Photo's of Backyard Chicken Experiment

[goplayallie]

This year it was my goal was to raise backyard chickens. Thanks to the forum and Fred, I managed to raise 11 meat birds to see if it was something I liked and could maintain.

We love to travel and I thought egg birds would be to long of a commitment.

Anyway, as a family we loved the birds and the meat is TOTALLY different than what I get from the store.

I hope this inspires anyone who is on the fence about eating locally and raising a few meat birds to go ahead.

Go out and Play,
Allie
http://clarksplayground.com/

CHECKOUT PHOTO ON FACEBOOK:( images would not load:confused:)
http://facebook.com/goplayallie

[gardengirl72]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm glad the boards could be helpful in making you a successful chicken farmer. What will you do differently next time?

[macnugget]

we did 10 meat birds and 6 of them went to the fair with the girls they each sold a pen of 3 my Emi got $70.00 and Julia Got 130.00 we used a kiddie pool to raise them in the garage and 8 weeks later they went to freezer camp along with the other roosters. The bedding went into the first raised bed I made this fall. We have layers to and really are not that much work if you have some room for a small playhouse coop

[birthblessed]

I really need to do this. We have a mild climate-- my Fall right now is a lot like some of y'all's summers. I think I could raise them now, and do more in the spring to boot.

I have a couple friends who do this, so I can talk to them and find out where they get them processed. I just need to DO it. We started laying hens in the Spring, and they are all laying now.... except the one who turned out to be a rooster. We also lost one of the flock back in April. That leaves me only 5 layers, and I had wanted 7 since we are a family of 9. Although truthfully, we're getting more eggs than we are eating... I don't *need* more layers unless I start sharing or we start eating a LOT more eggs. 3 of our family members don't eat eggs, as it seems those 3 can't digest them without lots of eggy burps. :(

But I am purchasing at least 1 roasting chicken a week, at a cost of $16 a month. A 50 lb bag of feed is only about $16, so unless I'm off my rocker I think I could have an awful lot of chickens in the freezer for less than $4 a piece? And they'd be much higher quality than I am getting at the store....

[gardengirl72]

Don't forget to factor in the processing charge per bird. Try a few different types of birds to see which one works for you as a meat bird.