About those chicks we bought earlier...
A reader had a question on the blog about Noah's rooster and the baby chicks. The reader wondered what breed of meat birds we were raising, how long did we raise them until they were proccessed, a what type of pasturing setup did we use for the meat birds.
The breed we buy is a white-feathered bird called Heavy White Cornish. I haven't tried any other breeds yet. I asked another organic farmer what type of meat birds he raised, thinking he would be one who would raise an heirloom breed. He said he raised a similar breed to mine and that they did as well in a grazing setup as other breeds touted to be better than the ones we used.
In the past, we raised the meat birds for 9 weeks before they were processed at Adams Turkey Farm in Westford. The past two years the birds have averaged a little over 5 pounds after processing, with the smallest bird being around 4 pounds and the largest bird weighing 7 1/2 pounds. This gives us a good variety of sizes, and often if we do sell some of the meat chickens, we have demand for the smaller-sized ones first. This leaves the 6 and 7 pound birds for us, which is fine when you are trying to feed three hungry, growing boys.
Finally, our pasturing setup for the meat chickens. We built ourselves a "chicken tractor" out of PVC pipe that is 10 feet wide, 12 feet long, and 3 feet high in the center. Two thirds of the top of the shelter is covered with a tarp, the other third has chicken wire covering the opening and can be opened easily to feed and water the birds. The sides of the shelter are covered with chicken wire. This "chicken tractor" is moved around the pasture, normally twice a day, to fresh grass. This keeps the birds supplied with plenty of fresh grass and with a nice, clean living area. The design of the shelter also gives them plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Once the chicks are well feathered, around 3-4 weeks of age, we place them in the chicken tractor for the next 5-6 weeks. Once we put the birds in the chicken tractor, we will be sure to send pictures along to show just what it looks like.
Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont
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Posted by Blogger Chris at May 24, 2005 08:24 PM
I'm thinking of making a tractor (must make one, actually, or the last 4 hens we have will go the way of the rest: down a fox's gullet). I like the idea of PVC, lightweight, waterproof, but is it fox proof if it's too light, and how do you affix the fencing to it? Will you share details?
TIA,
Miranda
Jonathan Gates reports from Howmars Farm in Franklin, Vermont.