Tips for first time meat bird owner

[GracePoultry]

After years of saying I'd never do it, I'm doing it. I'll be taking on project "do your best not to get attached to meat birds" this summer. I'm going to be bringing home 6 baby cornish cross and raising them up for the 4h auction.

Any tips? Do's and don'ts? my dad is going to build a chicken tractor with me and I was wondering if their are any features I should/shouldn't add. I hear roost bars aren't a good idea.

 

[GodLovesU]

Totally random, but I’ve heard not to name them.

 

[tlcmurphy]

Totally random, but I’ve heard not to name them.

Was going to say the same thing.
Let us know how it goes!

 

[Glory to His name]

The first time is the hardest!
We don’t do “meat birds” per se, just eat extra roos, so no advice on the tractor. You can do it!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Exercise them a bit. Last batch I had, I'd go out twice a day and sprinkle a LITTLE scratch for them, make them "come and get it," MAKE THEM use their legs! Otherwise they'd just sit in a corner all day. This group ended up having legs and thighs that looked more proportionate to their size, rather than puny, spindly little things like my previous batch.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yeah, they're not athletic enough to roost.

 

[Tervuren]

It's ok if you cry and feel emotional on their last day with you. I raised meat birds for the first time 2 years ago (at 28) and I felt a lot of mixed emotions. Remember they will have a far superior life with you than any grocery store chicken! I collectively refer to them as the Chicken Nuggets, that's as much naming as they get.

On the less emotional side. Their poop stinks baaaad and they poop a lot more than layers! Lots of cleaning and I liberally sprinkle zeolite around to help with the smell. Buy lots of fly traps. You definitely don't need roost bars, they like to sleep in a cuddle pile. My chicken tractor has a plastic covering on maybe a quarter of it for rainy days. Cornish Crosses aren't very smart, so I did have to go outside (day or night) and move the dumber ones under cover when it rained. I assume you'll be raising them in the summer? I got a reflective, breathable tarp off Amazon that works super well at keeping them cool on hot days.

Good luck with your 4H project!

 

[GracePoultry]

It's ok if you cry and feel emotional on their last day with you. I raised meat birds for the first time 2 years ago (at 28) and I felt a lot of mixed emotions. Remember they will have a far superior life with you than any grocery store chicken! I collectively refer to them as the Chicken Nuggets, that's as much naming as they get.

On the less emotional side. Their poop stinks baaaad and they poop a lot more than layers! Lots of cleaning and I liberally sprinkle zeolite around to help with the smell. Buy lots of fly traps. You definitely don't need roost bars, they like to sleep in a cuddle pile. My chicken tractor has a plastic covering on maybe a quarter of it for rainy days. Cornish Crosses aren't very smart, so I did have to go outside (day or night) and move the dumber ones under cover when it rained. I assume you'll be raising them in the summer? I got a reflective, breathable tarp off Amazon that works super well at keeping them cool on hot days.

Good luck with your 4H project!

Thank you! this actually helps a lot! Yes I will be getting them in Summer. I think sometime in June is when they will ship to me.

 

[Poppy Putentake]

I disrecommend"A-Frame" style tractors. A tractor with a "house shaped" (vertical sides) cross-section is more practical than one with a triangular cross-section (sloped sides all the way to the ground).

Either way, a weakness of tractors is making them secure from predators. I'd consider making a lightweight (easy to move) tractor for them to be in during the daytime but a smaller, but more secure, structure for nighttime housing.

 

[GracePoultry]

just ordered the meat birds tonight and I've already shed a few tears
I think I just need to remember raising birds myself is more ethical than buying from the store...