that are overcrowded, under ventilated and disease ridden.  These birds will be raised in a humane, clean, natural environment and I will know exactly what went into the food I am feeding my family.  

At this time we raise about 25 of these Cornish Rock Cross Birds at a time, if we eat chicken once or twice a week, this will last our family of 7 for 3-5 months.  We may do another round of chickens in the fall to store before winter as well.

I will keep you all posted on the exponential growth rate, and current food cost breakdowns for these meat birds in a few weeks. Right now the chickens are eating 2.5 quarts of non medicated chick starter a day, and drinking about 4 quarts of water as well.  Stay tuned!
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3 Comments
Nancy
5/11/2016 01:52:58 pm

I'm sorry but this seems cruel. Not only can the chick's feathers not keep up but also their muscles and skeletal systems. I have read about how hard it is to walk and the most simple things,all for the sake of abnormal sized breasts. ? Thanks but no thanks 😢

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incidentalfarmgirl link
5/11/2016 03:58:00 pm

Nancy,
First off, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I wanted to let you know that there are things that small farmers can do to help alleviate some of those problems. For example, removing food from the chicks at nighttime starting on day 14 slows the growth as well as putting them out to forage on fresh grass. We do both of these things. The chickens we raise do grow very quickly but putting some of these precautions into place are areas where we can differ the humane treatment from large scale farms, thus slowing the growth rate enough so that they are still able to enjoy full mobility. Unfortunately, unless you choose to raise a Heritage breed of bird yourself, this is the same breed that all grocery stores are carrying when you purchase your meat from any of the large companies (Tyson, Perdue, Pilgrim, etc). This is also the same breed served up in restaurants across the US so getting away from this particular type of chicken is no easy matter.

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Erin
7/1/2022 04:23:32 pm

I bought my first lil broiler chicks a couple days ago for the exact same reasons. My mom on the other hand feels the exact same way as Mrs Nancy who commented above. I feel there are just different types of people. It’s ok to raise your own and ok not to. There is no need for judgments. Everyone has their own opinion. I for one am getting good info for raising mine better from this post so thank you ma’am.

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    Wife to a wonderful husband, Daughter of the King, Mother of 6 (one with an xtra chromosome), and an incidental farm girl.

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