We are on our second batch, which we started out with 65 and now only have 64. That's an AMAZING death rate, considering our first batch of chickens this summer we lost 80 in the first week!
Anyways, we raise chickens for meat and then to sell. We raise them all natural and non- GMO. Which means : we do not feed our chickens genetically modified feed, which include the typical filler of corn and soy products. They say this filler is "critical" for their growth, because with out it, they will be deficient in protein.. Anyways we don't want to eat anything GMO, so we don't feed our chickens GMO, because we are going to eat them!!! :)
So in May, which here in North Idaho is still freezing cold! We purchased a batch of 207 chickens! Right away we got them settled in and going on the right track.... Or so we thought.
We lost so many birds because it was too cold or too hot. In the first week of life, they need to be at a constant 90-95 degrees. When our chickens were too cold, they would all huddle up under the heat lamp, and then the ones in the middle would get too hot, from the ones on the outside pushing to get warmer. Needless to say, we had many fried chicken... Hehe, sick... I know. And the ones on the outside would be frozen cold chicken, so we had 80 dead :(
My husband was very discouraged, and did not want to raise chickens anymore! But we had already had orders for our chickens, and they needed to be filled.
So, a little more on the facts:
Our meat birds are grown for about 8-9 weeks. They reside in our cozy chicken coop for the first 4 weeks of their life, then are moved to chicken tractors for the remainder of their lives. Our chicken tractors have no bottom and are moved daily onto fresh grass, as to get the best nutrients and fresh air as possible. We then butcher them, after their life span is up! Next post will be on how to butcher a chicken!
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