How Have the Cornish Cross Chickens Performed in a Free Range Environment / You Maybe Surprised
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- These Cornish Cross chickens from Freedom Ranger Hatchery were raised completely on pasture and are 6 1/2 - 7 1/2 weeks old at this point. The birds have performed extremely well and I did not loose a bird due to health related issues. In the video you will see a rooster top the scales over 9 pounds and still be able to get around. In realty, these birds should have come off pasture and been harvested around the 6 week mark, but I couldn't get an opening with the processor.
This opens up all kinds of opportunities as I plan to put 500 birds on pasture at a time next year with multiple processing dates allowing for different size options for my customers.
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I love this dude! God bless America.
Yes sir!!!
"I re-located 2 of the hawks" (to a small hole 2ft deep)
🤣 Yep!
I’m so glad I found your channel! I love your ideas and commitment to happy and healthy birds💚💚💚
Thank you for watching.
You have convinced me on the Cornish cross and free range. We have raised several batches in a chicken tractor and they did not perform nearly as well as your free range set up. We had several die or need to be put done due to heart problems and you are hitting weights we didn’t see until the 8-9 week time frame.
Don’t get me started on how much more sanitary your system is as well. Even in a chicken tractor that got moved refuel around our chickens would absolutely foul the ground in no time.
Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks. You made an informational and instructive video! 😊
Thanks for watching!
Absolutely, my 15 9 1/2 week old Cornish cross are free ranging as well and almost as active as normal chickens in every way…the other thing that is possibly overlooked is just how bored they are in the small tractor cages……Mine go all over the place, sometimes staying together, going off in small groups or solo…..the freedom to roam is priceless.
I get free fruit and Vegies regularly and they eat them…..I’ve never had chickens willing to eat extremely healthy food, I’ve found others to be much more fussy… mung bean sprouts, wheat sprouts etc……
Mine did well only lost 3 in the first few days. At two weeks I put them out in my chicken tractor. In the morning I let them out in my yard and put their feeds under the trees. I didn’t have any deformities. They were healthy and forge like regular chickens. I had no predator problem. I started butchering them at 8-9 weeks. Got 49 healthy chickens!!!!!! I’m thinking to get some more.
🙌 I think this free range environment is a game changer.
@@coveychasefarm Yes it sure is ❤️
Pro tip on aerial predators: run some poultry wire about head high across the run. Doesn't need to cover the whole run. 18 inches of it every 20 feet or so will do. If the hawk sees that from above it looks like a bunch of small fences and they calculate that they will be unable to take off (especially with extra weight) and so they don't even try to strike.
I have heard of that before, but won’t work real efficiently with my set up. These chickens are only in a 1/4 acre paddock for maybe three days and then fence and all move to new grass. In three days they will have eaten every big in there and laid down a lot of manure so we move on. Over the time they are on pasture they will cover nearly ten acres.
@@coveychasefarm volleyball net.
Very interesting facts like hens are safe with sheep, information like that is interesting for me and very valuable for my farm so thx from Sweden!
I appreciate the feedback. Thank you for watching. I love Sweden; have been a couple times.
Nice job. Great data collection and extremely humane. Nice husbandry skills. Thanks again. Nice find on your channel.
Thank you! I appreciate you watching.
we run ours on pasture and free range. their tractors are for additional protection at night. they put them selves away and we close them up and let them out in the morning. we are in wisconsin they will huddle really tightly and cause issues with hurt birds when the pin each other to the side on cold nights. I may use the cover that you are. we also use netting for ground predators and have not lost any to aerial predators thankfully.
Thanks for watching. The one thing you have to watch for in colder weather is rain. They will huddle outside of the cover when it rains on them the first time. You have to put them under the cover. Once they figure it out they will fine moving forward.
when they first go out and we know we have rain coming we will ensure they are under cover in tractors. I want to also free range them behind cattle to see is they will scratch cow pies and eat the fly larvae.
Just found this channel.
Knowledgeable man, very passionate. I have eggs layers. Meatbirds,, in the near future.
Thank you
Thank you so much! I appreciate you watching the channel.
Thank you for a great presentation. Everyone should farm like this.
Thank you sir! 🤠
Nice sharing.
Thank you! 🤠
Thank you sir.
Relocating hawk's wink wink
For keeping Hawk away ,hang few old CD.Because the breeze will move them and the sun ,they will make some weird rainbow ,that will keep the air predators away.I do it, my self because I have pigeons.
Thank you for the idea! I am going to try that. Considering I was a teenager in the 80’s/90’s finding old CDs is not a problem. 🤠
I gotta butcher my crosses this weekend. I use a tractor. I have not yet lost a single bird after the first week. I usually lose one bird a year within three days of bringing them home. I'll send up with 19 in the freezer this year.
Excellent results! I appreciate you watching.
Thanks for sharing, lots of interesting info!
Thank you.
Really lovely video.
Thank you! I appreciate it. 🤠
that cover system would probably work really well for finishing rabbits. I bet I could make that outta black locust. I think I could run 100 rabbits with that. maybe more. thanks a lot.
I bet it absolutely would!
Thank you for the info. Great job 👏 🤠🇨🇱👍
I appreciate the feedback! 🤠
Nice jee to hallo jee
Amazing
Thank you. 🤠
I saw someone else do this in a YT video and thought about giving it a shot. Their broilers were running around too. Then I reconsidered thinking that maybe it wouldn't make that much of a difference for broilers since they do have a reputation for just sitting around and eating. I thought maybe they wouldn't make use of all that space anyway and just stay in the usual tractors. Maybe the grass and insects and fresh air they get inside those tractors would be just minimally less than if they were given much freer range. Now I'm excited to try this again. I'm only really just starting out so a few birds on free range and others in tractors should give me a better idea of how to move forward.
Something you can do in this setup you cant do in a tractor is separate your feeders and waters essentially forcing the chickens to move.
@@coveychasefarm Oh yeah I definitely thought of that. I was planning to put them on opposite ends :D
@@coveychasefarm btw, I have a question. DO you regulate feed on these birds? I've read they can eat themselves to death.
@@Norbingel yes, once they are on pasture I give them feed from 7:00am until 7:00pm and then take away the feed overnight. It also helps to put feeders on one side and waterers on the other to make sure they have to move.
@@coveychasefarm but they get as much as they want during that time?
Thank you! Super helpful
Yeah, this was one of my better videos. 🤠
9:50
Nice! No Chems👌
That’s what I am looking for as well.
Noticed that your setup is actually comes with lower costs comparing to Joel Salatin.
A question though - how much do you think it is possible to save on chicken feed? ..or it’s the same costs comparing conventional indoor method
I appreciate the comment and question. Thanks for watching! The poultry fencing is the most expensive equipment, but otherwise very economical. I am not sure I save on feed; however, I think my conversion rate (pounds of feed to pounds of meat produced) maybe better because my birds are simply healthier and are not dying.
Have you tryed to kerp some and breed them ?
I’ve never tried to breed any, but have heard it is difficult. Most of these Cornish Cross are a hybrid so I am not sure they can breed/lay fertile eggs anyway.
Does the pasture save on feed cost? How much feed goes into one chicken?
Not really. I would guess the benefit from bugs and grasses is offset by the energy they expend foraging. On my next video I am going to deep dive into the analytics, but I believe this batch of birds averaged about 15 pounds of feed per bird.
How many feet of poultry netting are you using for the 1/4 acre? Thanks for videos.
Thank you for watching. I use 84’ panels from Kencove Farm Supplies. Four of them are close to 1/4 acre. There are longer panels but 84’ weigh around 25lbs and are easy to move. I have seven and can move to a new 1/4 acre every day or two in about 30 minutes.
Hi. I have been raising my first batch of meat birds and I have a quick question. I have heard that when the birds have more room to roam, the texture of the meat is tougher. Have you had that experience? I love this model of raising them but I don’t want the meat to be so different that no one will eat it. Your thoughts would be so appreciated.
I think there are definitely some difference to the chickens you buy at the store, but I am not sure I would say tougher; although I have heard that said as well. I think the bigger issue is people tend to over cook chicken and pasture raised chicken will cook even faster because it is leaner and there is no added solution. I spend a lot of time trying to educate my customers that it will cook faster than they are used to. But, there is a subtle difference to the taste profile. Most love it (takes them back to when they were younger) but I have had some say they are simply used to a “Walmart” chicken.
@@coveychasefarm thank you so much for your input!
It’s the same with any animal. The more a muscle gets worked the tougher the meat.. Think about the tenderloin and where it’s located. It doesn’t get worked as much.. And as mentioned slower cooking is better.
Hope this helps
@@jonathanray3394 Thank you for your input! We are going to be butchering this Saturday and I look forward to finding the best way to prepare the meat.
At what age do you put them on pasture?
They go out to pasture at three weeks old. One thing I keep an eye on is the weather. You don’t want to put them out if rain is in the immediate forecast. It takes them about 36 hours to figure out the covers provide shade and protection.
How much is the processor per bird ?
Like everything they have raised prices a couple times this year, but are excellent. $3.50 for a whole bird and $4.75 to part out a bird.
With $11.64 a bird in cost, how do you make a profit?
It is difficult to make much profit at that price point without charging a high premium for a pasture raised bird. This year I have been able to reduce my cost to below $9.00. For a 4.5lb dressed bird I should make at least $6 in profit. And that is charging a sale price not much different than premium price points at Kroger.
they do not look halthy
I agree 💯. “Halthy” is not what I am going for. 🤠
@@coveychasefarm 🤣😂🤣 he should see the ones he gets from the store
@@frankh.3849 I was at a farmers market today and a lady told me she doesn’t buy meat raised on a farm!!! 😳😳😳. It takes all kinds.
@@coveychasefarm 😂🤣 yeah that's the world we live in!