Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
brooder. Regular layingbirds raised for meat should be kept in
the brooder for six weeks before going outside.
Meat birds are around for only three months of the year, at
most, so permanent housing doesn't make as much sense for
them as it does with laying hens. What a lot of small farmers
use, and we use one too, is a device called a “chicken tractor.”
A chicken tractor is a portable enclosure that lets the chickens
get fresh air and fresh grass. It is moved every day so the
chickens don't end up lying around in their own excrement.
There are about a million ways to make a chicken tractor. Just
search on the Internet, and you'll find hundreds of designs,
many for free. Your choice of design should allow for about
four square feet per bird. Many designs are completely
enclosed to exclude predators and keep birds from escaping.
So far, I've had no real predator problems, and the Cornish
crosses that we grow are too heavy to fly, so our chicken
tractor is on wheels and has sides made of only three feet of
chicken wire.
Feeding Meat Birds
Meat birds should receive a starter/grower from the day they
arrive until the week before they are processed. The week
before, they should be put on a leaner ration. For this you can
use either a finishing feed or ordinary layer crumbles like you
give your laying hens. As broilers, particularly, seem to have
a nearly insatiable appetite, you should feed them by weight
according to the directions on the bag.
