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Post by mzgarden on May 15, 2015 11:42:35 GMT
Please help me think through meat chicken set up. We've done 25 before, skinned them at home - for our own use. Our boys & their wives want to get in on home grown meat, which probably means 50 at a time and I'm not interested in butchering 50 chickens, 3-4 times through the summer. There's a processor near us that everyone seems to like, so looking into that.
So - is it more efficient to do 3 batches of 50, or just do 150 all at one time?
We've never transported birds to a processor -- we have wire dog cages we could use - would that be the most efficient way to haul them?
If we decided to process at home - what do you all do with all the waste? When we had pigs, they were happy to help but no pigs this year.
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Post by bergere on May 15, 2015 12:30:59 GMT
Wendy has lots of info on this... sure she will be around shortly!
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Post by Wendy on May 16, 2015 0:07:46 GMT
I'm here!  I raise at least 100 at a time. Right now I have 141 because I got some really cheap at Tractor Supply. I have 3 chicken tractors & they are split between them. I will butcher them probably in 6 batches, doing half of a cage per day. Once I get a chicken plucker I will do more per day. There is a processor not far from me too, but I prefer to do my own. That way I know how they were done & I know for sure that I am getting my birds back. The waste we get is dumped in the woods for the wildlife to feast on. Where are you in SW Ohio?? I am in SE Indiana & if you aren't too far you could just buy some from me & skip all of the work!  Hey, you can't blame me for trying to pick up new customers! |
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Post by mzgarden on May 16, 2015 10:46:07 GMT
Wendy, thanks for jumping in. We're in SW Ohio, East of Cincinnati. A roadtrip would not necessarily be out of the question - especially on a processing day. Maybe you'd be interested in teaching us?
Have you posted pics of the chicken tractors you use already somewhere? I've seen pics of many but I can't see how people keep predators from digging under and in.
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Post by Wendy on May 16, 2015 11:11:15 GMT
We are about 45 minutes from Cincinnati. I have the pictures posted here. The title of it is more chicken tractor pictures. I have never had a predator problem here. My tractors are inside the pasture which is made up of cattle panels. I don't even close the chicken house up at night. I think the dogs being around keeps things at bay. Anytime you feel like making a trip, let me know! |
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Post by mzgarden on May 16, 2015 12:52:16 GMT
Very cool - we don't have dogs so that's probably my big difference in predator control. Tried a Pyrenes who hated our goats, so had to rehome her. Kind of made us shy about getting another. We would love to schedule a visit - very generous of you. I'll pm you to see how we can work this out. Thanks!!!
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Hey, you can't blame me for trying to pick up new customers!