We tried our hand at raising 100 red ranger broilers this year (still in process, they are about 6 weeks old now) and I'm fairly certain we're not going to meet the advertised feed conversion which is killing any chance of even breaking even on the endeavor. I know I've made some mistakes including but not limited to:
1) Trying to start too late in the year - We got chicks September 10 after the weather had started cooling down and had problems in the brooder controlling temperature and drafts and as a result has some mortality in the brooder from huddling tightly. We had some thin plywood bent into the corners to keep a 90 deg corner but still had some issues, lost 6 or 7 chicks in the brooder.
2) Bought the wrong chick starter feed. Accidentally bought 24% protein feed for game birds which was fed for the first week until I discovered my error.
3) Injured a few birds once moved into pasture in a Salatin style chicken tractor by rolling their leg under the edge when moving, was unable to see birds laying on the ground on the back edge of the tractor before moving.
We're buying bagged feed from the feed store which is expensive. The Purina feed has been on sale over the generic feed store brand for about $0.50 more per bag and they seem to go through that a little slower, maybe has less filler. I bought a hammer mill/mixer at an auction for $200 this summer and hope to buy a gravity box (~200 bu) from a farmer just north of me that raises conventional corn (non-GM) while prices are super low. I have a tractor coming soon that will handle partial mixer loads (not the full 95 bu capacity) which is fine, I'd rather mix smaller batches more often and have less finished feed in barrels. This should keep my feed costs lower than bagged feed even with a mineral and whole roasted soybeans mixed into the proper rations. Longer term goal (2 years) is to convert some of my tillable ground which is in mixed grass/alfalfa hay to grain after I have the ability to harvest it.
I don't plan on getting chicks before April 1 or any later than Aug 1 in the future. Based on this experience I don't believe the broiler breeds to be hardy enough for cold weather brooding.
After this batch of chickens is comfortably resting in the freezer I'm going to make some modifications to the tractors to make them easier to move. I want to have bicycle size wheels on all 4 corners with a link system to lift the whole tractor several inches off the ground so the whole thing can be moved without rolling birds under the edges. I have some undulations in pasture that also need to be disced, harrowed, and reseeded so that the pasture doesn't have as many bumps, dips, and general unevenness to it.
What other ways do you have for reducing mortality and keeping feed costs down. At this point, I don't think I would mess with broilers again other than for personal consumption if I had to do bagged feed.
1) Trying to start too late in the year - We got chicks September 10 after the weather had started cooling down and had problems in the brooder controlling temperature and drafts and as a result has some mortality in the brooder from huddling tightly. We had some thin plywood bent into the corners to keep a 90 deg corner but still had some issues, lost 6 or 7 chicks in the brooder.
2) Bought the wrong chick starter feed. Accidentally bought 24% protein feed for game birds which was fed for the first week until I discovered my error.
3) Injured a few birds once moved into pasture in a Salatin style chicken tractor by rolling their leg under the edge when moving, was unable to see birds laying on the ground on the back edge of the tractor before moving.
We're buying bagged feed from the feed store which is expensive. The Purina feed has been on sale over the generic feed store brand for about $0.50 more per bag and they seem to go through that a little slower, maybe has less filler. I bought a hammer mill/mixer at an auction for $200 this summer and hope to buy a gravity box (~200 bu) from a farmer just north of me that raises conventional corn (non-GM) while prices are super low. I have a tractor coming soon that will handle partial mixer loads (not the full 95 bu capacity) which is fine, I'd rather mix smaller batches more often and have less finished feed in barrels. This should keep my feed costs lower than bagged feed even with a mineral and whole roasted soybeans mixed into the proper rations. Longer term goal (2 years) is to convert some of my tillable ground which is in mixed grass/alfalfa hay to grain after I have the ability to harvest it.
I don't plan on getting chicks before April 1 or any later than Aug 1 in the future. Based on this experience I don't believe the broiler breeds to be hardy enough for cold weather brooding.
After this batch of chickens is comfortably resting in the freezer I'm going to make some modifications to the tractors to make them easier to move. I want to have bicycle size wheels on all 4 corners with a link system to lift the whole tractor several inches off the ground so the whole thing can be moved without rolling birds under the edges. I have some undulations in pasture that also need to be disced, harrowed, and reseeded so that the pasture doesn't have as many bumps, dips, and general unevenness to it.
What other ways do you have for reducing mortality and keeping feed costs down. At this point, I don't think I would mess with broilers again other than for personal consumption if I had to do bagged feed.
