Raising Meat Chickens

by Natural State Flower Farm

If you are thinking about raising chickens for meat, you will need some basic equipment before your chicks arrive.

raising meat chickens, homesteading, how to

First of all, choose the breed of chicken you want to raise. I chose Cornish Cross. They are a fast growing, meaty breed that are ready to process in 8-9 weeks.

Chicks need a warm house

A draft-free area like a shed or barn to house the chicks is very important. You will need a tub ( brooder) for the chicks to live in, pine shavings for the floor of the brooder, heat lamps, feed, feeders and water.

Brooder set up in the barn

Chicks are messy so be prepared to change the water often and take time to remove the shavings from the feeder.

3 weeks old

They also grow quickly and I wanted to move my chickens outside to live in a chicken tractor. When they got all their feathers at about 5 weeks, they were ready for the outdoors.

5 weeks old

They still need care twice daily and I moved the tractor every morning giving them fresh water and feed. In the evening, I gave them fresh water but removed their food. Cornish have a reputation of sitting right next to the food, eating 24 hours a day. To avoid heart and leg problems that they are prone to, the food is removed at night.

8 weeks old

At 8 weeks of age, they are ready to be processed. We did this at my brother-in-law's house. He had built an automatic chicken plucker that made that taxing chore effortless. Being organized is an absolute must while processing.