Raising multiple chickens for meat is a good way to meet your family’s nutritional needs. At the same time, raising chickens for meat is a fantastic, interesting, exciting and rewarding experience.
If you love animals, have the time and space, and want to produce fresh food for your family yourself, you should consider raising chickens for meat. Nowadays, health conscious people are starting to take an interest in organic food and some of them want to produce fresh food themselves.
That is why raising chickens for meat at home is becoming a popular practice in almost all parts of the world. Broilers are also called broilers and are bred primarily for meat production.
Raising chickens for meat
Chickens raised commercially on large farms are smaller in size and of lower quality than chickens raised in home gardens. Raising multiple chickens for meat is surprisingly easy.
And people of all ages and professions can raise multiple chickens for meat, and it is also suitable for people with limited space. However, here we will go into more detail about the procedures for raising chickens for meat.
Breed Selection
The choice of quality breeds is very important. Most meat breeds of chickens grow faster and reach slaughter age earlier. It is a true breed, distinct from the breeds of laying hens.
Although laying hens also provide meat. But they take a long time to grow, and adult chicks tend to be tough and skittish. Most commercial broiler farms raised Cornish Rocks chicks. The Cornish Rocks are not thoroughbreds.
They are the result of a cross between a Cornish rooster and a white Plymouth Rock hen. Cornish Rocks grow very quickly and are ready to fell in 6-8 weeks.
There are also other breeds of broiler chickens. If you want to raise free range broilers then Indian Game (Cornwall), Ixworth, Hubbard, Sasso etc. are your best bet.
There are also dual-purpose breeds that produce both eggs and quality meat. Dorking, Eaksworth, Sussex, Transylvanian Bare Neck, Orpington, etc. are dual purpose breeds.
You may also consider some of the historic or all-purpose breeds for meat production. Delaware, Holland, New Hampshire, Plymouth Rock, etc. will be the most suitable for this.
If you plan to keep several chickens, you can use any breed. For meat production, we favor dual-purpose purebreds, rather than random crosses.
Where to buy chicken meat?
This is the most important question people ask. Frankly, it is very difficult for us to say the exact place where you can buy breeds. Please contact any chicken supplier in your area.
Ask them what breeds they have and also ask them if they can farm the desired breed or not. Poultry breeders/chick suppliers have a network and hope they can help you get the breed you want.
If they can’t find it anywhere, you should consider importing the breeds from the country or place of origin.
chicken farm
Raising chickens is an important part of the process of raising broilers. You need to set everything up before you bring chickens into your home. Once the chicks are delivered to your home, you need to take good care of them for the next few days or weeks. Follow the instructions below.
Incubator setting
A brooder is essential for keeping your birds clean and warm. Set up the brooder before the chicks arrive. You can make a brooder yourself or enlist the help of others. Keep in mind that the container (which you use to make the brooder) needs to be over 12 inches tall and doesn’t need to have a lid.
The brooder doesn’t have to be fancy either, as the chickens will only live in the brooder for 3 weeks. It is sufficient that the brooder is suitable enough to provide warmth, ventilation and protection against predators. Allow at least 3/4 square feet of free space for each chick. Cover the brooder floor with about 4″ of litter.
As bedding, you can use pods or shavings. You can also use newspaper. Install a heat lamp above the brooder. Chickens need a temperature of 95° Fahrenheit the first week. Reduce the brooder temperature each week by 5° Fahrenheit per week until it reaches 70° Fahrenheit.
Use a small drinker inside the brooder to prevent the chicks from drowning. Use chick starter food for the first few weeks, then use grower food.
Growing Bird Care
Caring for a growing bird is easier than raising chickens. At this point you should give them producer food. In the case of free-range chickens, you can let them inspect the pasture when they are fully grown.
Build a chicken coop
After 3 weeks you can move your birds to a new large coop. Build a chicken coop/house for your birds according to their numbers. On average, broilers need about 2 to 2.5 square feet of floor space.
Keep this in mind when building a chicken coop/house for your birds. Many models available. Find several templates online that are perfect for your needs. Provide an adequate ventilation system and clean their house regularly.
Feed and water
Provide the bird with adequate nutritious food. You can choose ready meals or cook them yourself. You can also feed kitchen scraps to the birds.
Depending on their age, give them starter, grower and finisher foods. And provide them with enough clean and fresh water according to their needs.
Health products
Taking care of birds will save them from almost all health problems. Vaccinate them in a timely manner so that they do not suffer from diseases or ailments.
Raising broilers on pasture
You can raise your broilers in a coop with a small forcing attached. But if you give them pasture, the quality of their meat will improve. For family use, we like to raise broilers on pasture.
Pasture-raised chicken meat has more omega-3s and tastes better. And your birds will grow up in a happy environment. It is also very nice and pleasant to watch the activity of broilers in the pasture.
They will keep your pasture clean and free of insects. However, you will notice that the cost of the power supply will drop significantly. Traditional or general purpose chicken breeds are very suitable for pasture keeping.
If you raise multiple birds and don’t consider it a business, raising chickens for meat is a great option for you. It will provide you with lots of fun and entertainment along with fresh homemade food.
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