as soon as I saw broiler I was thinking factory farm, but this is good! not free range but at least the chickens can see the light of day and walk on fresh grass. I can't stand seeing chickens cramped up like the factories, I let my 15 hens run around our property and they are just the liveliest bunch, constantly chasing rabbits and squirrels all day :).
@Sleepinglion22 - We let our laying hens run around the yard because they are smart enough to get back in the pen when we want to shut them in. Meat chickens are pretty dumb, and we have a dog who's goal in life is to kill them. Not to mention all the coons, possums, wild dogs, and coyotes who are just waiting to get a taste. We even have animals break into the pens with an electric fence around it!
@cmbvideos1 - They are bred to grow very fast. If you keep them longer they will eat a lot but not grow much bigger, so you would be loosing money on them.
@KustomFu - They are too lazy to move around much, so they just sit there and get dirty. Also, after a good rain they will look very gross, and take a few days to get to looking better. :) It's good we butcher them at 8 weeks!
@694gonzalo - YES! LOTS of problems with wild animals, and our own dogs too! Electric fence is the only thing that works. We now use electric fence netting around our pens.
@NCHollop - It's hard to say exactly. If you do about 80 birds, and buy your food in bulk you could do it for about $5 a bird. Our birds have weighed up to 6 1/4lbs.
hi, i'd like to ask what do you feed them? and what % of protien is in the feeds you feed them? as i am wanting to have a small broiler farm and would like to start off with about 10 and make my way up in the count through the years.
@cabotribe - We buy our food in bulk from a local (North Mississippi) feed mill. They mix up a ration for us, and I really don't know what is in it because my sister is in charge of that.
Well, I like the big ones! How impressed I was when I began to raise my own heritage Orpingtons or Light Brahma's and had these 9 inch long drumsticks! Now that's a chicken!
@BeMyKpop - :) We just do it for our family and a few local customers/friends. We do have friends, however, who do pastured poultry on a LARGE scale. Look them up on facebook - Windy Meadows Family Farm. They have a website too.
@jclark2317 - I don't know what it's called, but I don't endorse it. The filter gets dirty really easily, and it gets stopped up so the chickens can't get any water. We've used it for many years and I think it has gotten better...or maybe we've just figured it out. :)
@mrstiggywinkle2007 In the summer (it freezes in winter) we get the chicken lixit from Farmtek. They are mini lixits that leave a little drop of water on the end and are red to encourage the chickens to peck at it. The chickens are pretty smart and learn to use them quickly. Also, if you adjust section heights, there is no danger of chicks falling in and drowning.
I never understood why they didn't let them grow bigger before butchering. Those birds get mighty big, challenging a small turkey. Especially for large families.
I have light Brahmas and Buff Orpingtons and they get nice and big, but not a big as cornish.
@whisperingsage Often times the commercial chickens grow faster than their leg muscles can keep up with so many of them can no longer walk shortly before they are slaughtered.
@SepherStar I know but the more I learn about soil minerals the more I think that is nutritional. Look up soil minerals dot com and Albrecht's animals and his work on soil fertility and animal health. It really may be a magnesium and calcium issue.
@whisperingsage the reason they don"t let them grow big is there is not much of a market .stores want them cut up ,or as a 3-4 lb roaster there are still bigger roasters but the demand isn' there . look at all those fast food outlets they want the smaller broiler to cut up
@whisperingsage No no no that is NOT how it happens in slaughter houses where most meat comes from, Not only do they live a horrible life, they suffer a horrible, painful, miserable, prolonged death.
How nice that there are two of you to help with all the chores. Many chores are much less than half as hard if two can do them at once! It's good to see people working together well.
@allamericanTRAPPER - My dad and brothers built the plucker. The parts are expensive, but not as expensive as buying one already made. We used Herrick Kimball's plan - whizbangplucker.blogspot.com/
i bought 50 chickens 3 days ago, i cannot believe they will need that much feed, I am really scared about the cost now, i really wanted to sell my chickens cheap
@dimplespoo - Raising meat chickens is not a big money making business unless you do thousands and thousands of them and have all the equipment. We just try to sell enough of ours to cover the cost of the ones we keep. Our birds average about 5 1/2 lbs. dressed weight, and we sell them for $2.75/lb. Depending on the breed of chicken you have they may not eat as much or grow as fast. Ours are Cornish X.
@caholaway - You have to be careful what kind of food you feed them or they might not be strong enough to hold up their weight. We used to feed ours a regular game bird ration from the Co-op, but our last batch we fed with a game bird mixture from somewhere in Mississippi.
as soon as I saw broiler I was thinking factory farm, but this is good! not free range but at least the chickens can see the light of day and walk on fresh grass. I can't stand seeing chickens cramped up like the factories, I let my 15 hens run around our property and they are just the liveliest bunch, constantly chasing rabbits and squirrels all day :).
Sleepinglion22 2 days ago
@Sleepinglion22 - We let our laying hens run around the yard because they are smart enough to get back in the pen when we want to shut them in. Meat chickens are pretty dumb, and we have a dog who's goal in life is to kill them. Not to mention all the coons, possums, wild dogs, and coyotes who are just waiting to get a taste. We even have animals break into the pens with an electric fence around it!
mrstiggywinkle2007 15 hours ago
why do you have to butcher them at EIGHT WEEKS compared to a natural lifespan of 10-15 YEARS?
cmbvideos1 1 week ago 2
@cmbvideos1 - They are bred to grow very fast. If you keep them longer they will eat a lot but not grow much bigger, so you would be loosing money on them.
mrstiggywinkle2007 1 week ago
@cmbvideos1 Because humans are cruel and have to kill everything beautiful.
MsCassandraDawson 2 days ago
@MsCassandraDawson - Meat chicken? Beautiful? Not past one week old! :)
mrstiggywinkle2007 15 hours ago
why do they look so filthy at 7 weeks
KustomFu 1 week ago
@KustomFu - They are too lazy to move around much, so they just sit there and get dirty. Also, after a good rain they will look very gross, and take a few days to get to looking better. :) It's good we butcher them at 8 weeks!
mrstiggywinkle2007 1 week ago
Any problems with wild animals?
694gonzalo 3 weeks ago
@694gonzalo - YES! LOTS of problems with wild animals, and our own dogs too! Electric fence is the only thing that works. We now use electric fence netting around our pens.
mrstiggywinkle2007 3 weeks ago
How much do you think a chicken has cost you in feed by the time they are harvested?
NCHollop 1 month ago
@NCHollop - It's hard to say exactly. If you do about 80 birds, and buy your food in bulk you could do it for about $5 a bird. Our birds have weighed up to 6 1/4lbs.
mrstiggywinkle2007 4 weeks ago
i like these kind of chicken farms =)
NitroxideHS 1 month ago
hi, i'd like to ask what do you feed them? and what % of protien is in the feeds you feed them? as i am wanting to have a small broiler farm and would like to start off with about 10 and make my way up in the count through the years.
chers
cabotribe 1 month ago
@cabotribe - We buy our food in bulk from a local (North Mississippi) feed mill. They mix up a ration for us, and I really don't know what is in it because my sister is in charge of that.
mrstiggywinkle2007 1 month ago
Don't tell Ed.
ZakkinsGames 1 month ago
Well, I like the big ones! How impressed I was when I began to raise my own heritage Orpingtons or Light Brahma's and had these 9 inch long drumsticks! Now that's a chicken!
whisperingsage 1 month ago
Check out my chicken video!!
N8mont4 1 month ago
If it's not too much, may I ask the annual salary?
BeMyKpop 2 months ago
@BeMyKpop - :) We just do it for our family and a few local customers/friends. We do have friends, however, who do pastured poultry on a LARGE scale. Look them up on facebook - Windy Meadows Family Farm. They have a website too.
mrstiggywinkle2007 1 month ago
interesting looking waterer at 1:32. What is that?
jclark2317 3 months ago
@jclark2317 - I don't know what it's called, but I don't endorse it. The filter gets dirty really easily, and it gets stopped up so the chickens can't get any water. We've used it for many years and I think it has gotten better...or maybe we've just figured it out. :)
mrstiggywinkle2007 2 months ago
@mrstiggywinkle2007 In the summer (it freezes in winter) we get the chicken lixit from Farmtek. They are mini lixits that leave a little drop of water on the end and are red to encourage the chickens to peck at it. The chickens are pretty smart and learn to use them quickly. Also, if you adjust section heights, there is no danger of chicks falling in and drowning.
whisperingsage 1 month ago
I never understood why they didn't let them grow bigger before butchering. Those birds get mighty big, challenging a small turkey. Especially for large families.
I have light Brahmas and Buff Orpingtons and they get nice and big, but not a big as cornish.
whisperingsage 3 months ago
@whisperingsage - We've had chicken that was 9lbs dressed weight, but we didn't butcher it until 11 weeks instead of 8 weeks.
mrstiggywinkle2007 2 months ago
@whisperingsage Often times the commercial chickens grow faster than their leg muscles can keep up with so many of them can no longer walk shortly before they are slaughtered.
SepherStar 2 months ago
@SepherStar I know but the more I learn about soil minerals the more I think that is nutritional. Look up soil minerals dot com and Albrecht's animals and his work on soil fertility and animal health. It really may be a magnesium and calcium issue.
whisperingsage 1 month ago
@whisperingsage the reason they don"t let them grow big is there is not much of a market .stores want them cut up ,or as a 3-4 lb roaster there are still bigger roasters but the demand isn' there . look at all those fast food outlets they want the smaller broiler to cut up
laynerify 2 months ago
@Marenthiiia Chickens are not people.
sharpie443 3 months ago
@sharpie443 - Yep! you are right!
mrstiggywinkle2007 2 months ago
@sharpie443 I never said they were, but that does NOT mean we have the right to torture and slaughter them.
Marenthiiia 2 months ago
@Marenthiiia we don't torture, they only have one bad day. And it is only a few bad minutes really.
whisperingsage 1 month ago
@whisperingsage No no no that is NOT how it happens in slaughter houses where most meat comes from, Not only do they live a horrible life, they suffer a horrible, painful, miserable, prolonged death.
Marenthiiia 1 month ago
@Marenthiiia DOes it not seem like I know that? Why do you think I raise my own?
whisperingsage 1 month ago
How nice that there are two of you to help with all the chores. Many chores are much less than half as hard if two can do them at once! It's good to see people working together well.
Crunchy68 3 months ago
@Crunchy68 - :) Actually, there are a lot more than 2 of us working together! There are 9 kids in my family. :)
mrstiggywinkle2007 3 months ago
Thanks!
asas2jh 3 months ago
not bad
beautifulday01 5 months ago
@beautifulday01 - Thank you!
mrstiggywinkle2007 2 months ago
how kill chicken?
InflatedSnake 6 months ago
@InflatedSnake - Check out my video, The Death of a Broiler
mrstiggywinkle2007 6 months ago
where do u get ur waters
allamericanTRAPPER 9 months ago
@allamericanTRAPPER - We got the waterer from a friend.
mrstiggywinkle2007 9 months ago
@mrstiggywinkle2007 plz make a vid on how to make a pulker
allamericanTRAPPER 6 months ago
@allamericanTRAPPER - My dad and brothers built the plucker. The parts are expensive, but not as expensive as buying one already made. We used Herrick Kimball's plan - whizbangplucker.blogspot.com/
mrstiggywinkle2007 6 months ago
Pure awesomeness! Thanks for sharing!
locoken 11 months ago
Are they all female or male broilers? OR mixed?
fitzgeraldmistral 1 year ago
@fitzgeraldmistral - They are mixed
mrstiggywinkle2007 1 year ago
Nice family!!! Smith!!!
alexvonpauls 1 year ago
i bought 50 chickens 3 days ago, i cannot believe they will need that much feed, I am really scared about the cost now, i really wanted to sell my chickens cheap
dimplespoo 1 year ago
@dimplespoo - Raising meat chickens is not a big money making business unless you do thousands and thousands of them and have all the equipment. We just try to sell enough of ours to cover the cost of the ones we keep. Our birds average about 5 1/2 lbs. dressed weight, and we sell them for $2.75/lb. Depending on the breed of chicken you have they may not eat as much or grow as fast. Ours are Cornish X.
mrstiggywinkle2007 1 year ago
@dimplespoo A fairly cheep way to feed them is mixing 25 pounds of sunflower seed and corn with 50 pounds of chicken scratch. Good luck!
caholaway 8 months ago
@caholaway - You have to be careful what kind of food you feed them or they might not be strong enough to hold up their weight. We used to feed ours a regular game bird ration from the Co-op, but our last batch we fed with a game bird mixture from somewhere in Mississippi.
mrstiggywinkle2007 7 months ago
i get 40 eggs a week out of my broiler hens , 3 years old now , none has had a heart attack , i hatch about 100 eggs a month to sale the chicks
toby725717 1 year ago
@toby725717 Neat! Are they dual purpose broilers? I was referring to the Cornish X breed when I said they don't lay eggs and die of heart attacks.
mrstiggywinkle2007 1 year ago
will these chickens lay eggs ?
supersniper753 1 year ago
No. We butcher ours at 8 weeks old. If you let them live much longer than that they will die of heart-attacks! :(
mrstiggywinkle2007 1 year ago
Do you feed 24/7, or do you do 12 hours on and 12 hours off. I have 40 in the garage and this is my first time. Thank you!
TheAclee 2 years ago
We try to make sure they have food in the daylight hours.
mrstiggywinkle2007 1 year ago
not the chickens!!!!!!!!!!!!!:( take a look at my chickens
: snow ducks and chickens pigs and a bunny: sorry i cant git the url
fatchickenfarm 2 years ago
great idea, but you are not going to make much money with this method
leonwangls 2 years ago
We just have to make enough money on the ones we sell to cover the cost of the ones we eat. :) And we eat a lot!
mrstiggywinkle2007 2 years ago