EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RAISING MEAT CHICKENS
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ค. 2024
- If you're thinking you'd like to take on raising your own meat chickens, watch this video first!
If you're looking to raise your own meat chickens, this video is a MUST watch to learn "almost" everything you need to know before getting started.
We're covering everything from the differences in breeds (and which we think are best), plus basic chicken needs like feed and shelter, and even tips on butchering and storing chickens...
We also answer the question we get asked all the time, do homegrown chickens taste different than store-bought chickens?
Time Stamps:
0:00 - Chit Chat
6:21 - Question of the Day: Do you cook high acid foods in cast iron?
8:01 - Main Topic: Everything you need to know about raising meat chickens.
9:14 - What breed to use and the differences between breeds.
17:05 - When to start them and when to buy them
19:15 - Basic Chicken Needs
20:45 - What to feed chicks
22:20 - Shelter
24:40 - Free Range
26:14 - Butchering
28:03 - Storing chickens after processing
29:18 - Do homegrown chickens taste different and do you have to cook them differently?
Links mentioned in this video:
Freedom Ranger Hatchery: www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/
Videos mentioned:
How to Build a Hoop House: homesteadingfamily.com/diy-be...
Cast Iron Video Series Playlist: • Cast Iron Series
What to Look for in a Chicken Tractor: homesteadingfamily.com/chicke...
How We Put up 1400 Pounds of Pastured Chickens in One Day: • How we put up 1400 pou...
Starting Meat Chicks: • Starting chicks
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MORE ABOUT US!
WELCOME! We're so glad you're here! We are Josh and Carolyn Thomas. Together with our eleven children, we are The Homesteading Family where we’re living a self-sustainable life in beautiful North Idaho. Let us welcome you and show you a bit about us here: bit.ly/HFWelcomeVideo
Grow, Preserve & Thrive with us!
Visit us at www.homesteadingfamily.com and on Facebook at / homesteadingfamily
A few highlights you don't want to miss are our FREEBIES!!
Click any of the links below for instant access to free video training resources:
- Healthy Healing at Home- Free 4 video workshop on our herb course Herbal Medicine Cabinet: Colds
bit.ly/hhath
- Bread Making workshop- Free 4 video workshop on our masterclass, The Art of Homemade Bread
bit.ly/breadmworkshop
- Meals on Your Shelf- Free 4 video workshop on canning. The Abundant Pantry: Canning
bit.ly/MealsOYS
Click any of the links below for instant access to these free downloadable PDFs:
- Homesteading Family's Favorite Holiday Recipes - homesteadingfamily.com/free-h...
- 5 Steps to a More Self Sufficient Life- Simple PDF download on 5 steps anyone can take wherever they are to start a more self-sufficient lifestyle.
bit.ly/SelfSufficientLife
- Thrive Wellness Checklist- A simple PDF download for healthy living.
homesteadingfamily.com/TWC_YT
- Permaculture for Your Homestead- PDF download that is an introduction to permaculture with some strategies for applying it to one’s homestead and garden.
homesteadingfamily.com/PFYH_YT
- Carolyn’s Cottage Garden herb list- PDF with Carolyn’s favorite herbs for growing at home.
homesteadingfamily.com/CGHL_YT
- Carolyn’s Make-Ahead Breakfast Casseroles- Carolyn’s favorite make-ahead breakfast casseroles.
homesteadingfamily.com/MABC_YT
- Your FREE Guide to Preserving Eggs- PDF download with multiple ways to preserve eggs.
homesteadingfamily.com/Eggs_YT
- 5 Steps to a Healthy Garden- PDF download with an explanation of what makes healthy soil and 5 steps you can take to improve your garden
homesteadingfamily.com/5Steps...
- Save the Crumbs- Several Recipes for using bread leftovers, a less committal entry to bread than the workshop.
homesteadingfamily.com/STC_YT
- Fearless Fermenting- A PDF on basic lacto-ferments.
homesteadingfamily.com/FF_YT
- Fermenting Tomatoes- PDF download on fermenting tomatoes
homesteadingfamily.com/FT_YT
- Preserving Culinary Herbs- Downloadable, step by step directions to drying, freezing, and salting culinary herbs.
homesteadingfamily.com/PCH_YT
- Render Your Own Lard- PDF with instructions on how to render your own lard.
homesteadingfamily.com/RYL_YT
#meatchickens #startingchicks #raisingmeatchickens
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In between doing the "quarantine" cleaning since mid March I have been looking on Youtude videos. Either homesteading sites, renovation sites, etc... What I have realized is that Homesteading Family is one of the few that are not asking for donations, running a go fund me or a patreon account. I feel the reason is that you as a family have set up a viable business plan to accomplish your goals along with hard work and dedication to what your family's goals are. I watch the videos that interest me without a having to listen to a spiel about donating to help "you" accomplish your dream on someone else's dime. Thank you for letting others in on your lifestyle and the information that is given on your site.
They are the most balanced/grounded people I have seen on TH-cam as well. I totally admire it. ❤️
Definitely my favorite family ❤️ for those very reasons and others. As far as I’m concerned #1 👍
Agreed!
This is our 3rd year with meat chickens, but the first year with the rangers from Freedom Rangers. We got them in April and you are right...very healthy birds. They are huge...but no leg issues and no sudden deaths either. Very active foraging. I can't wait to see what they taste like. Thanks for a great video.
How did they taste?
@@crunchycountrycatholic Wonderful. More flavor if that makes sense. We are only doing these from now on.
You can use Plymouth White Rocks for a dual purpose breed for meat, where the double breast genetics are derived. They are also great layers, a long lived and hearty breed, docile and easy birds to keep. They can replicate themselves, so more sustainable than the commercial meat bird varieties.
What are your thoughts on barred rocks for dual purpose?
@@glorytogodhomestead3495 They are fine as a dual purpose breed. Meaty and they lay well.
As someone who is a first year meat bird raiser that did pretty much all the wrong stuff I appreciate hearing your wisdom! Thank you 💜
My friends have 10 children and when they started raising meat birds they wanted Cornish cross so they would be big. Then they tried Freedom Rangers like we raise and they much prefer the Rangers. Ours end up with a net weight averaging about 6+ lbs in 11 weeks (non soy feed).
Thank you for the video! It was helpful and brought up a few memories of my Mom and her friend on butchering day.
I was the oldest girl so I got to help, it was a lot of work and each of us had our jobs and we got it done!
Now here I am 40 years later contemplating doing this myself...hmmm?! Am I crazy?!♥️🙏🤔👍
Really does make a difference. Putting this out as a 'conversation' is a really nice way to learn and plan.
It’s nice to hear even the ‘pros’ make mistakes in the garden! ;) I love your channel and learn something almost every time!!! Thanks guys and keep up the great work. Hugs!!
So appreciate your thoughtfulness in every "pantry" chat. Thank you for the video!
I'm so glad I found you. I'm about to build my coop. I grew up on a farm but didn't build the coop. So I'm relearning here. Glad to watch you! And thank you!!
Thanks for the nice relaxing, informative chit chat. Glad I found you 😊
Amazing value. Thank you!
Could you please do a short video on this CANNING the fresh chicken?? With or without bones? With or without liquid?
that would be awesome!!!
I can my raw chicken. It is delicious! I would be happy to share with you what I do I just don’t have any videos.
@@glorytogodhomestead3495do you hot water bath? If so, how long?
Great info.I am raising freedom rangers for the first time. We have 26 that are 4 weeks okd. We moved them to the grass last week. They are already looking stronger.
Great video! I love your videos guys! Tons of great info! Thank you for sharing. We just moved to a small city with acreage and we just got 10 layers and 4 guineas but we are thinking about meat birds and rabbits next. I will check the red rangers as an option. Thanks again. You hays have a great summer!
Cast iron cooking one pot meals and desserts. Love your Sunday chats!
I just love your channel and the way ya'll teach.
Another great educational video! Though you don't put enough respect into the dual purpose breed in my opinion. Especially if you're trying to be as sustainable as possible. Purchasing meat chicks each yr to raise isn't sustainable. Nor is all the corresponding equipment needed to process & store them. What's nice about dual breeds is all that equipment is potentially eliminated, along wt the cost to run & maintain them. Personally I'd take that, over a double breasted chicken any day, I prefer dark meat. 😉 I especially like the Brahma & Orpington breeds for dual purpose. While the Orpington will stop laying in the winter, the Brahma won't. Both are fantastic mothers that will hatch out a clutch each spring, adding to your flock & eventually a single freezer. No need for a scalder, pucker, or extra freezers & the corresponding space/electricity to run them. Anywho, just wanted to add the pro argument for dual breeds. 😊
Agree. We raise big boned Orpingtons but are switching to Bresse. We love having broody hens as it’s so easy.
@@spoolsandbobbins and cost effective. No more having to buy chicks or hatching eggs every yr. Let the hens do it all for you. The way it's been since the beginning. I'm partial to Brahmas myself, but I like Cochin and Orpingtons also.
Hi folks . Love your video's. Love to get informed
Just FYI...we raised Cornish Cross for about 12 years. We raised them on pasture after 4 weeks and they were very flavorful. We also raised them for about 10 weeks and they did fabulous. We rarely lost any. We did make our own feed, with lower protein so they grew slower. They are really dumb. That's totally true, still we have had alot of success.
Just this moment found your channel after watching a McGie homestead video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Subbed 👍🏻
Hi! For the cast iron series... How about some breads or desserts? You guys are great and I thank you for all your wisdom and guidance 😊
Great video! I learned so much! I love Freedom Ranger Hatchery too!! Highly recommend them🤗Thank y’all and God bless❤️
Very helpful, thank you.
Thanks for this video! I'm planning to raise meat chickens next year. This year is more about gardening, fencing off the yard and getting a good hunting dog (maybe catching a deer this fall, if I'm lucky). Will probably try to build the tractor some time this summer or fall, so it'll be ready for next spring.
Great video. Thank you for all the wonderful information. I would like to caution people on heat lamps, they get so hot and can be a fire hazard. They can also cause a severe burn if touched. (I truly fell in love with my aloe plant that day) I agree completely about the Cornish Cross breed. I did not know about Red Rangers and will look in to those for next year. Love your channel.
I agree with not rushing to get root crops in ASAP in the spring. Everyone pushes to get potatoes in by Good Friday. I find if you put them in in late may early June ( I'm in north east Wi) you miss problems with potato bugs and the weather at harvest time is better for hardening them off in the fall. I guess in long ago days it made sense to put potatoes in ASAP because by May the potatoes you stored from last fall are getting pretty soft and sprouty.
I raise my Cornish to about 10 lbs so at butcher they go to 8 lbs and they get mixed in with my eggers and get taught to forage and run so they have better meat and way less fat.
thanks for the info, sharing knowledge! started hatching our own this year - best tips or suggestions for collecting / storing and hatching your own chicks? have the auto turn incubator and last batch was not the best hoped for success rate - hatching this weekend and more have hatched but still feeling lost on why some do not - any suggestions? Blessings n sunshine always!
I wish I could find a 'Lucas'. We've got 20 acres we need to have selectively logged and noone will come and do it for us here in Tennessee. We've had 4 different lumbermen say they will come, and not turn up. We can't build on it till it is cleared a bit. :'(
I have raised 2 different breeds of meat chickens this year. First lot were "Slow growing cornish". I wasn't thrilled with the growth rate nor the cost to raise them, but oh my, the flavor.. Can't tell the difference between them and turkey. I kept one rooster and 5 hens, and plan to try to breed my own, either over Fall and Winter; if they start to lay.
Second lot is Cornish rock X and they cost me a lot less to raise, but the meat is ..meh....just like store bought.
Yes a ton of people. You can’t even get meat birds from some places until September or even next year! Apparently the US is not prepared for all the new homesteaders
That's probably a good thing! The suppliers are all doing good business and can expand their operations.
@@ChickensAndGardeningexactly!! The people:1, government:0
Extremely glad u differentiated between the size of the gravel/grit… I would’ve probably ended up feeding rocks the size of marbles 🤦🏾🤣❤️❤️❤️
Please do a video on the pond. Very useful!
I just watched an old video about you processing 1400 lbs of chicken and you said your don’t do gizzards……we threw them in a large pot and cooked them and then ran them thru a grinder and used it in our dogs food….
My uncle fed his chickens fresh gizzards and hearts……just a suggestion…..the chickens love raw meat…heck they eat worms and snakes..😂
Hi! Love your videos. Getting ready to order Freedom Rangers. Do you recommend straight run? Additionally do you order the non GMO chicks? Thanks for all the great videos. Melissa
Thanks, interesting and good information. I will be back!
Cornish cross do need to be babied the 1st 4 weeks, but I guess we had lots of practice because we raised about 800 a year to sell at the Farmers market.
Poultry lice is so not fun!! When I was little I was playing hide and seek with friends in my yard and I found a big box so I flipped it over and hid underneath it. Then I threw it off screaming that I was itching all over. Turns out a hen had made a nest in that box and all the poultry lice fell on me 😂😂😂 My mom gave me the biggest scrubbing of my life. I was pink and tingly when she was done with me. But I wasn’t itching anymore! Ha
I love your channel and homestead. Do you ever give farm tours? I would just love to come visit! lol
Maybe one day!
I'd love to see baking a pie in a cast iron skillet. I haven't tried that yet, and I recently saw that they make cast iron pie pans. Is there an advantage to using cast iron for a pie over a glass pie plate? Thank you!
What do you do with your old Grandma hens with they stop laying eggs? I want to get chickens, but I feel like I would treat my hens more like my pets, and my meat chickens as farm animals. We have been getting young Dexter steers for a few years now, and they end up in the freezer, but I go shopping the day the butcher arrives. Logically, I know the farm animals are going in our freezer, but the mom in me has a hard time not mothering everything. I think I would have a hard time putting Grandma hen in the stock pot.
Us too! We let them live out their days. They’ve worked hard for us after all.
Stew chicken
Good morning, I was curious about ya'lls opinion on raising Buff Orpingtons or Rhode Island Reds for meat birds. I am currently raising my first Cornish meat chickens, but I was thinking about raising either my Rhode Island Reds or Buff orpingtons to avoid purchasing more chickens. (I've jumped in feet first and bought 36 chickens!! 11 egg layers, one rooster, and 25 Cornish Cross). Thank you for your time! 😊
Question; Do you have to rest them in the cooler before putting in the freezer? Thanks for sharing. God Bless.
Good information....Larry & Connie @ Scoot's Organic
Birds arrive next week. First time. 25 orpingtons. Then in a couple weeks, I have 50 freedom rangers coming. Getting prepped now.
I’m just starting out this year after buying just a small just under an acre property and I had my sights set on meat chickens first and then egg layers, as I only have one shelter available, would you suggest that way or vice versa?
We have an old trailer we can't move that our chickens live in with our pig and they can get out into a pretty big fenced area until we can use a chicken tractor
I would like to see you cook a steak in a cast iron pan. Good morning to get one with that in mind. Thank you
We mostly just kept ours for eggs and just killed extra roosters in the spring since they fight so much. The feather plucking was not worth the effort for us 30 odd years ago but meat prices were also much lower then.
We skin our heritage breed roosters because we slow cook them anyway.
I put metal racks on the burner to prevent from burning the eggs.
What do you do for the chickens at night? Do they need a coop or do they sleep in the open tractor?
We raise cornish cross and raise them for 10 to 12 weeks and are about 8lbs. We usually on loose one a year.
Do you feed them 24/7 or just once or twice per day?
Are you still getting the Red Ranger chickens? And which chickens do you use for layers?
We have a 3 year old ranger rooster in with the layers. His cross chicks have a noticeable difference in growth rate when we hatch eggs from his hens. Apparently they can pass those fast growth and broad breast genes.
Ok I’m 52 starting my Homestead
Others say dual is worth it cause of taste.
One guy did a jersey giant at 10 pounds
Others do Wyandotte chickens they say taste great and others they roasted them .
I’m not worried about the ratio if it’s for self sustaining with a little to sell.
Well anyway I’m just wondering it might be individual taste so I will give some a try
Were you able to treat the old hen?
I can't pick up cast iron pans any more....I really miss cooking with them, but I can't hold them to clean them or pick up to put away.....But they are great to use...I miss them....
We live on a alfalfa field is it ok for them to tractor over alfalfa? I know it can cause problems for other animals if eaten too much
So I watched your video on hydrated lime and preserving eggs. But what about dirty eggs. We have duck eggs and they are almost always dirty and need washed. We then cover in mineral oil. But is there a way to glass them?
Great question!
Blessings and 🙏🙏🙏, julie
I would love to know how to get my cast iron skillet to where my food doesn't stick. I've done everything I know to do
Southern Chic Homestead Katrina Parker I had a stubborn pan that I made the bacon and sausage only pan for several months. Cooked everything on lower heat. Now its super non stick.
I know you grow turkeys now, is the needs for the turkeys similar enough to meat chickens?
If your meat chickens are in the tractor during the day how do you transfer them to a coop for the night? Or do you keep them in the tractor?
They live in the tractor, day and night.
Have you every tried to hatch any red rangers??? My hubby and I want to keep them separate from our layers and see if we can raise out own stock
Excellent way to go but I'm curious about the Red Rangers as well.
I just bought some eggs to hatch myself. Our plan is to save a hen and a rooster if we can.
That's what we were thinking as well. Save a rooster (2 just in case) and a few hens and eat the rest
The breast is my least favorite part, though I guess I am in the minority.😻 Your discussion made me want to share is the large breeds, my example is the Brahma, need a little more early care, they need to eat more and drink more. I ended up making scrambled eggs for them to get them over the hump.
Another homesteading site I follow said they like to order male meat chicks. Do you order a certain sex and if so which one and why?
Can you keep and raise freedom rangers to hatch out your own instead of buying each year?
no, they are hybrids, you don't know what you will get
I know I am a little late getting to this video. Just got some land and a new home in the beautiful SW Virginia area. Want to raise some chickens. I was wondering if the Freedom Rangers breasts are closer to the size that you get at restaurants? Making grilled chicken sandwiches with those humongous breasts at the grocery store is no bueno.
I split those huge breasts lengthwise, butterfly style.much easier to cook and more sensible portions. I like to marinade them in Italian dressing for grilling!😊
That being said, I would really like to grow out my own this year!
@@diannamc367 I know how to butterfly chicken breast. That's not what I am asking. When you go to a restaurant ND order a grilled chicken breast, it is about 6 to 8 oz. They didn't butterfly those. That's what I am wanting.
Don't you need to wait a day before processing the chickens to let the rigor mortis relax?
I wonder if the scalding affects this in any way
When getting meat chickens is it best to get all male or female
Fried Potatoes in a cast iron pan. :)
Can Cinnamon Rolls be cooked in a cast iron skillet?
You DID ask what recipes would you like for cast iron skillets although we're mostly talking meat chickens.
I bet these home raised chickens are good. One question... do you guys have any info about whether or not they will eat the guts of butchered goats or cows? I know that they will kill snakes and rats and scavenge dead raccoons and stuff but I'm wondering because any way we can reduce feed cost amd give better nutrition is great. Beef and goat have extremely high quality nutrition so I'm very interested but haven't met anyone who openly talks about this because maybe it's not socially acceptable at this point.
Hi, Is there a reason or reasons why you don't raise chicks from brooding hens instead of buying chicks annually? pros and cons?
Our climate doesn't support year round growing, so we purchase a years worth of chickens and grow them at one time. We are a large family, and that would take a LOT of brooding hens! LOL
We are 7 and go through a LOT of eggs. Unfortunately we’ve succumbed to the “sooner ready” hybrid meat chickens and egg layers because our sweet heritage breeds can’t keep up with demand. But every time we get a broody hen we take full advantage. It’s easier, cheaper and better for the birds!
Question-should I order male or female meat birds? Is there much of a difference?
Hello??? It’s been a month. Just asked a quick question, Male or female??????????
Anyone??
Give it a try and let’s us know
Males usually grow bigger but some people prefer smaller females because they may be more tender. It’s personal preference I think.
You need to obtain heritage chickens from quality breeders. Hatchery stock is nothing compared to the same breed selectively culled and improved by reputable breeders.
So true.
👍👍👍👌♥️
First!!! 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻
Question...what came first chicken or the egg? Lol
Turkey
How do you not get attached? Don’t get me wrong I have gone full carnivore before so I know it must be done. But how do you separate your emotions from the process? My Uncle used to swap animals when it came time to butcher so they weren’t butchering their own.
Type in the word hunger. Look at horrific pictures through time. Now the bird looks delicious
It takes maturity and common sense. Work on developing those and killing your own animals becomes much more simple.
Yes! Freedom Ranger hatchery...I called the moment California's Newcastle disease quarantine was lifted.(June 1st) This was end of May. Only cockerels available in AUGUST!! Yes I ordered...and I'd already hatched Moran x freedom ranger hens. My rooster died....lesson learned 2 roosters! Cornish to me, are yet another example of human interference gone wrong. Cruelty.
Why do you think it’s cruel?
Have you ever successfully raised your meat birds on fermented grain?
Ok did you forget what you promised Carolyn for Mother's Day
Do ya'll have your birds vaccinated for Marek's disease?
"Interesting" - LOL! Not the word I'd use!
Why
@@halfwhitt64 Carolyn is so calm about the poultry lice...I'd definitely freak out!
@@butterscotchgrove6151, she seems uber calm about just about EVERYTHING. I admire that!
Do you Vaccinate for Marek's?
Had chickens one time they were eaten up all my bees I didn't mind them eating the hornets and grasshoppers.
My laying hens free range and go in their house at dark. For clarification freedom rangers do not have that instinct?
???????? IS THERE A WAY YOU CAN DO AN ALL IN ONE MEAL IN A CAST IRON????? We have 7 children and we are looking into adoption, if there was a way to cook a meal in one skillet, served with a bread. Even if for large families like ours having to make the “all in one” mea into 2 skillets, it would save so much time. 🥘 🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘🥘
I'm disappointed that you didn't address the inhumane-ness of the breed of Cornish cross. In fact, Carolyn even refers to them as "things". You never once discuss how the fast growing affects the animal. I just hate how you describe butchering and killing these animals as a "fun" day.
I've read all the comments to this video and not once was anyone so negative. You do realise what kind of homesteading this is? I use to be whole foods plant based and it wasn't good for my body but you can't go some trying to make people feel weird about there choices. It's like being in a fight about religion. You just gotta let people live the way they feel they should. This is the best humanely channel. They slaughtered Halal. Their are some channels that are homesteaders but are also not animal eaters. I'm sure you know that. Highcarbhannah is an excellent resource. She is ALSO a beautiful human!
I knew they wouldn’t do the Cornish cross. I like another gardening all natural person and they use the Cornish cross. It’s sad. I was excited to see Caroline’s choice. I do wish she had explained the negatives more. Homesteading family long time followers know why she didn’t pick them personally and I wish she had shared the real reason.
Little Cougar one would hope that by your comments you do not buy any store bought meat because these meats are raised ‘quick to grow’ for market. Some folks have adopted this type lifestyle to become more self-sufficient. What are you doing to be self-sufficient as I find the most annoying, is when folks make comments when they themselves are not making an effort. I myself raise backyard chickens and anything I hear from this site, proves to me they are really caring for their stock. With these folks having at least 12 mouths to feed, I do understand the need to have quick growers in order to supplement your meat supply. If you don’t care for the discussion about the realities of the culling process... you can always turn the channel rather than making your comments and continue buying your meat in pretty plastic packages at Walmart. Then when all the farmers or backyard farmers are thoroughly discouraged with comments of like, then you can buy your meat products from 3rd world countries.
The potential. Get to the point, too drawn out at the start. Nice family tho