Raising Broiler Chickens - Homesteading and Livestock - MOTHER EARTH NEWS Print Email Raising broiler chickens can put meat on your table quicker and with less effort than raising any other livestock. In just a handful of weeks, your chicks will reach target weight and your larder can be stocked with meat that's tastier and better for you than anything you could buy at the grocery store. Plus, raising meat chickens lets you opt out of the profoundly inhumane industrial food-production system. The choice between hybrid or heritage breeds, confinement or free range, and conventional or organic feed are entirely up to you. Best Broiler Breeds Growing broilers — young chickens with pliable skin and tender meat — involves making several choices. Your first decision is whether to raise hybrid or heritage poultry breeds. The fundamental differences are the amount of time they need to grow and the flavor of the meat. The quicker your birds reach the target weight of about 6 pounds, the cheaper they are to raise overall and the more delicate the meat. The longer they take, the more they'll cost you (as is the case with heritage breeds), but the meat will be healthier and more flavorful. White hybrids.

The most efficient hybrid broiler chickens are an industrial creation developed by combining White Cornish and White Plymouth Rock genetics. The resulting hybrids — the type most commonly sold at the supermarket — grow and feather rapidly. Chicks of the same age and sex grow at the same rate and efficiently convert feed into meat, reaching target weight in just six to seven weeks. Their edible portion (excluding excess fat, intestines, feathers, heads, feet and blood) is approximately 75 percent of live weight. Under careful management these broad-breasted hybrid broiler chickens will consume approximately 2 pounds of feed for every pound of weight gained. Unless they're raised on range, hybrid chickens must be butchered as soon as they reach target weight, or they will develop bone ailments or die of heart failure as a result of their excessively rapid growth. White Cornish hybrids have fewer feathers to pluck and no underlying hair-like feather to singe off, making them easier and faster to clean than other broiler chickens. I like roasting them with the skin intact. When I raise other broiler breeds, I skin them because it's faster than plucking the feathers off. However, you can choose to pluck your birds regardless of breed. Colored hybrids.

These broilers were developed for France’s famous Label Rouge organic free-range chickens and adopted by some producers in the United States. Trade names include Black Broiler, Color Yield, Colored Range, Freedom Ranger, Kosher King, Redbro, Red Broiler, Red Meat Maker, Rosambro and Silver Cross. Most strains have red plumage, but they also come in black, gray or barred — anything but white. Their colored feathers make them less visible to predators, especially hawks, but difficult to pluck cleanly so that the bare skin appears neat. (See Wrong About Freedom Rangers to learn more about colored hybrids.) Colored hybrid broiler chickens are usually raised on pasture and grow more slowly than white hybrids — they take at least 11 weeks to reach target weight, and the chicks don’t necessarily grow at a uniform rate. They eat about 3 pounds of feed per pound of weight gained because of their longer growth period and the calories they burn while foraging. Some people find the meat of colored hybrids to be more flavorful than that of faster-growing white hybrids. The edible meat is approximately 70 percent of live weight. Heritage poultry breeds.

If you keep heritage chickens for eggs, you have the option of hatching eggs from your own flock, keeping the pullets as future layers and raising the surplus cockerels for meat. Delaware, New Hampshire, Plymouth Rock and Wyandotte are heritage poultry breeds with great potential as dual-purpose egg and meat chickens. All of these breeds are good foragers and have a moderate to slow growth rate, reaching target weight in about 16 weeks. Compared with Cornish hybrids, they have thinner breasts and more dark meat. The higher foraging activity of heritage chickens results in meat that's lower in fat and firmer in texture. The meat has a richer chicken flavor because the birds are older when slaughtered. Non-hybrids do not grow at a uniform rate and are not as efficient as hybrid chickens at converting feed to meat. Heritage chickens consume at least 4 pounds of ration per pound of weight gained, and the edible portion is only about 65 percent of live weight. See the Comparing Broiler Chickens chart for a summary of the pros and cons of raising hybrid or heritage poultry breeds for meat. In the Brooder House You'll need to take into account hybrids' size and rate of growth when brooding chicks.

The birds eat almost constantly, rarely moving far from the feeder. They also drink a lot of water to wash down all that feed, The brooder house needs plenty of room to accommodate their body mass, as well as sufficient feeders and waterers. The sheer size of hybrid chickens keeps them warmer than other broilers of the same age. My white hybrids are only 2 weeks old when they start panting, so I move them out of the heated brooder house into a more open area of the barn. White hybrids tend to suffer more in hot weather than most other broiler chickens. In a warm climate, they’re better off raised during the cooler days of spring or fall, regardless of whether they’re kept in confinement or on pasture. Colored hybrids and heritage chickens are better, but none of the breeds listed previously could be classified as highly heat-tolerant. Confinement Pros and Cons Another important decision you'll make when raising chickens for meat is how you'll confine the birds — inside a building or within a pasture shelter — or whether you'll allow them to roam freely. Each technique requires attention to ensure the birds' health and safety.

Indoor confinement involves housing chickens indoors on bedding and bringing them everything they eat until they are ready to harvest. This technique requires less land than pasturing because it only necessitates a sound shelter. Broiler chickens are less likely to fall victim to predators when they're housed inside a secure building. Managing them also requires less time — after the facility is set up, you need only a few minutes each day to feed, water and check the chicks. This method is most suited to white hybrids because they don’t move around much. The shelter could be the same structure in which the chicks are brooded, if you start with a limited area and expand the available space as they grow. Each bird needs about a half-square-foot up to the age of 2 weeks, and 2 to 3 square feet by the time they reach harvest weight. Accordingly, an 8-by-8-foot shed would accommodate about 25 broilers. Roosts aren't necessary. Leg injuries can occur when heavy hybrid birds jump down, and perching can also cause breast blisters and crooked breastbones. Avoid these problems by providing confined broiler chickens with deep, soft, dry bedding instead of roosts.

Pasture confinement also involves raising broiler chickens inside a shelter with a feeder and waterer — but this shelter is portable, has no floor and is moved daily to provide the chickens with fresh forage. Giving birds access to grass results in meat that contains less fat and more omega-3s and other nutrients. One study has shown that pastured-poultry meat contains 50 percent more vitamin A, 30 percent less saturated fat and 28 percent fewer calories than meat from commercially-raised birds. The upside of pasture confinement is a slight reduction in feed costs, especially if you move the shelter first thing each day to encourage hungry birds to forage before they receive their morning ration. One challenge presented by this confinement technique, however, is that you need enough good pasture to move the shelter to new ground daily, and you must do it each day. As they reach harvest size, broiler chickens graze plants faster and deposit a greater concentration of droppings, so they must be moved more often — sometimes at least twice a day — to maintain the health of the birds and to avoid burning the pasture with nitrogen-rich manure. Weather permitting, hybrids may be moved outdoors when they're as young as 2 weeks old.

They tend to become pen potatoes unless they're started on forage by 3 weeks of age. White hybrids don’t do well on pasture if the weather is much cooler than 65 degrees Fahrenheit or much warmer than 85 degrees, while other broiler chickens have a wider range of temperature tolerance. Pasture shelters are usually made of welded wire or hardware cloth stapled to a wooden frame and roofed with a tarp or corrugated aluminum. Using the typical proportion of 1.2 square feet of pen space per bird (less room than is recommended for broiler chickens confined indoors), a 4-by-8-foot camper shell will handily pasture-confine about 25 broilers. The shelter may be designed to be moved by one person using a dolly, or by two or more people grabbing strategically placed handles. If the land is uneven, dips along a shelter’s sides can invite predators in or allow birds to slip out. In rainy weather, puddles may accumulate inside the shelter. In all cases, the broilers spend the night sleeping in their manure. For these reasons, I prefer free ranging my pastured chickens.

Free Range In this context, "free range" means raising meat chickens in a portable shelter that offers daytime access to the outdoors — a system sometimes called "day ranging." The extra activity creates firm and flavorful meat, but also causes birds to eat more total ration because they take longer to reach target weight. Free-ranging involves less labor than pasture confinement because you don’t have to move the shelter daily, but more labor than indoor confinement because you do have to move it occasionally. Unless you fit the shelter with an automatic door as protection against nighttime predators, you'll also have to shut in the chickens every night and let them out again in the morning. A free-range shelter is generally a bit larger than pasture-confinements, may or may not have a floor, and is bedded with deep litter. It may be a tarp-covered portable hoop house, or a structure built on skids so it can be relocated periodically by a vehicle or draft animal. A portable electric fence — usually plastic netting energized by a battery or solar controller — protects free-range poultry from ground predators and confines their foraging to one area of pasture outside the shelter. The fence is moved periodically to a fresh patch until the whole area surrounding the shelter has been grazed.

Depending on the size of your pasture and the number of birds, you may need to move both the shelter and the fence to a fresh section of pasture after your chickens have grazed down the original spot. Heritage poultry breeds retain some of the foraging instincts of their ancestors, so they take to grazing quite readily. Hybrid chickens don’t think highly of getting out and about unless introduced to pasture early, but they do roam more than in confinement, and the increased energy use slows their growth and makes them less susceptible to leg problems. The end result is a trade-off between faster growth and better bird health, more humane treatment and more flavorful meat. Chicken Feed Aside from maintaining clean bedding or providing fresh ground to forage, your main activity when raising broiler chickens will be furnishing feed and water. The birds need fresh, clean water at all times to aid digestion and help prevent disease. Many different rations are available with varying percentages of protein or energy. More protein increases growth rate, while more energy slows the growth rate and increases fat, thereby adding flavor. People who regularly raise meat chickens balance broiler ration with scratch grain or oats until they're satisfied with the end result.

(Scratch is a grain mixture that provides energy in the form of carbohydrates but has a lower protein level than most grower rations.) But the choices don’t end there. Some folks want only certified organic, GMO-free rations. Others are happy using less expensive, run-of-the-mill farm-store feed. Most feed stores carry one all-purpose starter/grower ration which may be used from start to finish when raising broiler chickens. Some sources offer a full line of starter, grower and finisher rations targeted to specific stages of growth. If you choose the latter, follow directions on the label regarding when to switch from one ration to another. Each manufacturer’s recommended schedule is based on the formulations of its particular rations — and probably assumes you're raising hybrid birds. For more about different chicken feed types, and to find map showing organic poultry feed suppliers, see Organic Poultry Feed Suppliers Directory . Medicated rations contain a chemical called amprolium to prevent coccidiosis, an intestinal disease that interferes with nutrient absorption and reduces growth rate. An alternative to using a medicated ration is to have the chicks vaccinated. A vaccine stimulates the animal's natural immune system and may be used for organic or naturally raised meat chickens.

Some poultry-feed brands include a probiotic formula designed to stimulate the immune system and fend off disease. If the feed you use does not include probiotics, you can purchase these as a separate supplement from most poultry suppliers. Return on Investment After your facility is established, your main expenses will be labor (your time), the cost of acquiring chicks and the price of feed. Calculating your return on investment is a good idea when raising chickens for meat, so let’s crunch some numbers. These figures are for colored hybrids only; you'll have to make adjustments for white hybrids or heritage poultry breeds. A quick survey of hatcheries reveals an average price of $60 for 25 straight-run (unsexed) colored hybrid broilers. Add $25 for overnight shipping, and the cost of 25 chicks will be about $85. (If you raise a heritage breed, you can save money by hatching your own chicks with broody hens. Learn how in Raise Your Best Flock Using Broody Hens .) If you raise your birds to 6 pounds live weight — adding 10 percent for spillage and other waste — you can expect to use about 500 pounds of feed.

The cost of feed can run anywhere from about 35 cents per pound at the farm store to 75 cents for organic brands (plus shipping, if you order online), so your feed cost can range from about $175 to $375 or more. If you free range your colored hybrids, you’ll need at least six bales of shavings for bedding in their shelter. At about $5 per bale, that comes to $30. Figuring an average edible portion of 70 percent of live weight, and deducting 5 percent for typical loss due to predators, accidents and so forth (expect to lose about five broilers for every 100 you raise), you should end up with about 100 pounds of chicken meat. Assuming you do your own butchering rather than pay a custom slaughterhouse (how-to videos on butchering poultry are listed under "Resources"), raising colored hybrid broilers on common feed-store feed will cost you approximately $3 per pound, while raising the same birds on organic poultry feed might run you $5 or more per pound. Homegrown chicken meat usually costs more than the cheap, industrial chicken sold in supermarkets.

The extra cost means you can feed your family more nutritious, delicious and humanely-raised meat. Read more: For help with choosing which breed is right for you check out Comparing Broiler Chickens , and see how raising your own meat is beneficial to your health in Organic Chicken Could Save Your Life . Resources Tips on Raising Broiler Chickens Tips on Raising Broiler Chickens Tips on Raising Broiler Chickens January 24, 2011 By: Billie Abbott Broiler chickens, also referred to as fryers or fryer chickens, are raised for meat consumption. Broilers are generally marketed at 4 to 10 weeks of age depending on preferred body weight. The needed equipment for raising broiler chickens are minimal, requiring only adequate housing, food and water equipment and heat lamps if raising broilers from chicks. Raising broilers require daily care of feeding, watering and maintaining a sanitary housing area. Grocery stores sell broilers as fryer chickens. Types A crossbred chicken variety makes the best broiler. When raising broilers for meat production, you will want to choose chickens that will quickly grow meaty breasts and thighs. These chickens will need to have strong bones in order to carry this extra weight.

According to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the best type of chicken to raise that meets these requirements are a crossbred variety of White Cornish and White Plymouth Rock. This crossbreed will achieve a weight of 3 1/2 to 4 lbs. at the age of 8 weeks, and many males will attain a weight of 3 1/2 lbs. by the time they reach 7 weeks of age. Brooding Maintain a heat source for baby chicks in the first few weeks. During the first few weeks of life, baby chicks will need to have a heat source, as they are too young to regulate their body temperature. This stage is called the brooding period. For the first month, keep chicks indoors providing 1 square foot of floor space for each bird. Provide 2 square feet per bird in the second month. Place bedding materials, such as wood shavings, on the floor for litter. Replace the shavings often when it becomes wet and hard packed. Maintain a temperature of 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit by placing a light source such as an infrared bulb or an electric heat lamp at one end of the housing area. Lower the temperature by 5 degrees Fahrenheit weekly.

Housing During hot months keep a fan blowing over broilers. When the broilers are fully feathered, at around 3 to 5 weeks of age, they seldom require heat. When the broilers are over 4 weeks of age, maintain a temperature of 60 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. In extremely cold weather, supplemental heating may be required, and in very hot weather, use fans to circulate the air. House broilers in a broiler house with 4 to 6 inches of litter or outdoors in a fenced in area with a shelter. Feed and Water Keep fresh clean water in front of broilers at all times. For the first four weeks, feed baby chicks a starter feed with 23 percent protein. At four to eight weeks, feed a grower feed with 19 percent protein. Keep feeders full at all times when starting baby chicks, until they learn to eat. When they start eating, keep feeders about three-fourths full to avoid feed waste. Broilers must have fresh water at all times, and you should change the water every day. Clean the water feeder once a day as chickens will inevitably drop feed into their water.

If baby chicks cannot find their water, gently place their beaks in the water. Health Change bedding frequently to keep broiler housing sanitary. Maintain a clean housing unit and change wet litter to prevent breast blisters and diseases such as internal parasites. Purchase feed that has a coccidiostat, which is a medication to prevent coccidiosis. This disease commonly kills young chicks by attacking the intestinal tract. To prevent feather pecking and cannibalism, make sure that the birds are not crowded, are getting the proper nutrients, have adequate ventilation and plenty of food and water. Like cute animals? Follow Cuteness.com on Facebook for more AWWs and LOLs. Related Articles Animal Welfare for Broiler Chickens - The National Chicken Council Home » Industry Issues » Animal Welfare for Broiler Chickens Animal Welfare for Broiler Chickens Consumers want to be sure that all animals being raised for food are treated with respect and are properly cared for during their lives. The people and companies involved in raising chickens for food share the public’s concern. They recognize that they have an ethical obligation to make sure that the animals on their farms are well cared for.

The chicken industry has come together on a specific set of expectations that will ensure that the birds they raise are taken care of with the highest standards starting at hatch. Since healthy, top-quality animals are needed for food, proper treatment is not only an ethical obligation, but it just makes good business sense. Carefully formulated feed, access to a plentiful supply of clean water, adequate room to grow, professional veterinary attention, and proper handling are all important factors in the management of young meat chicken flocks, also referred to as broilers, and the production of high-quality food products. To assist the people and the companies who produce and process chickens for food, the National Chicken Council developed the NCC Animal Welfare Guidelines and Audit Checklist which have been widely adopted within the chicken industry. These guidelines cover every phase of the chicken’s life and offers science-based recommendations for proper treatment. Among other things, it includes chapters on: Corporate commitment Ability to display most normal behaviors On-farm best practices Top management must sign off on the program. Company must have a person or management group in charge of animal welfare throughout company. Those involved in handling live animals must be trained annually. Abuse of the animals is not tolerated under any circumstances.

Stocking density is limited based on size of the individual bird. Ammonia in atmosphere and moisture in litter are limited. Humane handling required at catching. Wing and leg damage are limited and monitored. Birds protected from extremes of temperature in transportation and holding and provided with ventilation. All birds must be dead before entering the scalder. Culled birds to be humanely euthanized. “Major non-conformance” (live chicken in hatchery waste, abuse of birds, live bird in DOA bin, live bird through scalder) results in audit failure until problem is corrected. NCC’s Animal Welfare program is backed up by a detailed audit checklist that can be completed by the company itself, by a customer representative, or a third-party auditor. Click to download the complete audit checklist for Broilers and Broiler-Breeders . The Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) trains auditors to the NCC program, and use of PAACO-trained auditors is recommended. The National Chicken Council represents companies that produce, process and market chickens for their meat. We do not represent companies that produce and sell eggs for human consumption. The egg industry has its own organization and its own welfare standards.

Chickens get plenty of feed and all the water they can drink, delivered by automatic systems. Housing Broilers (young meat chickens) are not raised in cages. They are raised in large, open structures known as growout houses. These houses are well-equipped with mechanical systems to deliver feed and water to the birds and have environmental systems to provide a comfortable and protective environment, including ventilation systems and heaters that function as needed, most often with micro-processor controls. The earthen floor of the house is covered with bedding material consisting of organic matter such as wood chips, rice hulls, or peanut shells. Because dry bedding helps maintain flock health, most growout houses have enclosed watering systems rather than open troughs, because enclosed systems (“nipple drinkers”) reduce spillage and help keep the litter dry. Broiler breeding flocks that provide fertile eggs for the hatchery are also carefully managed. Since these hens lay the eggs that become the broilers for market, it is critically important that the flock be kept productive with minimum stress. Breeding hens are also kept in large, open houses, not in cages. Keeping birds inside a house protects them from predators such as hawks and foxes.

Some houses are equipped with curtain walls, which can be rolled up in good weather to admit natural light and fresh air. In that case, a fine mesh screen keeps insects, rodents and wild birds out of the house and away from the broilers. Such biosecurity measures are critical to ensuring the health of the flock. Most growout houses built in recent years feature “tunnel ventilation,” in which a bank of fans draws fresh air through the house. Tunnel ventilation significantly improves the bird’s atmosphere and litter quality helping to maintain the health of the birds. Space Traditionally, a flock of broilers consist of about 20,000 birds in a growout house that measures 400 feet long and 40 feet wide, thus providing an area of about 16,000 square feet, or eight-tenths of a square foot per bird. As the birds age, they grow into this space. The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) states that the minimum space is one-half square foot per bird, so industry practice is well in excess of this space requirement. By nature, as the old saying goes, the birds do tend to flock together.

More modern houses are often larger and contain more birds, but the floor space allotment still meets the needs of the birds. Extra feeding and watering equipment can be installed to accommodate the larger floor space. Because broilers are relatively young and have not reached sexual maturity, they exhibit very little aggressive conduct and engage in little of the social interaction known as “pecking order.” As one academic paper put it, “Broilers are very docile and are also marketed at such an early age that they have not yet formed a dominance hierarchy.” (Joy Mench and Paul Siegel, “Animal Welfare Issues: Poultry”) Feed Chicken feed consists primarily of corn and soybean meal with the addition of essential vitamins and minerals. No hormones or steroids are allowed in raising chickens. Water Water is usually drawn from a well on the farm or from a municipal water supply and is pumped into the house to be available to the chickens as desired. Veterinary Attention Every broiler company employs or contracts with professional veterinarians to care for the health needs of the birds. The farmers and company service personnel monitor the birds for any health problems and promptly inform the company veterinary staff so that appropriate action can be taken. Several medications are approved by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat health problems in broiler chickens. A withdrawal period is provided before the birds are sent to the processing plant to make sure any medication residue is removed from the birds’ systems. Bird health in American flocks is protected by trained personnel. Proper Handling Company personnel are required to handle the birds in an appropriate manner during pickup and arrival at the processing plant. Birds that display bruises are not allowed to have those bruised parts sold for human food, so the companies have a strong economic incentive to make sure that birds are handled properly. Humane Slaughter After arrival at the plant, birds are anesthetized with a mild electric current and then humanely slaughtered. The stunning renders the birds insensitive to pain. In a typical system, the anesthetized birds are passed by a device that severs the carotid and/or jugular arteries. This whole process takes place in seconds. Breeding Today’s broiler chicken is a combination of several breeds. Desirable characteristics include white feathers (to give the skin a clear appearance) and abundant breast meat. Breeding is done in the traditional manner. There is no “genetic engineering” or “genetic modification” in the chicken industry.

Inoculation Birds are subject to a variety of diseases, just as humans are. Just like humans, they receive inoculations against the diseases for which vaccines are available. Most broiler companies now use a machine which injects the vaccines into the egg during the incubation period. The chicken embryo absorbs the vaccine during its final three days of growth in the egg. After the chicks are hatched, they pass through another machine which sprays them with a light mist containing another inoculation against other diseases. Ventilation Most chicken growout houses are located in the South, in the so-called “Broiler Belt” stretching from Delaware to Texas. While the South has the advantage of mild winters, it is also subject to periods of very hot weather in the summer. If the environment in a growout house is not properly maintained, this could lead to extensive mortality of the broilers who lack sweat glands and are unable to regulate their own temperature. The solution has been the installation of large fans in conjunction with tunnel ventilation that keeps air moving throughout the house. Many growout houses are also equipped with evaporative cooling pads or other system that put moisture into the air. This causes a cooling of the air passing over the birds. These innovations have greatly reduced hot-weather mortality.

In sum, broiler companies are well aware of their responsibility to treat birds in a responsible and humane manner. They also have strong economic incentives to do so. Criticism of industry practices comes largely from people who are opposed to using animals for food under any circumstances, a philosophy that is not accepted by the vast majority of Americans. The National Chicken Council is the trade association, based in Washington, DC, for the companies that raise broiler chickens and make and market chicken products. Member companies of NCC provide about 95 percent of the chicken products on America’s table. © 2012 - NATIONAL CHICKEN COUNCIL 1152 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 430, Washington, D.C. 20005-2622 Phone (202) 296-2622 Modern Meat Chicken Industry — Poultry — Penn State Extension Modern Meat Chicken Industry The modern broiler industry has developed a hybrid that is unlike any other breed. The initial breeds used in modern broiler hybrids were Cornish and Plymouth Rocks. Today’s broiler can achieve a 5-pound market weight in five weeks.

Forty years ago, it took 10 weeks to achieve a 4-pound market weight. These advances are the result of scientific progress in genetic, nutritional, and environmental research. Primary Breeders The primary breeder flocks are owned by an international breeder company. These flocks produce highly efficient breeding lines (parent lines) that are sold to the integrated broiler companies. Chicks are hatched at the breeder’s hatchery and then sold and delivered to the integrated companies’ parent breeding farms. Parent Stock Breeders Once the chicks arrive at the integrated company’s breeder growing farm, the birds are raised to 20 weeks of age under environmentally controlled conditions. Controlling the length of daylight is extremely important. Breeders do not receive more than 10 hours of light daily as they are growing so they are not prematurely stimulated to lay eggs. During the 20 weeks of the grow-out, each bird will eat 30-35 pounds of feed and will grow to 6-8 lbs. Once they reach 20 weeks of age, they are transported to the breeder farm. The parent breeders are the birds that produce the fertile eggs that will become the broiler chickens that are harvested for meat.

Breeders are raised in open floor houses with automatic watering, feeding, and egg collection systems. Males and females are allowed to mate naturally. Females begin producing eggs around 24 weeks of age and will lay efficiently for 40 weeks per cycle. An average broiler breeder female will lay 150-180 eggs in a year. Hatching eggs When the broiler breeder female reaches 24 weeks of age, she will be laying. It takes a female between 24 and 32 hours to produce a fertile egg. The eggs are automatically collected daily, transported to the hatchery, and stored at 55-65° F and 70% humidity until they are set in the incubator. The eggs are held here for about three to 10 days prior to being placed in an incubator. One fertile hatching egg is worth $.28 each and weighs around 65g. Incubation Most Integrated companies own their own hatchery to produce the chicks. Incubators will hold thousands of eggs in a very controlled environment. They are then transferred into hatching baskets. On the 21st day the chicks hatch.

Hatching After the chicks hatch, they are removed from the hatchers and processed before being taken to the grow-out farm. Processing of broiler chickens include sexing (separating the males and females if the company raised the two sexes separately) and vaccination. They are then counted and placed in baskets for delivery to the farm within 12 hours of hatch. A broiler chick is worth about $.36 and weights around 44g. Grow-out The chicks are then placed in floor rearing houses where they are raised under environmentally controlled conditions. Ventilation of the broiler house is critical for controlling temperature and humidity in the grow-out house. Birds are grown to different sizes depending on the market they are meant to fill. On average a broiler consumes about 9 pounds of feed (current cost of about $1.50 or $.30/pound) and reaches 5 pounds (live weight) in 5 weeks. When the birds reach the desired weight, a company catching crew will catch and load the birds onto trucks to be transported to the processing plant. The catching crew takes a great deal of care in carefully handling the birds to prevent bruises or injury.

Harvesting At the processing plant, birds are humanely slaughtered as quickly as possible. After slaughter, the feathers, offal, head, legs, and other items are removed so that they have a whole dressed carcass ready for sale or to send onto further processing. The cost of processing a broiler is about $.18 per pound. The wholesale price for a whole broiler is about $.53 per pound. Further Processed Products This is where we make the product more convenient as well as add value to the product. In the meat industry, further processing means something is done to the whole carcass such as cut-up, deboning, and fabricating poultry meat into value-added products. The cut-up operation is often done at the processing plant. However, some companies ship the whole carcasses to the further processing plant for specialized cut-up. Cut-up is where machines cut the whole carcass into individual parts. Deboning is where the bones are removed from specific parts to produce items like breast filets or other boneless products. Value added refers to fabricating the carcass into consumer-ready products that requires additional time or labor.

These products usually involve seasoning, breading, sauces, and marinating, as well as special packaging to meet market demands for convenient products. The added value result in higher margins and profits while providing a large product choice for the consumer. Broiler Chickens Fact Sheet // Animals Australia Videos Broiler Chickens Fact Sheet Every year in Australia alone, over half a billion chickens are raised and slaughtered for meat. Only around 15% of chickens are raised 'free range' in Australia (and about half of that is also 'organic'). *Australian Chicken Meat Federation estimate for 2010/11 History Intensification of the broiler chicken industry started in the late 1950's, when the use of 'dual purpose' chickens for egg and meat production ceased and new poultry strains were produced specifically for meat production. For example, in 1950/51, only 3 million broilers were raised commercially, and now over 400 million are raised and killed in Australia each year. In addition to the breeding program to grow chickens faster (and so cheaper), demand was also growing, and for example Kentucky Fried Chicken opened its first Australian store in 1968, and increased chicken consumption radically.

In the early 1970s in just 12 months as 75 Kentucky Fried Chicken stores opened, Australian production of chicken increased 38%. The result of the narrowly focused breeding programs has been a bird which grows twice or three times as fast as a normal chicken and converts its food into meat in a much more 'efficient' way. Most are raised under intensive systems and reach slaughter weight at 5-7 weeks of age. As a consequence the price of chicken meat has declined and consumption has risen several fold. To achieve the economies of scale to allow ever cheaper production the broiler industry is concentrated primarily with only a few very large companies in Australia, and is totally integrated - from growing and manufacturing the high protein feed needed for the chickens, breeding the chicks (about 6 million breeder 'parent' birds in Australia), contracting the 'growers' to raise them in large sheds, to mechanized slaughtering and processing plants. Three large integrated companies supply about 80% of Australia's broiler chickens - Inghams Enterprises, Bartter Enterprises and Baiada. The modern phenomenon of "cheap chicken" comes at enormous costs to the welfare of the animals involved.

Intensive selective breeding Over 50 years ago it took 98 days for a chicken to grow to 1.6kg. By 1986, due to selective breeding, it only took 37 days. Baby birds, who still chirp and have soft feathers, have the bodies of adult birds. This unnatural growth rate puts enormous pressure on the heart and immature skeleton and is the cause of many health problems. Extreme selection pressure for large breast muscles has further distorted the anatomy of these animals and puts great pressure on their developing legs. They often therefore crouch down with their large breast on the floor of the shed. This frequent contact with the floor of the shed may lead to painful ulceration of the skin known as 'breast blister'. Lameness caused by dislocation of joints and bone fractures are major and unavoidable consequence of selective breeding for increased growth rates. Many birds are unable to walk or even stand up well, resulting in "hockburn" as they waddle around in the damp ammonia-soaked litter. Skin problems are exacerbated by the progressive build up of moisture and droppings in the litter.

Around 2% of birds die in the sheds from illness, trauma and starvation when they are unable to reach food and water, or are trampled by other birds. Selective breeding for rapid growth rates has also led to a syndrome associated with inability of the heart to adapt to the rapid increase in the body. Called Acute Death Syndrome (ADS) or Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), the cause of death is heart failure and pulmonary oedema, with the animals essentially drowning due to fluid accumulation in the lungs. Housing A typical facility may house 300,000 birds at a time with 40,000 - 60,000 birds per shed. Contracted 'growers' for the large companies therefore each grow several million birds annually. The inside of a broiler chicken shed The chickens live on the ground on litter (wood shavings, rice hulls etc) in huge sheds. Overcrowding is a major problem as stocking densities of 20 birds or 40kg per square metre are allowed are this is common towards the end of their short life in the shed..

This includes space for feeding and watering equipment, which means that for birds that are slaughtered at 2 kilograms, each has the equivalent of 500 square centimetres floor space (less than the size of an A4 page). As the chickens near their target weight the floor of the shed can barely be seen as it is carpeted with birds. The sheds are dimmed to keep the birds as inactive as possible so that food conversion is maximised and pecking and fighting through frustration and over-crowding minimized. The production system is "all-in/all-out" which means that for the whole of the 5 - 7 weeks that the birds are in the shed the droppings are allowed to accumulate on the floor. As the chickens grow the air may become polluted with ammonia, dust, bacteria and fungal spores which cause health problems for both people and chickens. Transportation At approximately 5-7 weeks of age, chickens have reached the 'target' weight for slaughter. Before catching the chickens to be transportation for slaughter, food is withdrawn for 8-12 hours and water for 1 hour.

Catchers walk through the sheds at night grabbing birds by one leg and carrying them in bunches (up to five each hand) to crates. They are then bundled into the crates and stacked onto a truck. Humane handling is impossible as catchers must handle 300-500 birds per hour. Many of the birds already have fractures and dislocations and this process adds significantly to their pain. Once on the truck, the chickens, who have spent their entire lives in dim sheds are then exposed to traffic noise and at times also temperature extremes. Some will die during transportation due to rough handling or in summer due to heat stroke if the truck ventilation is poor. Other causes of death include heart failure, trauma and blood loss due to hemorrhage into dislocated hip joints resulting from the rough catching process. As with all animals and birds factory-farmed in Australia, the first glimpse that they will have the outside world is likely to be on their way to be slaughtered. Each year in Australia almost 1 million chickens are estimated to die during transport to the slaughterhouse.

Of those that survive, some 14 million may have fractures (3%) and over 20 million chickens (4.5%) may have dislocated hips when they arrive for slaughter (based on UK studies using similar birds and transport systems). Slaughter When the trucks arrive at the slaughterhouse, chickens are pulled from the crates and shackled upside down by their feet into metal stirrups on an overhead conveyor.. The conveyor carries them into the killing room where their heads pass through an electrified water bath intended to stun them. As they pass along further, an automatic knife cuts their throat, and then they proceed into a scalding tank to loosen their feathers before plucking. Unfortunately things do not always run smoothly. Some birds lift their heads and miss the electrified water bath and they are therefore still fully conscious when they reach the automatic knife. Some birds may also miss the knife and are then lowered into the 50 degree scalding tank while still alive. Back-up people are supposed to cut the throats of the chickens that miss the automatic knife, but due to the emphasis on speed in the processing plants this may not always occur. There are no animal welfare inspectors onsite to ensure that the slaughter process is humane.

Australian Model Code of Practice The Australian Model Code of Practice for Domestic Poultry provides some general guidelines for the management of meat chickens and recognizes that "the basic requirement for the welfare of poultry is a husbandry system appropriate to their physiological and behavioural needs". The reality of life for 'broiler hens' could not be further from this "ideal" and there are no guidelines within this Code that in any way provide for all the physiological and behavioural needs of chickens. Once again the primary purpose of this Code is to give industry operators exemptions from being prosecuted under state animal protection laws. Raising Broilers on Pasture Broilers Raising Broilers on Pasture Cumberland County Extension Educator Dick Brzozowski provided these plans for a portable chicken coop, or "chicken tractor," at MOFGA's Small Farm Field Day last August. By Richard J. Brzozowski Raising broiler chicks on pasture can be profitable, and can require few inputs.

The system involves purchasing day-old broiler chicks (meat type birds) in late May or June, keeping them in a brooder for three weeks, where they receive ample heat, fresh air, feed and water; then transferring the birds to portable hoop houses, where they have access to pasture and are given some grain and fresh water daily. To find waterers and feeders, check Uncle Henry’s or your recycling center before paying full price for new ones. Wash used feeders with soap and water, then sterilize them with a mixture of 95% water and 5% bleach before using them. A few tricks can help ensure that most of your chicks survive. Put an extra chain on the heat lamp in the brooder as insurance against burning down a building. Put marbles in the bottom of a small waterer to attract the chicks and enable them to know where the waterer is. Use shavings instead of sawdust in the brooder, because the former are more absorbent. Don’t use cedar shavings, since they are too expensive and may not be good for chicks.

Do not clean out the old shavings; instead, add clean shavings on top of the old ones each week so that the old shavings and droppings are not stirred up and spreading pathogens among the chicks. The hoop house provides protection from extremes of sun and wind. It is moved each day to provide fresh grass and clover to the birds. You can move it more frequently if you have poor or wet pasture. Not only do the birds get fresh pasture when they are moved, but movement limits their exposure to their feces, so problems with pathogens are minimized. This hoop house system is a little different from the “chicken tractor” used by famous poultry pasturer Joel Salatin. Salatin uses a 10' x 12' rectangular box that is 2' high. Half of it is covered with light weight metal roofing and the other half is covered with chicken wire. With this design, you cannot see the chickens all of the time, and you cannot get in with them. Any barrier to observing the birds will slow you down. Also, Salatin’s chicken tractor cannot be used for anything else, whereas the hoop house can be used for protecting crops as well as chicks (but not at the same time).

MOFGA's Rick Kipp built this chicken tractor for MOFGA's Unity site. English photo. Wheels can be placed under the end of the "tractor" when it is to be moved. English photo. As Kipp moves the potable coop with a dolly, the feeder at the front of the coop moves too – and, if poultry were in the coop, they would tend to follow the feed. This keeps them close to the front of the coop, so that they don't get crushed by the back end of the coop as it moves. English photo. Note that the birds will not graze a lot until the last two or three weeks of their lives. They prefer clover and weeds to grass, and if the grass is too high, they won’t eat it. Mow the area where the house will be moved if the grass exceeds 3 inches in height. The birds are raised for about eight weeks, when carcasses will weigh about six pounds. (Fryers are raised for about five or six weeks.) Grain is removed 24 hours before slaughter, then the birds can be slaughtered on the farm or at a custom processing site nearby.

You can request a free fact sheet on on-farm poultry slaughtering by calling the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Cumberland County at 1- 800-287-1471 or emailing rbrz@umext.maine.edu. Advantages Pasturing poultry is a short-term project: six weeks for fryers; eight weeks for broilers; and 10 to 12 weeks for roasters. It is an inexpensive way to raise meat birds. The $100 investment for the structure is one of the major expenses, and the structure will last through many cycles of birds. Be sure to buy galvanized chicken wire; it will last longer than the non-galvanized. Pasturing provides a clean, reduced-stress environment with plenty of fresh air and room to move. The birds are easy to observe daily and the grower need spend only about 15 minutes per day per house. At the end of the cycle, one day will be needed for processing, or one-half day if they are being processed at a custom processor. Not only will poultry thrive under this system, but so will pastures. The birds fertilize your fields as they are moved.

Beak trimming is not necessary when birds have sufficient space and feed. Beak trimming is typically used on chickens that will be kept to full maturity (such as laying hens). Possible Problems Some chicks may be lost during the brooding period due to genetic factors or disease. Modern breeds have been bred for a commercial industry that demands fast growth; consequently, some are prone to heart attacks or weak legs. As soon as you see a droopy chick, rogue it out. Birds may be lost to predators that dig under the house. To minimize this problem, run a single-strand electric fence around the house on six size C flashlight batteries. The fence should be 4 to 8 inches from the ground. When the house is being moved, chicks can be injured if they get “run over” by the back sill of the house. To help prevent this, put a tarp over the front of the house; and fill the feeder before you move the house. As the feeder moves, so will the birds. Also, watch the birds carefully as the house moves. The chickens learn fairly quickly that when the house moves, they move.

Limitations The 140-square-foot hoop house in this design can hold about 70 birds (two square feet per bird). It could also be used to house about 20 laying hens, if roosts were added. However, layers and meat birds will not do well together, because they eat different rations. Level land is needed so that the house sits firmly on the ground and can be moved easily. Even with a hand cart (dolly), you’ll need physical strength to lift and pull the house. Summer is the best time to raise broilers with this method in our climate. When storms threaten, you may have to cover the whole house with a tarp. About the author: Richard is an Extension Educator with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Cumberland Co. Extension Office, PO Box 9300, Portland ME 04104-9300; 1-800-287-1471; rbrz@umext.maine.edu. He gives presentations at many MOFGA events. Richard raises 60 broilers each year for consumption by his own family and neighbors.

Economics of Pastured Broilers By the time the first batch of chickens is sold, all of the input costs will be covered. The following items are needed to raise one batch of 65 birds. Equipment (costs can be spread over several batches of birds for several years] Hoop house materials

Question: A broiler is a chicken raised for?
Answer: Eating