Keeping Chickens For Meat



Chicken meat has always been a popular food choice to us consumers, and while it is easily accessible in any supermarket, keeping chickens and raising them yourself for future meat consumption has been common not just in the farm, but also in urban areas. Aside from getting free eggs, an owner can have full control of the flock's dietary intake, giving him full confidence that the chicken meat he produces are free of harmful chemicals.

Before getting started, it is frugal to choose carefully the breed you're going to raise and take into consideration the cost of feeding and rapidity of growth. If you are putting emphasis on the size of the meat, you can go for the Sussex and Plymouth breeds. You can always opt for the hybrids if you want to go in-between. While these are more sought out for meat consumption, there are still a lot of breeds out there that you can choose from. The internet is chock full of information about breeds, so it is imperative to do a bit of research to decide on what type of chickens you want to keep for its meat.

You have two choices when purchasing chickens. Either you go for the full-grown ones (after checking the vaccination records to ensure that there's less risk of disease) or you can go for the newborn chicks. Just keep in mind that chicks require eight weeks of feeding before they are ready for slaughter. It is also wiser to buy a few cockerels so that your hens can spawn fertilized eggs and produce the next generation of chickens that can replace the ones that are soon to be consumed.

You will need to set up a coop for your flock to settle in, preferably one that has wheels, to make it easier to move around the backyard or garden. Regularly moving the coop enables you to choose a spot where they can feed on weed. In this manner, you can prevent them from damaging any crops that you want to protect by veering the coop away from the spots they're growing from.

Regular cleaning is also recommended to prevent diseases. Chickens love to perch, so don't forget to install a place where they can roost. Most of all, the coop should be safe from drafts and extreme temperature.

Your poultry requires daily intake of water. An automatic waterer device is a great tool for water distribution because you can set its timer to release drinking water in particular times of the day. It’s also easy to clean and has an adjustable height for the growing chicks.

Chickens being raised for meat need a lot of protein in their diet for their growing needs. Their feed is made up of 90% grains, such as oats, barley, soybean meals, canola and other oilseed meals and grain legumes. Meat chicken diets are within strict nutritional standards. If you want to ensure that your chickens are having the required balance of nutrients, you can purchase Nutribalancers from feeding stores.









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My Articles

Keeping Chickens – Taking Care Of The Chicks
Keeping Chicken – Keeping Chicken In The City
Keeping Chickens Healthy
Keeping Chicken – Getting Started: The Pecking Order
Keeping Chickens Warm In Winter
Keeping Chicken – Building A Backyard Chicken Coop
Keeping Chicken – Chicken Parasites, Causes And Treatments
Keeping Chickens For Meat
Keeping Chicken – Producing High Quality Chicken Eggs
Keeping Chickens For Egg Production
Keeping Chicken – Chicken Sour Crop, Prevention And Treatment
Keeping Chicken – Chicken Fencing That Saves You Money
Keeping Chicken – Building Chicken Nest Boxes
Keeping Chicken – Tips On Raising Chicken
Keeping Chickens: What You Need To Know
Keeping Chicken – Bumble Foot
Keeping Chicken – Preventing Chicken From Eating Their Eggs
Keeping Chicken As Pet
Keeping Chickens – What They Need To Survive And Thrive
Keeping Chickens As Pets
Keeping Chicken – Chicken Feeding Worries
Keeping Chicken – The Do-It-Yourself Chicken House
Building A Chicken Coop For Keeping Chickens
Keeping Chicken – Protecting Chicken From Other Animals





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