I was off today and I built a small run 8x4x4 which will be just outside of the coop and adjacent to a young tree that I have wrapped in chicken wire to keep the deer out of it. All an all the chickens will have a 5x5 coop + 4x4 around the tree and the 8x4. All of these will be made into one relatively large area for them to roam. We have a small yard, .39 of a yard, a lot of which is a very steep hill.
lukem, 140 Cornish X, holy crap!! Who the hell is going to help you butcher them, gorillas? I hope you gots lots of freezer space. those guys get good size quickly.
Sweet! Thats the way to do it! Do you have a standard amount you reccommend per family, per year. I'm about to start a run and I'm thinking 25-30. With that many birds I bet your loving $3 corn!
We have big families (5-6 kids) so we got through a lot. This won't get me through the year. I'll do it again later this summer/early fall before it gets too cold. Whatever you do, plan on loosing at least a couple...because you most likely will. These Cornish aren't good at living.
Can you take a few pics? I'd be interested in them. Still thinking about get a few to try out this summer...
I`ve got 75 cornish and red rangers being delivered on the 22nd!! Glad I saw this thread cause I forgot to get the brooder setup.
I have 2 tractors that are 10x12 with about 70 birds in each. I move them once per day about 3/4 the length of the tractor. I set the feeders at one end and move it to where the feeder goes to the opposite end but it still inside the tractor. That allows them to clean up whatever feed they splashed out from the previous day. Here are the two tractors. The rings in the grass are where the feeders were located each day. These birds are about 3.5 weeks along. They grow faster than they can feather out: These birds are about 5 weeks along. I leave the far edge of the steel roofing "loose" so I flip it up to access the feeders. There's some cardboard and plastic on the outsides now to help keep them warm...I'll probably remove it next week. That feeder was heaped over the top full about 12 hours ago....and that was overnight and they don't eat much when it is dark and I don't have the heat lamps on. More of the 5 week birds. More feathers, but still growing faster than their feathers. In 2-3 weeks I'll take the largest of the 5 week birds in, the week after that I'll take the rest of the 5 week birds and the largest 3.5 week birds, then the week after that the rest of the 3.5 week birds. Then I'll do it again with another 100 or so later this year. This is my first year doing it in this large of a scale, so I'm still a rookie, but I've learned a lot from my FIL who is helping me. I'll try to answer any other questions, but I'm far from an expert.
Looks good to me! You may want to either remove the lamps or place the bulb shield on them. I lost 2 or 3 bulbs to pecky chickens in December.
That's awesome! I didn't realize they ate that much... Hungry little fellows.... Thanks for the pics, gives me a few ideas.
Lukem, When I raised them, I had the same setup. Fresh grass everyday and they are tasty as all get out. I had a little coop that they went into at night so the coyotes wouldn't have dinner. I would only put 25 in each of my pens. Then if I didn't get a chance to move them no big deal. I gave them to my neighbor. I should drive out to the old neighborhood to see if he is still using them. Then I'll take some pictures of mine.
They are eating/pooping machines! I did raise 4 Canada geese one time and they would eat twice as much and poop three times as much. Lol
I noticed today when I move the tractor that they are hitting the clover hard. It is 100% gone from the prior day's spot.
