Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken

[chardog]

I love chicken too. I just don't want to eat sick chickens crammed into a warehouse where the goal is to produce maximum weight in a given space. They grow so fast that they have heart attacks and dislocate their hips because they're so overweight.

Which would you prefer?

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or

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guaranteed most are picking that fat sucker. I grew my own for several years, and they are nothing like store bought............ a lot smaller

 

[Coastal-Redwood]

I'm new to chickens. I just started caring for them a few months ago, but the general rule is about 10 hens per rooster or they'll beat up the hens from humping them too much and they'll fight each other for breeding rights.

That's with 'normal' chickens though. I think the big operations for Tyson raise cornish cross which have been bred to grow as fast as possible and the feed used serves that purpose as well. I had 4 cornish cross chicks in my chicken run and none of them survived in spite of always having access to feed, water, and shelter. They're not a very hardy bird and are not good at foraging for themselves like other breeds. They pretty much just like to eat and sit around and put on weight which isn't necessarily a bad thing but the conditions the big operations have the birds in is still not very healthy because there are so many crammed together in the space.

I will try again with the cornish cross for meat but next time will raise them separately from the others and do more homework. It's my fault that they didn't survive. My dog broke into the coop once and might have eaten one. She's a total beast that rips through welded wire but I've since reinforced it.

So anyway, these birds grow super fast and are slaughtered at 6 weeks when they reach optimal weight before they're really sexually mature so fighting over sex with the hens isn't really an issue.

This is my understanding of it. I could be wrong about a fact or two but that's generally the gist of it. I have about 30-40 birds right now, lots of different breeds so I can learn about the traits of each kind, and they have access to a lot of grass as well as a compost pile.

I've taken a lot of inspiration for my set up from this guy. He only has hens, no roosters, but it's still a great environment for them either way. My chickens like to dig through the compost for worms which helps to break it down more quickly, turning it into useable soil. I figure it also gives them exercise and a broader nutritional profile than just eating layer feed all the time.



Kind of went off on a tangent there. I love observing them. Chicken tv all day.

Edit: I didn't know that they were castrated so there's the answer from @wufabufa

I've had good luck with the Freedom Rangers if you've heard of em. Very rapid growth, good foragers and much more that survive vs the Cornish.

 

[Robocok]

8 chicks so far this month. Let's see if the remaining 4 in my incubator hatch.