Apparently my wife has a recessive (or is it latent?) farmer gene which is starting to manifest itself. Says she wants me to build her a small coop so she can raise chickens. What the %!&@? Guys, is this at all worth it for a few eggs and a breast (chicken that is ) every now and again? I do eat a lot of eggs and like chicken breast. Just not sure I want to raise these dumb birds and have them [bleep] all over the lawn and deck and such. Next year she wants a bee hive! Where does it end?


Jordab

no chickens, but a started a bee hive this year.

will it payoff?

prob not, but something to do.

Seems you're pretty busy sucking safariman cock.

good third grade reply.

Not worth it.

Greg, you are 100% right, but not many hobbies are.

Sorry, I figured I was dealing with an idiot that is happy letting Christians [bleep] others. Am I wrong?

Let me guess, turn the other cheek? What if you are out of cheeks?

You'll have skunks,foxes,coyotes,neighborhood dogs,cats,hawks and then the two-legged scoundrels looking for free chicken eggs and breasts.

Totally worth it. They're easy as hell. And nothing compares to fresh eggs.

going for the "I Ruined the Most Threads" Award?

you are getting better than later it gets, most be the pills/booze kicking in.

I've got 3...
Little Sandra-dee , the carnivore, Duey, the retard and Shadow the herder.
Chicken crap is good fertilizer and if you haven't learned by now, what makes your wife happy makes you happy.
I entertain all my wife's little adventures. If it succeeds, its due to my help and she appreciates it, if it fails its her lack of participation and I have something to hold over her head when I want something.

Fresh eggs are so much better than store bought. Have neighbors and friends that raise chickens..no need for me too.

but for you small chicken coops

besides I have Labradors...birds don't last long

If you have to keep them confined in a pen, the stink they make isn't worth it to me. If tou can let them out during the day and put them in a coup at night they arn't too bad. If you have room for one of the chicken tractors they might not be too bad because you keep them moving and don't let the stink accumulate in one place.

Troof!

Got 5 and will get 2 more of the green egg layers this week. Love them fresh aigs.

Quite a bit of work, to enjoy fresh eggs and/or meat. You will have to defend them, smell them, walk around their droppings, feed and water, keep 'em warm or cool, etc..
The alternative is to buy eggs from a local farmer or your local market.
But you'll never know unless you try it yourself.
Good luck

If you have the room,they are worth it. Not so much if they free range around the house.If you can keep them away from the house,they are hell on bugs. Eggs definitely taste ebtter than caged chickens.

Egg production goes down and sometimes quits altogether in the winter and it's a pa in to keep water from frezing.

If you buy chicks,buy the sexed ones instead of standard runs that can be 50% roosters.You don't need any roosters unles you plan to let a few hens set and hatch eggs.

You will also need to learn how ot cull the nonlayers,which is easy.Yellow vent ,not laying. Blue event laying. 6 laying hens wilkeep you in eggs, but by a dozen so you can cull and some will just up and die on you for no good reason.

Having a few chickens is getting to be a big thing in a lot of towns now. It's not just a country thing anymore.

I may as well feed the trolls

I am always looking for the free chickidy breasts but not the chicken type

I had 10 egg layers last week, now I have 5. I get 2 eggs a day and most likely from the 2 young ones. I love the free range orange egg yokes. My wife and son love the eggs too. Our biggest problem is they get into the mulch and dig everything up and dump on the front porch too. The neighbors dog went and killed at least two and the coons got the other 3. Make a coop nothing can get into and let them out a few hrs before dark. They go back in by themselves. I dont like the birds we have now. They are beautiful black birds but freak out and are hyper birds. We have 6 egg layers and 40 meat birds coming Tuesday. We are getting California WHites for egg layers cause they are very calm and lay eggs like crazy. A dog house off Craigslist with a chain link fence is cheaper than something you can make., and then ya dont have to make it neither. Ya will have to trap coons every year to keep them out of the coop unless ya can really keep these things out. Here is coon # 7 in the last week. When it is warm out, they dont need to be fed much at all from grass and bugs all day, just a few handfuls of corn will do. So, eggs are very cheap all summer. Up here in winter they dont lay eggs much at all form December to mid March.

I don't think we were ever without chickens growing up. I really disliked them. Not sure why, but they annoyed me. Now, I would kinda like to have some. I'm not sure its worth it for me though, it would be a full time job defending them from the foxes,coyotes,skunks,fishers etc never mind hawks and eagles. I would love to let them out to just roam around eating bugs and such, but I don't think they would last long. Maybe some day when I have more time at home.

Only way you can get skinny, yellow, delicious chicken is to throw the young some alfalfa if they are raised in a pen. Good fried chicken is worth more than eggs.

Its not a financial proposition. Its something she want to do. Support her. It will keep her more than busy and you will have plenty of free time for your own pursuits.

Hard question to answer Rob without knowing more about your setup. How much room have you got and such. Real eggs are the best especially if you have room to free range the chickens.

Financially, the answer is no. You can't beat farmers at their own game for the most part, otherwise they'd be doing it that way already.

In every other aspect, the answer is yes. And since it is your wife's project, why wouldn't you already have facilitated her? When momma's happy, everybody's happy!

yes

If you don't make the effort to keep the chickens safe, then it is not worth it. Nothing like homegrown eggs and meat. There is also a good entertainment value plus if you make them a kid's project they learn a lot about responsibility for care of animals.

During the winter months egg production will drop off or stop, but we put a light on a timer in the coop to artificially extend daylight hours so they will keep laying.

An electric element keeps the water from freezing in the winter.

Some of the baby chicks we got early this spring.

I was thinking about those little chickens ya got Roundoak. Have ya lost any and are the kids still liking them? Also, do you ever hear from that guy that "borrowed" a chunk of your wood pile? I hope he is doing well.

Keeping one's wife happy, within reason and I would place chickens there, is good business IME.

Meat chickens only take 6 or 7 weeks to grow and they're done and in the freezer (does your wife like strangling chickens?). They'll cost more than Costco's chickens but they're worth it.
Layers are worth it if you don't mind paying $12/doz for eggs.

Definitely worth it. Especially if the wife's doing the work. I'd get a few more than you want. Always end up loosing one or two. We bought 12 still have nine. Usually have 7 eggs a day. Enough for our use and a some friends, etc.

A bag of feed lasts a while, and the manure is great for your lawn, garden, etc.

Chickens are easy. They don't really "pay out" but the ability to have fresh eggs is great. Also, if you plan on butchering them later it's nice to know what they have (and haven't) been fed. It's also a great tool for kids. Mine love getting the eggs and helping put them up at night.

You mention them crapping on your deck, etc. If you're worried about that chickens aren't really much of a problem. Ducks and geese on the other hand are different. They'll walk a half mile to crap on the sidewalk.

Lost a couple chicks and yes, the kids are still enjoying them and surprisingly, they learned about the bird flu endemic and thought the two chicks died because of it. Lots of questions which shows they care.

The young man you refer to and his family are doing well...thanks for asking.

Wayne

Penned in a small space the yes the eggs can get expensive. A free range chicken will forage around 80% or it's feed. When you add the fact the will eat kitchen scraps then the cost goes way down.

Daughter and SIL recently just completed a fenced in pen made out of an old tool shed. Everyone chips in with the feeding and cleanup and Mom makes sure it is done right.

Started with 5 hen chicks. One of which turned out to have a pretty good set of pipes and had to go back for an exchange. After watching the fun they are having, I'm thinking those Chickens are going to give more than eggs.

Keeping the cats, coons, mink, weasels, dogs and what-not out is not for the timid. Would be easier in a townie setting than out where we get run over by coons. A 40 lb plus boar coon gets into wherever he wants into......

I have a dozen or so ranging around the house. Lock them up at night. I get 1 year old layers every spring and make soup out of them in the fall. Yes get chickens.

They're stupid easy.

Had three, my dog killed one. Bag of $14 feed lasts a couple or three months easy. I usually get two eggs a day. Probably 10 a week average.

I usually let them out for the day when I'm around. Little fuggers follow me everywhere.

BTW- if you free range, be careful of what is out. I ferried the garden with fish fertilizer and the birds must of gotten into it. We had a few eggs that tasted like rotten salmon azz.

If you have some space, not a postage stamp lot, they are quite easy. Make a fenced pen 6 feet high and they need a house to roost in and layer nests. You have to buy feed, but they also are garbage disposals, they will eat almost anything. Two things I've done that help a lot, one is a waterer that is a bucket suspended about a foot above the floor in the house that has watering valves. They learn to hit te little levers with their beaks and they drink. No mess, just keep water in it. The second was pricey, but I bought an automatic door to the house. It's photo-operated,pens in the morning daylight, closes at dark. No worries, no intruders. Oh, and use a light on a timer in the winter. Set it so they have 12 hours of "light" and you'll have eggs all year.

Roosters will do that sometimes... you need to make some dumplings to go with them!

Being serious, keep small children away from them, they can really hurt a child with their spurs.

Dayum. You're kinda smart, for an illiterate Neanderthal.

those 2 roosters would not live to see sunset at my house.....

Buy started pullets that are about ready to lay. Chicks are getting more expensive and you have to feed them for 5 months before you get eggs. Consider buying hybrids since they lay more and eat less than the traditional breeds.
Leave a light on in the winter to keep them laying. Collect eggs often to discourage hens from eating their own eggs.We have had chickens for 20 years and they have a big payback after your intial investment is covered.

Daughter sent me this e-mail of my Grandson's anatomical description of his Chicken.



Translation:

Fact complete:
Name: Fluffy Bunny

Head
Wings
Legs
Body

My earliest memories are of living with my Grandparents. No other kids around to play with, so I would go out to the Chicken coup and play with the chickens. I can still see the shafts of light coming thru holes and the dust swirling. That and turning Granddads Rabbits loose or sitting in the middle of his strawberry patch and plucking them off.

One plus of chickens is they eat dog poop, I think this gives their eggs especially yellow yolks

The LEAST effort chickens, just to have chickens around are what, for want of a better term, I call "fighting chickens", the sort bred for the pit. Common as dirt in parts of San Antonio.

Way back in the 70's we had some at our place up in NY, a rental quarters attached to a boarding stable. We got 'em from a relative of a relative up in Vermont who was parting out his stock in case he got raided or robbed.

The hens especially can fly like pheasants, and at feeding time will come flapping and gliding in 6ft off of the ground. They hide their nests off in the bushes too and eventually emerge all broody mothering around 12 or fifteen camouflaged chicks.

Ended up having so many I would go out and break up nests, or collect the eggs if they didn't have creatures in 'em yet.

That lasted for about a year. I don't believe the coons got 'em, they would roost way up in trees. I think it was the owls that finally figured them out as they suddenly started rapidly dwindling.

The rooster was the among the last to go, he was a good rooster too; handsome and friendly, red and black, with combs that had had been cut off in preparation for fighting. Spurs grow back, combs do not.

Birdwatcher.

Does she have the stones to to lop off Henrietta's head, or will that fall on you?

It's like buying a puppy, no matter how much the kids insist they will pick up the puppy-chow, plan on picking up puppy-chow.

Uh...thanks?

Rob, I hope you go through with it.
Chickens really are easy to have around. We have had egg layers around for years. Love them fresh eggs:)
The one thing I did different this year was get some dual purpose breeds, Buff Orpingtons and Columbian Wyandottes. They are cold weather hardy, give good egg production, and grow to a good size for butchering.

You get to chop their heads off and eat them.try that with cats or dogs, everybody gets so pizzed off its not even funny.

But chickens, nobody cares.

So worth it.

The plucking sucks, but the rest is pretty easy.

If you have ever watched how chickens are grown and processed, you will grow your own for the freezer. Maybe it should be a different thread.

I read somewhere that the hens don't need a rooster around to lay?

If true, I could live without roosters around. I'm not gonna have chickens here in the 'burbs, but eventually I'm thinking a small country house after I retire.

We have chickens they are work at first but it get easier,worth it Yes.

Only need a rooster if you want to hatch the eggs. And be annoyed enough you eventually kill it anyway.

I like roosters.. Maybe I'm part mexican.

But there have been some that scared the bejabbers out of me.. Big fuggers, with charlie manson eyes. I would have ground sluiced them with a 12 ga. if they ever put their spurs on me.

Raising chickens would be good....as long as there aren't eggs for sale anywhere but by the time you go through all the trouble to set things up and then put up with the hassle of what follows....NO....raising chickens is more trouble than it's worth!

I enjoy having chickens. Lately I have kept two roosters with the hens instead of one. Maybe it's just me, but it seems they are more preoccupied with their competition that way and don't seem to attack us. Or maybe just an individual thing, especially when you have plenty of hens. Either way, it is not a money making venture, it is a hobby, with which you can save a few dollars here and there or recoup a few from selling eggs.

The last retard I had crowed all damn day. Every day. When he flogged my daughter I sent him to chicken hell.

I don't see the point in a rooster if you're not hatching eggs. But then, some don't see the point in raising chickens when you can buy eggs in the store.

Actually, watching a couple roosters running your wife around the yard can be quite entertaining! They never messed with me, just got after the wife and kids. All wife would have had to do was give them a swift kick, make them hurt, and they would have left her alone as well. I did keep my children close to me though, other wise they would have become chicken and noodles very quickly! LOL

As far for cheap eggs and chicken to eat, forget it unless you live in a rural area and can glean some corn fields after harvest for some free corn. Taste wise, you will never have better eggs and chicken from free ranged birds. I love to watch them chase crickets and bugs around too! If you have roosters, don't forget they start crowing before sun up and me prepared to deal with that. Story to follow......:)

My friend and his wife have chickens and she is always complaining about the roosters crowing at 5 AM and wanting to lop off their heads. This memorial weekend they went camping about an hours drive from here at a nice state park. (that means they were not home to keep the chicken thieves at bay) LOL

Buddy and myself went to their farm Saturday night, grabbed two of their roosters and caged them. Drove the hour drive there and put the cage of roosters under their camper about mid-night while they were sleeping. Have not talked with them, we normally get together on Saturadys. Can't wait to hear the story, especially when she figures out that they are her roosters! Yea, I can be a turd.

They may be her chickens,but you will do all the work.Chickens are the filthiest animals alive.You will collect the eggs.Clean the coop weekly and lay down fresh bedding.Buy the chicken feed,which by the way does not cost chicken feed.Make sure they have water.Put them out in the morning and lock them in at night.You will also need a enclosed room with heat lamps to raise the chicks into chickens.You do not buy full grown layers cause it takes until the second year before the start laying good and no one sells good layers.By the time you get eggs coming in good amounts you need to get $3.00 a dozen to break even and no one wants to pay three dollars a dozen cause the grocery store only charge $1.50.My suggestion is to save the time and work.Just drive down the highway with a basket full of 10 dollar bills and throw them out the window.At least then you are not feeding the coons,possums, snakes,owls,bla,bla,bla!!!!

I grew up with roosters around me, guess that's why it doesn't bother my sleep. When I lived in Mexico, there must have been 40+ in the neighborhood around me. I slept great.

I can even tolerate peacocks. Now that's the way to go nuclear with your neighbors..

EEEE-YOWWW!!! EEEE-YOOOW!! EEE-YOOOWW!

First time I ever heard a peacock I thought there was a kid trapped in a culvert. Never did find the kid, figured out WTF it was. I tried in vain to hit the damn things on the road but they never cooperated.

Guinee fowl are noisy also but eat the chit outa ticks.They actually lay a good sized egg and its tasty.

Chickens ain't so bad, they do tend to attract vermin( rats especially) but depending on how you feed them, and how good your coop is not too much problem. If you broadcast feed on the ground then rats will come from the next county. if dispensed in feeders , no worse then any other outdoor animal.
Fresh eggs and the occasional fresh breast are always good thing. plucking dead chickens ain't so fun. If you get a few guinea hens they will keep out most vermin , but drive some people crazy....
J.M.H.O.

I think Koalas take the cake in that category. But that is another thread altogether.

I say get the chickens, the wife will be happy and when you get tired of them you can eat them. What's not to like??

. You are my hero. Funniest thing I have read all day.

If you butcher one just right and leave the brain stem you can be on the covers of magazines and have parades every year for your chicken.

You could be a celebrity just like your bird, just like Mike the headless chicken from Fruita, CO.

http://time.com/3524433/life-with-mike-the-headless-chicken-photos-of-a-famously-tough-fowl/

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11178

Thanks all for the info---pro and con. 'Preciate it.

Avian flu will double if not triple egg prices this year. Millions of hens have been euthanized. Makes having a few hens around a good idea.

Any of you folks keep ducks?

Growing up relatives of ours who lived in the country always kept a few chickens and a small number of ducks.

They had a large pen, with a small stream running through, although the birds were allowed to forgage around the garden during the day.

Still to this day I prefer ducks eggs to those from chickens..

We've kept chickens for several years now. It is worth it to us. Over the last month we lost all of our hens to foxes...still have a rooster left. I found two fox dens last week so I got some killin' to do before we get more.

One plus of having a rooster is hens often lay more (eggs that is) compared to if there isn't a rooster. Not a huge increase and may vary between breeds.

We have guineas as well. Their eggs are smaller but very rich. They are tick control at it's finest. When we first moved in years ago we couldn't walk across our yard without having to pull ticks off our socks. After a couple of years of guineas we rarely see a tick. They are also much more wary of predators...and make a lot of noise.

I don't know f it's financially worth it. Eggs and chicken are fairly cheap.

I have a friend that lives in So. Eastern Ohio. He had a real problem with ticks on his property. He got 25 chickens, no more tick problem.

He says that when he tills his garden a troop will follow him. He has to protect his tomatoes and peppers, and the low hanging green beans get pecked off. No problem with te beans higher on the vine. He says he see's chickens picking slugs off his cabbages. He no longer seems to have a cut worm problem.

I've been thinking about it. I LOVE duck eggs and I love eating ducks.

Also figuring on getting a 2 turkeys and slaughtering them for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Of course my wife wants to get the chickens, lots of 'We really need to get some chickens' etc.

Of course WE means ME doing ALL the work

Depends how likely she is to promote them from "stock" to "pets"..Once stuff gets named, your on a slipperly slope as far as killing for the table goes...

If you can avoid that, and have a little natural water about the place, a few ducks don't won't to cause to much extra work..

The real draw back of any project like this is they tend to tie you ie who's going to feed and look after them if you wish to go away for a few days?

In addition to feeding, poultry really need somebody around morning and night to let them out, and then shut them up in the evenings..Finding somebody reliable to do that can be a bind..

We got a couple ducks last year that turned to both be drakes. Got a couple Rouen hens with the chicks this year. Might just be me, but the duck eggs I have had didn't seem to be much different from chicken eggs, just bigger.
And yes, you will need to protect your garden, and keep a rifle handy.
We let a hen set for a few weeks this spring as a kind of experiment. We discovered that a bantam rooster must be a little too "short" to fertilize a regular size hen:)

Which is actually a plus, it means I don't have to visit her family........

Get your turkeys soon.

The bird flu crap over in the plains caused the local fodder to dry up fast.

Which is surprising since the state is a major turkey producer.

I've raised chickens, quail, pheasants, ducks, turkey, Guinea fowl,and pigeons.

Chickens, ducks, pigeons and Guinea are easy to raise free range if you have enough land.

None of them are worth the effort if you have to keep them in pens.

Been keeping a small flock for years. I think it's well worth it for the egg quality vs store bought. PS you either do it for meat or eggs, not generally both. Completely different breeds. Egg breeds don't have much breast meat and meat birds are typically slaughtered before they start laying eggs.

As for predators, we have hawks, owls, cats, foxes, coons, opossums, and in the six years I've kept a free range flock, I lost one to a hawk during the day, and one to a coon. The coon lost hen was killed only because the hen chose that night to roost outside and I missed her at the head count when I locked them up at night. Generally they put themselves to roost at dusk and I just lock them up at night. During the day they roam within a fenced in back half acre away from the house. Clipping their flight feathers will keep them from flying over the fence and getting near your home.

Dude, you need to re-read Ringworm's advice on such matters. Guy's a fuggin' genius:

Doc,

Your Redhead is never falling for that crap any way you cut it

Your bestest PIA,

Lynn

I'm learning to listen to you and Sam more on such matters. With about 10 marriages between the two you must know something about women....

Ma'am, The Redhead would never go for such foolishness to begin with unless she intended for it to succeed, and then by God she would accomplish her objective. Hence any need I might have for such strategems is a theoretical exercise only.

In all seriousness, I am happy as hell for you and the Redhead.

It was about time you got Blessed by the Best

Thank you, ma'am. I found the best I could, seein' as you were off the market when I went lookin'...

Cecil56
OK what happened when they got home .
My girl friend wants to know if you made it out alive or not.

Haven't looked into the economics, but make sure you compare the costs of free range birds and eggs vs. the cheepest fosters farms fare. Having had fresh eggs from the coop as a kid, you just can't compare the quality to most of what you get in the store.

To me that is the real benefit of home guardening, fishing, hunting or raising stock. You get a premium fresh product that in many cases you simply can't buy.

This bit of man oath should be hung above every garage workbench throughout the kingdom.

We got 35 meat birds and 6 California White egg layers. My wife just hates our 5 chickens, but then she goes and orders these. Having chickens is just something we most likely will do forever. It is mostly my fault for loosing so many chickens this spring. I have to trap a dozen coons a yr to keep the coons in control. A few posts back someone mentioned a 40 lb coon goes where he wants. I know, I had a coon get out of my coon cuff trap last night. Roundoak, I noticed the white chickens had some black spots on them. Are those California WHites?

First off, I'm NOT the hero. It was my friend's idea and I played along. Just helped catch and cage the birds, then made the trip. I'm not used to the late hours, but it was worth it. We didn't get home until after 2 AM, I'm normally in bed by 10 PM.

Did get a call from another buddy to tell me the story today. (he was not in the know and I kept my lips zipped. They still have no idea who was behind the prank) We might keep it that way, beings there were only 2 of us involved. Now on to the good stuff.

Seems the roosters started crowing in a busy Memorial Weekend state park shortly before 5 AM. Love it! Guess all the neighboring campers were outside and wondering WTF. NOT happy campers at all. (the plan) Park officers there before 6:30 AM for the commotion. I hear one of the younger ones had a smirk on his face, the older one not so much. My buddy played stupid (which he was) then unhooked his pickup from the camper and drove the birds home. (wasted 3 hours of his day and he missed breakfast too) LOL!

He had it coming and it was well deserved. Years ago he dumped some skunk scent upwind of a family picnic I attended. Desert is best served cold you know! Just spoke with my partner in crime, we will play dumb and know nothing.

Guinea hens are hardier, great watchdogs, and will eat just about anything.

Thanks for the laugh.
Girl friends gunna love it to.

I keep guineas for ticks and bugs, chickens for eggs all free range. Got a big area for them. The chickens go into a coop at night and to lay and the guineas roost in the trees. The eggs are a whole lot better than store bought and folks are always wanting the extras. Never had a vermin issue and keep the coons shot down. Gnats are an issue

Then, 9 weeks later it's time!!!!! FFFFRRRREEEZZZEEERR camp. They go in tomorrow morning. They are the best eating chickens on earth. This is also the first time it will come out cheaper to raise them myself. Eggs are now $3.29 and whole chickens are $2.49 lb. I will get these for about $2.00 LB. This year it was really worth it.

The knowlege gained from knowing how and how much trouble wont' be bad knowledge to have at all.

Beyond that, we don't eat enough eggs to make it worth our while, only 2 of us, and don't need tons of extra cholesterol, dont' recall if eggs currently are good or bad, but like bacon with grease etc... moderation is best.

But I appreciate knowing how to do all of the stuff one might have to if the world flip flops ever....

Animals, grass, gardens, hunt, fish, can, smoke etc.... are all good thigns to have intimate knowledge of. Assuming one isn't living smack dab in some city.

Rob, I haven't read the whole thread but I bet I'm the tenth one [at least - to answer your question this way:

Of course your wife should raise chickens. She's already used to chickenschitt.

Tyson wont sell a skinny, yellow chicken. Hell no. His are too freaking covered in fat and never roam to get the greens with beta carotene and vitamin A that make a skinny yellow chicken delicious and why we started eating them in the first place. Kill the young roosters 3/4 grown and really enjoy fried chicken.

I have 29 meat birds and 6 egg layers in a 6x12 pen. I move it two times and sometimes 3 times a day so that can eat the clover. As soon as the pen gets moved they pick almost all the clover leaves in the pen. That gives them about 30% protein . This time around I gave them a bit more corn cause my chickens were a bit too lean. We will see how they turn out. I used to let them run but it seemed they grew more muscle and I thin that made them tough and stringy.

I think you folks should go ahead and try it. fresh chicken eggs are good but when boiled -the shells stick to the egg and are hard to peel. the shell treated eggs you buy in the store don't do this because they are at least a week or two old. fresh chicken tastes better, there is a difference. I raised broilers - 25 at a time for 4H, using broiler starter and broiler finisher commercial feed. rock Cornish cross worked well for me, also called K44? Murray Mc Murray is ok to deal with. I even used to surguricaly (sp) caponize the young roosters to make capons but with the rock Cornish cross available, this is no longer necessary. try not to keep the broilers over 8 weeks as they turn into baby turkeys and eat too much. you can start killing them at about 4 or 5 weeks. kill them all by 6 or 8 weeks and have a party! have fun, Mel

TRH raises them....

The total cost including $15 for gas came to $1.93 lb without the hearts and livers.

The total cost including $15 for gas came to $1.93 lb without the hearts and livers.