Raising Meat Chickens

      Many years ago, I got 10 Cornish Cross meat chickens to try and raise a little meat for my family. It was May and they were cute and cuddly and were fun to watch as they snapped up bugs and gorged on clover blossoms. As butchering time approached and they became big, clumsy beasts, it was July. They were not fairing well in the heat. They panted and waddled over to their water and then stretched back out in the shade. Occasionally one would be dead for no apparent reason, though I suspected the heat was playing a role.
      I decided I wasn't doing that again! Losing a six pound bird is expensive, not to mention the animals didn't seem too happy in the heat. Who could blame them?

      How We Raise Broilers Now

      We waited a few more years and decided to make one really key change. We raised our meat chickens more in tune with the seasons. The chicks were happier and that made us happier!

      Now we order our chicks, straight run, in the middle to late September. This is a time when the heat is just beginning to break for us, here, in Kentucky. But we still have daytime temperatures that are close to a chick's comfort level. Night time temperatures are higher too. This does a couple of things in our favor. 

• The chicks free range more because they don't need to be under the light during the day. 
• The heat is not stressful for them as the first couple of weeks they like temps in the 90's and 80's. Less stress means fewer deaths.
• We save electricity. Running lots of heat lamps is expensive and soon adds up.

Fall is also the end of the harvest season! Meat birds love cleaning up garden spaces! Bugs and rotten squash are a delight!

     The biggest drawback we have found from fall chicks is that they seem to be prone to more birth defects. Joel Salatin mentions this in one of his books, as well, and theorizes that it might just be due to the eggs just being late in the hens' laying season and therefore more prone to defects. Whatever the reason, we have seen some strange things, including one without EYES! But the hatchery usually sends enough extra that it compensates for this.

Quick Tips On Managing Young Chicks

     Overall, the best tip I can give is to check on them often and reduce any thing that might stress your little peeps. This lets one see how active they are and if the temperature is comfortable. But here are some more specific thoughts!

•  When you get the phone call from the Post Office, get those babies home and started as soon as possible! Travel is stressful! Try to maintain an even temperature until you can get them under lights....(not in a hot car or being blown away by the A/C)
•  As chicks come out of the box and into their new home, dip their beaks into their new water source. That way you know they had a drink and are off to a good start. Some people start them out with some chicken electrolytes for a little extra energy.
• Set a cookie sheet out with their new food. We use the cookie sheet because chicks like to peck around and it is just about impossible for them to miss! This is a trick they use in the industrial houses to give their chicks a good start too. 
• Our first bag of feed is a crumble with a coccidiostat and has about 18 percent protein. After the stressful trip, we want them to not have to fight coccidia and get settled in. They are growing fast and getting in their big feathers, so we like to keep the protein high. After the first 50# bag is empty though, they are on to their new feed.
•  Chicks are happy when they are peeping softly and spread evenly throughout their pen. If they are peeping loudly, clumped together, panting, or marching around in poopy filth....they are not happy. Checking them often in that first week gives us a feel for how much they are eating and drinking and overall well being. 
•  Lastly, if the chicks are outside, the temperature will drop overnight and what was comfortable to them at 9 PM may no longer be comfortable at 2 AM. Checking on them in the first night or two and adjusting their heat and stirring up any clumps, can save chick lives! We have way fewer losses due to pile up asphyxiations with even just one night check!

Stay tuned! We will talk about how we house our chicks and handle the elements in the next post. Till then, I will be hanging with my peeps!