Several years ago we were at a party and someone mentioned that we raised chickens for food. One guest looked at me and said, "I just buy my chicken at Rainbow when it is on sale." Obviously he thought that we raised chickens to save money.
On that score nothing could be further from the truth as it costs almost $2 per pound in organic feed alone. Add in the approximately $1 each for the chicks and the cost of equipment and the price goes even higher. So consider it a bargain if you can purchase a free range or pastured, organically raised chicken for less than $3 per pound at your local co-op.
Click Read More to see the complete post.
Raising chickens for meat was one of the things I never thought I would do. But once I learned how chickens were raised in the industrial system, it was either stop eating meat or find a better source.
Objectives
There were several objectives we hoped to achieve with our meat bird venture.
1. Provide chicken for our family free of toxins such as dangerous bacteria, antibiotics, growth hormones, and the remnants of GMO feed.
2. Raise chickens in an environmentally responsible way and create a closed system where nothing is added to the waste stream.
3. Practice respect for the chicken by providing conditions to promote a good life and a humane death.
4. Refuse to support an industrial system that abuses animals, farm workers, slaughter house workers and the environment.
Cornish-Cross - Pros and Cons
It doesn't take acres of land to raise chickens for food, so our six acre lot was more than adequate to raise 50 birds.
Our first step was to research chickens in general, select a breed, and learn how to raise them. I had read about Joel Salatin in Michael Pollen's book, An Omnivore's Dilemma and wanted to follow his model. I purchase the book Pastured Poultry Profit$ and started reading.
Although the Cornish-Cross breed is controversial we decided it would be the best breed for beginners. Cornish-Cross chickens are bred to grow very quickly having a high weight gain to feed ratio. They are big clumsy bruts that bear little resemblance to their egg laying counter parts. Some people refer to them as "franken-birds" as this hybrid is astonishingly meaty and fast growing. When you purchase chicken in the grocery store or at a restaurant chances are very high that you are eating a Cornish-Cross breed.
Amazingly Cornish-Cross chickens can grow to five pounds or more in as short as eight weeks. This means your investment of time and money for feed is lower. When it comes time for butchering, these chickens are easy to clean as they do not grow pin feathers which are difficult to pluck. The lack of pin feathers gives them an almost naked appearance.
Some people compare the Cornish-Cross breed to an Indy car; the acceleration is speedy, but the car needs specific conditions or it will not perform. Cornish-Cross chickens are very delicate with no resilience, if they get sick they die. To raise these birds successfully you need to create the exact conditions they need. New chicks should be handled only when necessary and never dropped. A drop of just a few inches will injure them and they will not recover.
Preparing for the New Arrivals
Each spring we order chicks from our local feed mill and pick them up in middle to late May when they are just a day old. If you decide to raise your own meat birds you will need the following supplies;
Feeders (two sizes)
Waterers (two to three sizes)
Heat lamps
Brooder (enclosure) - We used a salvaged wooden box.
Chicken "cage"- for outdoor use
Wood shavings or newspaper
Thermometer
Wood shavings
Feed (roughly 15 lbs for each bird)
Water (preferably without chlorine or fluoride)
A few hours before the chicks arrive turn on the lights to warm the brooder to around 95 degrees. For the first week you will keep the temperature between 90 and 95 degrees. The first year a thermometer is handy, but after you get used to having chicks you can rely on them to "tell" you if they are too hot or too cold. Chicks crowding together under a heat lamp will indicate that they are too cold. If they scatter and congregate at the perimeter of the brooder the lights are too hot. Ideally they should be evenly distributed throughout the brooder. The heat from lamps can be adjusted by moving them up or down. Situating the brooder in a draft free building will provide the best results.
After you have everything in place, gently lift each chick from the box they came in and set them gently on the wood shavings. (Some people suggest lining the brooder with newspaper so the birds do not eat the wood shavings. We have not had a problem with this, but take this advice into consideration when you make your decision). These small bundles of fluff will start eating and drinking on their own as soon as they are put into their enclosure. This is a good time to count the chicks to make sure you were given the number you ordered.
Make sure the chicks are at a comfortable temperature. You will need to check their food and water supplies twice a day. Chickens should have a constant supply of food and clean water during the first few weeks.
Week 1
After the first week, we feed them twice a day, morning and evening keeping the feeders as full as possible. If the outside temperature is in the 80's the lights can be turned off, but watch and if they huddle together turn the lights back on.
Week 2
At week three the feeding frenzy behavior is in full force. At feeding time chicks will jump over each other to get at the food. This is the time to think about switching to the trough style feeders which will accommodate this size without crowding. If the weather is around 70 degrees outside, heat lamp use should be completely discontinued as the chicks need to get used to the temperature fluctuations they will experience when they are moved outdoors. Most people time their chicken purchase so the weather is in the 70s and 80s when the chicks are four weeks old.
Week 4/Chicken "Cage"
The transition from indoor to outdoor living begins at week four when the chickens are moved to what we refer to as the "chicken cage". My husband built this enclosure based roughly on plans from Pastured Poultry Profit$, by Joel Salatin, has outside dimensions of 10' by 12 '. The sides are about 2 feet tall and covered with chicken wire on one side and solid sheeting on the other. The top is covered as well (3/4 solid sheeting/1/4 chicken wire) for protection from sun, rain and predators. We have had up to 55 birds in this enclosure, some people keep up to 90 birds in an enclosure of this size.
The top has two removal covers, one covered in solid material the other in chicken wire. We place the waterers on the chicken wire side and the troughs of feed on the solid side. This protects the feed from getting wet in the rain.
The chicken wire section allows the birds to enjoy the warmth of the sun.
We place this "cage" on our lawn and move it each day at 6 am and 6 pm to a clean spot. This achieves two objectives; one the chickens get a clean environment to live in every 12 hours and two, the chickens get fresh grass/weeds to eat twice a day.
If you choose to use weed killer on your lawn, know that your chickens will be exposed to those chemicals and your end product will not be organic.
To move the cage I lift the end by grasping the handles with both hands and scoot a furniture mover under the bottom edge with my foot. The front also has a handle that you lift slightly while walking backwards and pulling the cage slowly along. The bottom edge of the cage has a wire across the middle to keep it square and the chickens need to navigate around the wire which is a trip hazard. I attract the attention of the chicks and urge them forward as I pull making sure none are injured. Some will duck down and escape under the cage, but they are easily caught as they are intent on food, not on escape. The chicks are always happy to have fresh grass and weeds to eat and willingly walk forward to the new pasture.
The clean environment is crucial as we do not use any form of medication while raising our meat birds. Sunshine, fresh air, room to move, fresh water/food, and clean grass will provide the elements needed to keep the chickens healthy without resorting to antibiotic use. Stressed birds will not only get sick but will also peck each other causing injury. If you create an environment that is free of stress you will not need to pay the extra fee to have the birds "de-beaked" as they are in industrial operations.
The other advantage to outdoor living is that the birds will eat grass and weeds which will balance the Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids in their meat. We have noticed that some years the chickens are very eager to eat grass and other years not as much. Some sources estimate that the SAD (Standard American Diet) provides a 1 to 50 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids where as a 1 to 1 ratio is ideal and a 1 to 5 ratio is acceptable. This imbalance is due to the high level of Omega 6 rich processed oils in prepared foods and industrial produced meat and dairy. An imbalance of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids is a major contributing factor for inflammation which is a condition in almost every chronic disease from heart disease to cancer.
Week 5
Now is a good time to get the smaller waterers and feeders cleaned and placed in storage. Cleaning up after each step makes the entire process less overwhelming. It is also nice to start each meat bird season knowing your supplies are clean and ready to go.
Because we work to remove chemicals from our daily lives, we use only dish soap to clean the equipment and then place them in the sun for a day or so to dry and be sterilized by the sun.
At five weeks you will want to have at least three trough style feeders for 50 birds. The crazed feeding behavior is normal in this breed and not an indicator that they are not getting enough to eat. Follow the instructions for the feed you buy to make sure you are feeding just enough. We usually use about 15 bags (50 lbs each) of feed in the course of the 8 to 9 week growth period. The first few weeks you use very little and then progressively more as the chicks grow. I have not taken the time to measure the food. I just fill the feeders half to 3/4 full giving them progressively more as they grow bigger.
Hunger is not an indicator that these birds need more feed. Even with just enough feed they sometimes grow so heavy so fast that their legs give out. The Cornish Cross breed is often criticized for the innate problems with their legs. You will often see the birds plop down due to leg fatigue after only standing a few minutes. It is not unusual to have a bird appear perfectly healthy and the next day unable to stand up. When we have a bird that cannot walk, we put them back in the brooder room for the duration of the 8 week period, (although immediate butchering, if possible, is the most humane option). Birds are not comfortable in isolation, so we bring a a healthy bird for company if only one bird is injured.
Weeks 6 to 8
During the last two weeks the move/feed/water routine is followed without much change. The birds will begin to get larger and some may succumb to leg failure. You will notice significantly larger droppings (goose size) as the birds grow bigger and bigger. I am always amazed at how much waste they produce in the course of 12 hours! Although the droppings cover much of the ground under the cage, the 12 hour exposure is not enough to kill the grass during a summer with regular rainfall.
When I think about how much manure these birds create I cannot imagine how stifling the conditions must be in the enclosed buildings of an industrial chicken operation. Although our birds live a short life, it is filled with fresh air and sunshine.
Cost Analysis
People often ask me if the homesteading we do is "cost effective". I usually answer, "it depends". If you are comparing our product to the cost of an organically fed, pastured chicken (if you can even find one) at a co-op, the answer is probably, "yes." The answer is "no" if you believe that chicken is chicken and compare the cost to an industrial product.
There are many intangibles that are difficult to factor in mathematically, including the health benefits of avoiding hormones, antibiotics, and food born pathogens. It is also impossible to put a dollar value on the cost to the environment, and the farmers and slaughter house workers who endure unsafe, and demoralizing conditions to bring industrial meat to our tables. I strive to avoid supporting industries whose practices are in opposition to my value system, which is yet another intangible to add to the list.
Intangibles aside, here are the totals which do not include our initial equipment investment.
Cost of 50 Cornish Cross Chickens - $65.50
15 (50 lb) bags of organic chicken starter - $341.10
1 bag of wood shavings - $6.30
Total cost - $412.90
We calculated that the average weight of a dressed bird is 5.5 lbs. We had 46 survive for a total of 253 lbs of chicken. This calculates to $1.63 per pound.
We made the decision to "process" our birds ourselves so no additional outlay of funds was necessary for slaughter services, although the initial cost of the plucker and other supplies should be factored into the per pound cost.
Raising chickens for food is not cheap or easy, but there is satisfaction is knowing exactly where the meat on your plate came from.
 |
| Cornish Cross chickens. |
On that score nothing could be further from the truth as it costs almost $2 per pound in organic feed alone. Add in the approximately $1 each for the chicks and the cost of equipment and the price goes even higher. So consider it a bargain if you can purchase a free range or pastured, organically raised chicken for less than $3 per pound at your local co-op.
Click Read More to see the complete post.
Raising chickens for meat was one of the things I never thought I would do. But once I learned how chickens were raised in the industrial system, it was either stop eating meat or find a better source.
Objectives
There were several objectives we hoped to achieve with our meat bird venture.
1. Provide chicken for our family free of toxins such as dangerous bacteria, antibiotics, growth hormones, and the remnants of GMO feed.
2. Raise chickens in an environmentally responsible way and create a closed system where nothing is added to the waste stream.
3. Practice respect for the chicken by providing conditions to promote a good life and a humane death.
4. Refuse to support an industrial system that abuses animals, farm workers, slaughter house workers and the environment.
Cornish-Cross - Pros and Cons
It doesn't take acres of land to raise chickens for food, so our six acre lot was more than adequate to raise 50 birds.
Our first step was to research chickens in general, select a breed, and learn how to raise them. I had read about Joel Salatin in Michael Pollen's book, An Omnivore's Dilemma and wanted to follow his model. I purchase the book Pastured Poultry Profit$ and started reading.
Although the Cornish-Cross breed is controversial we decided it would be the best breed for beginners. Cornish-Cross chickens are bred to grow very quickly having a high weight gain to feed ratio. They are big clumsy bruts that bear little resemblance to their egg laying counter parts. Some people refer to them as "franken-birds" as this hybrid is astonishingly meaty and fast growing. When you purchase chicken in the grocery store or at a restaurant chances are very high that you are eating a Cornish-Cross breed.
Amazingly Cornish-Cross chickens can grow to five pounds or more in as short as eight weeks. This means your investment of time and money for feed is lower. When it comes time for butchering, these chickens are easy to clean as they do not grow pin feathers which are difficult to pluck. The lack of pin feathers gives them an almost naked appearance.
Some people compare the Cornish-Cross breed to an Indy car; the acceleration is speedy, but the car needs specific conditions or it will not perform. Cornish-Cross chickens are very delicate with no resilience, if they get sick they die. To raise these birds successfully you need to create the exact conditions they need. New chicks should be handled only when necessary and never dropped. A drop of just a few inches will injure them and they will not recover.
 |
| Day old chicks. They all fit in half the cardboard box (on the right.) |
Preparing for the New Arrivals
Each spring we order chicks from our local feed mill and pick them up in middle to late May when they are just a day old. If you decide to raise your own meat birds you will need the following supplies;
Feeders (two sizes)
Waterers (two to three sizes)
Heat lamps
Brooder (enclosure) - We used a salvaged wooden box.
Chicken "cage"- for outdoor use
Wood shavings or newspaper
Thermometer
Wood shavings
Feed (roughly 15 lbs for each bird)
Water (preferably without chlorine or fluoride)
 |
| Waterers and feeders washed and drying in the sun. |
A few hours before the chicks arrive turn on the lights to warm the brooder to around 95 degrees. For the first week you will keep the temperature between 90 and 95 degrees. The first year a thermometer is handy, but after you get used to having chicks you can rely on them to "tell" you if they are too hot or too cold. Chicks crowding together under a heat lamp will indicate that they are too cold. If they scatter and congregate at the perimeter of the brooder the lights are too hot. Ideally they should be evenly distributed throughout the brooder. The heat from lamps can be adjusted by moving them up or down. Situating the brooder in a draft free building will provide the best results.
After you have everything in place, gently lift each chick from the box they came in and set them gently on the wood shavings. (Some people suggest lining the brooder with newspaper so the birds do not eat the wood shavings. We have not had a problem with this, but take this advice into consideration when you make your decision). These small bundles of fluff will start eating and drinking on their own as soon as they are put into their enclosure. This is a good time to count the chicks to make sure you were given the number you ordered.
Make sure the chicks are at a comfortable temperature. You will need to check their food and water supplies twice a day. Chickens should have a constant supply of food and clean water during the first few weeks.
Week 1
 |
| One week old. |
After the first week, we feed them twice a day, morning and evening keeping the feeders as full as possible. If the outside temperature is in the 80's the lights can be turned off, but watch and if they huddle together turn the lights back on.
Week 2
 |
| Two weeks old. Feathers are coming in and fluff is disappearing. |
Week two the chicks will start with their characteristic "always hungry" behavior. They will begin aggressively eating during feeding time. It is handy to have roughly one feeder for every 6 birds to avoid over crowding and possible injury. Some of chicks find their way out of the brooder this week.
Week 3
 |
| Three weeks old. They can get out of their enclosure and are on the move. |
At week three the feeding frenzy behavior is in full force. At feeding time chicks will jump over each other to get at the food. This is the time to think about switching to the trough style feeders which will accommodate this size without crowding. If the weather is around 70 degrees outside, heat lamp use should be completely discontinued as the chicks need to get used to the temperature fluctuations they will experience when they are moved outdoors. Most people time their chicken purchase so the weather is in the 70s and 80s when the chicks are four weeks old.
 |
| Trough style feeders |
Week 4/Chicken "Cage"
The transition from indoor to outdoor living begins at week four when the chickens are moved to what we refer to as the "chicken cage". My husband built this enclosure based roughly on plans from Pastured Poultry Profit$, by Joel Salatin, has outside dimensions of 10' by 12 '. The sides are about 2 feet tall and covered with chicken wire on one side and solid sheeting on the other. The top is covered as well (3/4 solid sheeting/1/4 chicken wire) for protection from sun, rain and predators. We have had up to 55 birds in this enclosure, some people keep up to 90 birds in an enclosure of this size.
 |
| Four week old chicks enjoying the great outdoors. |
 |
| The top has both solid and chicken wire covering. |
The chicken wire section allows the birds to enjoy the warmth of the sun.
 |
| Enjoying a sunny day. |
We place this "cage" on our lawn and move it each day at 6 am and 6 pm to a clean spot. This achieves two objectives; one the chickens get a clean environment to live in every 12 hours and two, the chickens get fresh grass/weeds to eat twice a day.
If you choose to use weed killer on your lawn, know that your chickens will be exposed to those chemicals and your end product will not be organic.
 |
| The chicken "cage" has enclosed sides and top. |
To move the cage I lift the end by grasping the handles with both hands and scoot a furniture mover under the bottom edge with my foot. The front also has a handle that you lift slightly while walking backwards and pulling the cage slowly along. The bottom edge of the cage has a wire across the middle to keep it square and the chickens need to navigate around the wire which is a trip hazard. I attract the attention of the chicks and urge them forward as I pull making sure none are injured. Some will duck down and escape under the cage, but they are easily caught as they are intent on food, not on escape. The chicks are always happy to have fresh grass and weeds to eat and willingly walk forward to the new pasture.
 |
| Handles in the back and a furniture mover are used to move the cage. |
The clean environment is crucial as we do not use any form of medication while raising our meat birds. Sunshine, fresh air, room to move, fresh water/food, and clean grass will provide the elements needed to keep the chickens healthy without resorting to antibiotic use. Stressed birds will not only get sick but will also peck each other causing injury. If you create an environment that is free of stress you will not need to pay the extra fee to have the birds "de-beaked" as they are in industrial operations.
The other advantage to outdoor living is that the birds will eat grass and weeds which will balance the Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids in their meat. We have noticed that some years the chickens are very eager to eat grass and other years not as much. Some sources estimate that the SAD (Standard American Diet) provides a 1 to 50 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids where as a 1 to 1 ratio is ideal and a 1 to 5 ratio is acceptable. This imbalance is due to the high level of Omega 6 rich processed oils in prepared foods and industrial produced meat and dairy. An imbalance of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids is a major contributing factor for inflammation which is a condition in almost every chronic disease from heart disease to cancer.
Week 5
Now is a good time to get the smaller waterers and feeders cleaned and placed in storage. Cleaning up after each step makes the entire process less overwhelming. It is also nice to start each meat bird season knowing your supplies are clean and ready to go.
Because we work to remove chemicals from our daily lives, we use only dish soap to clean the equipment and then place them in the sun for a day or so to dry and be sterilized by the sun.
 |
| Week five. |
At five weeks you will want to have at least three trough style feeders for 50 birds. The crazed feeding behavior is normal in this breed and not an indicator that they are not getting enough to eat. Follow the instructions for the feed you buy to make sure you are feeding just enough. We usually use about 15 bags (50 lbs each) of feed in the course of the 8 to 9 week growth period. The first few weeks you use very little and then progressively more as the chicks grow. I have not taken the time to measure the food. I just fill the feeders half to 3/4 full giving them progressively more as they grow bigger.
Hunger is not an indicator that these birds need more feed. Even with just enough feed they sometimes grow so heavy so fast that their legs give out. The Cornish Cross breed is often criticized for the innate problems with their legs. You will often see the birds plop down due to leg fatigue after only standing a few minutes. It is not unusual to have a bird appear perfectly healthy and the next day unable to stand up. When we have a bird that cannot walk, we put them back in the brooder room for the duration of the 8 week period, (although immediate butchering, if possible, is the most humane option). Birds are not comfortable in isolation, so we bring a a healthy bird for company if only one bird is injured.
Weeks 6 to 8
During the last two weeks the move/feed/water routine is followed without much change. The birds will begin to get larger and some may succumb to leg failure. You will notice significantly larger droppings (goose size) as the birds grow bigger and bigger. I am always amazed at how much waste they produce in the course of 12 hours! Although the droppings cover much of the ground under the cage, the 12 hour exposure is not enough to kill the grass during a summer with regular rainfall.
 |
| Six weeks old. |
 |
| Seven weeks old. |
When I think about how much manure these birds create I cannot imagine how stifling the conditions must be in the enclosed buildings of an industrial chicken operation. Although our birds live a short life, it is filled with fresh air and sunshine.
 |
| Eight weeks old |
Cost Analysis
People often ask me if the homesteading we do is "cost effective". I usually answer, "it depends". If you are comparing our product to the cost of an organically fed, pastured chicken (if you can even find one) at a co-op, the answer is probably, "yes." The answer is "no" if you believe that chicken is chicken and compare the cost to an industrial product.
There are many intangibles that are difficult to factor in mathematically, including the health benefits of avoiding hormones, antibiotics, and food born pathogens. It is also impossible to put a dollar value on the cost to the environment, and the farmers and slaughter house workers who endure unsafe, and demoralizing conditions to bring industrial meat to our tables. I strive to avoid supporting industries whose practices are in opposition to my value system, which is yet another intangible to add to the list.
Intangibles aside, here are the totals which do not include our initial equipment investment.
Cost of 50 Cornish Cross Chickens - $65.50
15 (50 lb) bags of organic chicken starter - $341.10
1 bag of wood shavings - $6.30
Total cost - $412.90
We calculated that the average weight of a dressed bird is 5.5 lbs. We had 46 survive for a total of 253 lbs of chicken. This calculates to $1.63 per pound.
We made the decision to "process" our birds ourselves so no additional outlay of funds was necessary for slaughter services, although the initial cost of the plucker and other supplies should be factored into the per pound cost.
Raising chickens for food is not cheap or easy, but there is satisfaction is knowing exactly where the meat on your plate came from.
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