Eating good meat and health meat should be a concern to all family, healthy meat can be produce from chicken, and all tips you need to know in raising chickens for meat at your backyard will be discuss and analyzed in this article, it is a very exciting, interesting, and rewarding experience. It is surprisingly easy for all ages and is suitable for someone with limited space and finance.
There are many type of chicken out there which you can raise for meat. Cornish Rock cross is the most popular breed raised for meat. One of them is broiler chicken, these broilers are specifically bred to grow very big, very quickly. In only 6-8 weeks they grow from cute fluffy chicks to large 6 pound chickens ready for meat at 8 to 12 weeks.
Starting meat chicks is similar to starting egg laying chicks, but there are a few thing you need to know about these chicken.
Before the chicks arrive - setting up the house or cage.
The chicks only live in the brooder for 3 weeks so it does not have to be fancy. However it does need to provide warmth, ventilation, and protection from predators.
Make sure each chick has a minimum of 3/4 square foot for each chick.
The floor of the brooder should be covered with about 4 inches of litter (such as wood shavings or newspaper).
A heat lamp should be placed above the brooder. For the first week the brooder needs to be 95 degrees (a thermometer is helpful). Then every week reduce the degrees by five degrees until it reaches 70 degrees.
For the first few weeks the starter/grower chick feed can be put on a paper plate or an egg flat. Scatter a thin layer of chick grit (can be found at a feed mill or TSC) on top of the feed.
A small waterer should be used so that the chicks don't drow
When the chicks arrive - getting them settled
Whether purchased from a hatchery or a feed mill the chicks need to be put in the house immediately..
Show the chicks where the water is by gently dipping their beaks in the water one by one as you put them in. They will find the food on their own.
Watch the chicks for a while. Make sure that they are not too cold or too hot. If they are too cold they will huddle together under the light. If they are too hot they will scatter away from the light. A thermometer is only a guide, the chicks will show you what they need.
Enjoy their cuteness while it lasts, because it doesn't last long.
Tip -Pasty butt
Pasty butt is common in young broiler chicks purchased from a hatchery. It occurs when poop gets stuck on the downy feathers around the vent. This stops the chick from pooping, resulting in death. It may be nasty to read about, but if your chicks get pasty butt it is helpful to know how to treat it.
Treatment- 1. Clean the poop off the vent with warm water and a paper towel.
2. Put a little bit of olive oil on and around the vent.
3. Check on the chick often and clean when necessary.
(you may need to repeat steps 2 and 3 many times until it goes away)
3 weeks old - moving them to a new house
.At 3 weeks old, the chicks cuteness beings to fade as their yellow downy feathers are replaced by white feathers. At this point some things change.
Their food can be put in a chick feeder rather then a paper plate.
The feed should be changed from starter to grower, from grower to finisher.
They need to be moved to a bigger house or cage, it on the kind of house you have prepared for your chicken.
There are many different houses that could be built for your broilers. The most important thing is that they are protected from predators and have plenty of space and ventilation. They now need 2 square feet of floor space per bird.
If you follow all the tip , you will surely get quality and healthy meat from your chicken, if you encounter and difficulty , you check some of our article on this site to tackle the difficulty or you can email me on. bobbytoyese77@gmail.com for further details. Feel free to share your experience for others to learn
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