# Is anybody raising briolers?



## matt_kas (Mar 11, 2013)

I am trying to start a broiler coop. Does anybody have one that they could post pics of for some ideas?


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I've raised them and have plenty of pics...what kind of pics are you needing and what methods do you wish to use?


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## matt_kas (Mar 11, 2013)

I'm looking for more coop ideas


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

matt_kas said:


> I'm looking for more coop ideas


we have about 20 on the bottom level of out 4 deck mega brooder
they are on broiler pellets.
i have to finish their chicken tractor so i can they can eat all my grass up out back so i don't have to cut it anymore


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I brooded and raised mine in a cattle panel hoop coop. Easy and cheap construction and I'm still using it for my layer flock.



















I've got a step by step pictorial on the build but if you are looking for a more lightweight and portable coop, there are sites that show a lighter construction cattle panel coop for broiler grow out. They can be easily moved to fresh ground and have the proper ventilation/air flow for these hot birds.


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

that is a good looking setup you have there Bee!
i'll have to post pics once mine is finished

piglett



Bee said:


> I brooded and raised mine in a cattle panel hoop coop. Easy and cheap construction and I'm still using it for my layer flock.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I made them wide roosting situations out of green plastic fencing slung between two tomato stakes and placed over upturned 5 gal. buckets to make sort of a airy hammock on which to roost. They loved them and I had no birds with the feathers worn off their breasts...kept them cool at night and out of their own droppings. I had very clean birds at processing time.

This also increased total bird space in the coop for meaty birds, as they usually sleep in the bedding, but with the hammocks there they could choose different levels of being and spread out, thus decreasing the heat and humidity in the coop caused by their bodies.


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## kessy09 (Jun 16, 2013)

Ok, this may sound dumb but I'm just learning, how do you keep predators out of there? Don't skunks/raccoons easily dig underneath or reach in and grab chickens?


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)




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## kessy09 (Jun 16, 2013)

Oh. My dog is kinda useless for that. I'm thinking about getting a Pyrenees/Marema cross to help out on our developing farm. It gets real cold here so that would be a good breed to keep around over the winter.


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

Bee said:


> I made them wide roosting situations out of green plastic fencing slung between two tomato stakes and placed over upturned 5 gal. buckets to make sort of a airy hammock on which to roost. They loved them and I had no birds with the feathers worn off their breasts...kept them cool at night and out of their own droppings. I had very clean birds at processing time.
> 
> This also increased total bird space in the coop for meaty birds, as they usually sleep in the bedding, but with the hammocks there they could choose different levels of being and spread out, thus decreasing the heat and humidity in the coop caused by their bodies.


how many eggs did you get from those green nest boxes Bee?


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Not a single one...dang it!  But now I do.....


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

Bee said:


> Not a single one...dang it!  But now I do.....


 i show mine the fry pan & say 
"you have 2 choices lay for me or i may have to cook you up"


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## Chippets (Jun 8, 2013)

If I do broilers again I think I'll wait for cooler weather. Had one die yesterday - I believe it was from the heat, despite the fan and the open area they can use outside in the shade. They just won't come out of the coop. Gets hot in there even with the fan and open window and door. I tried to push one outside today when I was cleaning up poop, and it fought me tooth and nail, and then came right back inside. Crazy.


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## JC17 (Apr 4, 2013)

Mine are are 5 weeks old and are between 5 and 6 lbs each. They're so big! They eat all day and poop just as much.... very dirty animals


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## Chippets (Jun 8, 2013)

JC17 said:


> Mine are are 5 weeks old and are between 5 and 6 lbs each. They're so big! They eat all day and poop just as much.... very dirty animals


Agreed! They just eat and poop! They even have poop on them - yuck! Mine are six weeks now and are about 6 pounds as well. My husband held a frozen chicken from the freezer down next to one and said they were about the same size. We think we will only keep them another 2-3 weeks. They are huge!


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

They don't have to be that way...it's all in how you raise them. If you just feed them and feed them and don't takes steps to help them maintain mobility, you are going to have lazy, fat and dirty birds.

None of mine were dirty or lazy and they all foraged over 3 acres in 98* weather. I just finished giving a processing demonstration for a lady who raised hers much like I do mine and they were 15 lb live weight at 12 wks and still out foraging every day in the heat...they had gizzards full of grass. All their organs were healthy and they didn't stink...very huge birds.

Mine were very clean, didn't stink and were completely mobile all throughout their lives. I've got video showing them flying, running, foraging far, far from their coop.

Here's some of my first batch, awaiting processing....no dirty birds among 'em:










Here they are free ranging with my DP flock....clean and pretty at 7 wks.










And the last batch...also clean and mobile, smelling sweet all their lives:


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

Bee said:


>


What a _*LAZY*_ looking Dog !!!
*( *I'm surprised that it hasn't been SHOT for being so LAZY *!!! *)
*----just "kidding you" -----*
Ha-Ha *!!!

*_ACTUALLY...._It is a *FINE-LOOKING DOG !!! *....and I suspect that it is a GREAT HELP to YOU ....as my Boxer is to me *!!!

*That Dog has a *beautiful* coat *!!!
*_Best Regards,_
-ReTIRED--


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

How's this one, Re? 










That shiny coat is from outdoor livin', exercise, and the occasional egg as reward for a job well done each and every day! 

Jake says, "YUM!"


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

*GREAT PICS !!! *of a FINE, hard-working fella *!!!
*Give "*Jake*" a fine TREAT for me *!!!
 -*ReTIRED-


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Every day, Re..every day! He's my boon companion and an excellent partner in my chickening setup. Great dog.


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## Chippets (Jun 8, 2013)

Bee said:


> They don't have to be that way...it's all in how you raise them. If you just feed them and feed them and don't takes steps to help them maintain mobility, you are going to have lazy, fat and dirty birds.
> 
> None of mine were dirty or lazy and they all foraged over 3 acres in 98* weather. I just finished giving a processing demonstration for a lady who raised hers much like I do mine and they were 15 lb live weight at 12 wks and still out foraging every day in the heat...they had gizzards full of grass. All their organs were healthy and they didn't stink...very huge birds.
> 
> ...


I saw a post somewhere where you showed your meat birds and I thought they were beautiful then, and I think they are now as well! That's what my small flock of hens and Roo look like - clean and healthy birds - but I guess I didn't get the broilers out early enough to keep them from just being lazy slobs! Now they are total coop potatoes and just don't want to move. I will definitely go about this differently with our next flock of meat birds!


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Yes! Every time is a new learning experience with these meaties! The first batch was not raised on FF and their feces were smelly and they drank a lot. So I did some research on saving on feed costs by fermenting feeds and it all came together. So, I just fed them the same amounts as before, except fermented and put them out on free range as before....success! 

The FF took all the smell away from the feces and the free range kept most of the poop out on the ground instead of the coop. Putting in roosting kept them out of the bedding and using deep litter helped keep the poop sunk into the chips and not on the top. 

It was cool! I was simply amazed at walking into that coop and not smelling meaty poop! Not one fly! Too good to be true...but it was all the same.

The fermented feeds cut down on water consumption and also kept their electrolytes intact because they weren't having liquid and frequent stools,which also helped them do well in the heat, I believe. They foraged better than any DP flock I've had! 

The lady who raised the 15 lbers had the same experience but her birds were a little dirtier than mine because she didn't do the deep litter very well and didn't give them roosting. I think she fed more than I did, also...those birds were monsters! Mine only went 10 lbs at 8-11 wks...hers were 15+!!!!


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## Chippets (Jun 8, 2013)

How deep do you start the litter with the deep litter method?


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

It's usually 6-10 in. deep and you never take it out. You just keep adding to it as the bedding decomposes and decreases in depth. You watch that it isn't too moist or too dry and adjust it accordingly. Use plenty of ventilation and monitor the smell, if any. 

With the FF I've found that there is no longer that ammonia smell that accompanies chicken manure, so this becomes way easier to keep a healthy deep litter. I just add to it. The birds keep it turned over and fresh as they shuffle and scratch through it and it just goes along. I love it and will never go back to raking out a coop!


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

Chippets said:


> I saw a post somewhere where you showed your meat birds and I thought they were beautiful then, and I think they are now as well! That's what my small flock of hens and Roo look like - clean and healthy birds - but I guess I didn't get the broilers out early enough to keep them from just being lazy slobs! Now they are total coop potatoes and just don't want to move. I will definitely go about this differently with our next flock of meat birds!


remove the feeder. only give them some feed morning & night
might help if you put a few DP birds in with them to sort of show them the ropes.

good luck
piglett


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## Chippets (Jun 8, 2013)

Yup, today I didn't fill the feeder in the morning. I went into the coop and started to rake up the poop and of course they all moved to the other side - by the door. I was able to coerce half of them out the door with the rake and then the other half went too. They immediately laid down up against the outer wall of the coop, but I let them see me spread some of their food on the ground. Some did begin nibbling the grass, and by dinner time some were out there finding the food. We had a relatively cool day today (70) with higher humidity, so I'm sure it felt good for them to be out. Hope tomorrow will be an even better day for them.


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

I only use 4 inches of hay on the floor of my Coop. BUT, I could _EASILY _make it UP TO 10 inches....just by changing the "retaining-board" at the Chicken's door. I might DO THAT soon because I have a FULL Bale of dry Hay waiting to replace my present "litter". (which goes into the COMPOST PILE.)

*Bee.....*Do you ever put a bit of ALFALFA hay into the "litter" for them to Scratch and Eat *? 
*I don't...but I will sometimes cut some FRESH Alfalfa from a part of my yard and throw it to the Chickens for FUN !
They RUSH to "grab-it-up". I guess that they LIKE it !
(_ MAYBE _adding a little-bit of Alfalfa to the "deep litter" would encourage the Chickens to MIX the "litter" even MORE *! *)
*I dunno......*YET.
-ReTIRED-


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Naw, RT, I don't use alfalfa....my birds free range and have their own legume paradise in our White Dutch clover patches found in the garden area and other spots in the yard. They graze there morning and evening.....










I don't use hay in my composting deep litter unless I need more moisture retention there in dry seasons. Usually I don't need it as my coop is pretty open air and the rains blow in and run down off the hill into the litter edges and gives me just the right amount of moisture for good composting....love this coop!


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

The CLOVER is good.
-ReTIRED-


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