Author Topic: meat birds (Read 5026 times)

johnbhoy · « **on:** January 10, 2010, 03:22:17 pm »

i should be getting some pretty soon
day old chicks how do i go about looking after these
i know i need chick crumb etc but for how long should i feed them crumb then what do i feed them on
i have laying hens but never done meat birds
any advice would be welcome

CameronS · « **Reply #1 on:** January 10, 2010, 03:32:06 pm »

depending on where you are there are some for sale, near me, in fif for £3 each, if they are any help i'll give you the number.

Rosemary · « **Reply #2 on:** January 10, 2010, 05:37:06 pm »

I feed chick crumbs for about 7 weeks then move them on to grower / finisher pellets and mixed corn. They will need to be kept under a heat lamp - red bulb is best - for about 4 weeks, depending on teh weather and how quickly they feather up.

Remember day old chicks are very small and pretty dim - they can get through very small gaps and wander away from the light and die very quickly, so mke sure whatever you are keeping them in is secure

johnbhoy · « **Reply #3 on:** January 10, 2010, 10:51:50 pm »

thank you rosemary i was thinking about a large wooden frame with straw and feeder and also drinker with the heat lamp above in a large industrial size shed which would shelter them from the elements for a few weeks till they feather up then i have a small shed in the run beside my layers which i can section off and let them out when they like
i assume they wont roost till older by which time they will be dispatched anyway

harry · « **Reply #4 on:** January 11, 2010, 07:16:41 pm »

day olds to 4-6 week old..... rats love them especially this time of year. pen needs to be rat proof ie small square weld mesh floor walls and roof ie a wire cube, if not you will have none left once the rats find them. the brooder lamp and feed/water will atract them.

shetlandpaul · « **Reply #5 on:** January 11, 2010, 08:37:53 pm »

watch mice as well we had some with nibbled toes. never would have thought of mice as meat eaters.

Maddox · « **Reply #6 on:** January 12, 2010, 06:15:37 pm »

As this was our first batch not quite sure if we got it right but here's what we did....

chick crumbs for about 7 weeks then move
on to grower (we also gave mixed corn but they didnt touch it and a couple of cabbages which took them ages to get through)
finisher pellets (they also had plenty of grass not that they went far from there pellets)
Around a week (ish) before the dispatching day I put them on Fattners (not quite sure if I need to do this but seemed to work as our largest went 15lb)

They will need to be kept under a red heat lamp until there feathers come.

Maddox

harry · « **Reply #7 on:** January 13, 2010, 03:55:26 pm »

rat proof floor .... if you raise quail the rats get underneath the wire on a soft floor and pull all their legs off, same with chicks.

johnbhoy · « **Reply #8 on:** January 14, 2010, 01:31:39 am »

thanks for all your replies
i will watch out for rats we live on an island and have never seen any sign of rats
we have no predators at all here lol except the odd otter i have seen swimming in the loch
even the island cat doesent bother with my layers lol
mice we have loads of in the fields right enough i cant wait to get started with this new venture
15lb!! wow maddox are you sure it wasnt a turkey lol

sweep · « **Reply #9 on:** January 22, 2010, 09:12:20 pm »

I was looking at some of the times people are quoting, we order our day old meat birds here in British Columbia and we kill them at 9 weeks and on average they weigh 9lbs we feed grower crumb all the time

Padge · « **Reply #10 on:** January 24, 2010, 10:01:44 am »

we tried meat birds for the first time last year and were a little disappointed not a decent size really amongst them not sure where we went wrong tried a mix of hubbards and lt sussex
Still having read this won't be put off and will have another go.......when's the best time to avoid the rodent issue