Could someone put their eyes on this for me?

[Jared77]

Journey mentioned her meat birds in journal thread. She's talked about tractoring some CX meat birds and moving it over over a good portion of her garden this fall since its winding down which I think is a great idea. So I got thinking what if I did that when my season was winding down?

This is all her idea! I'm not trying to take credit for this at all. I'm just trying to run the numbers to see if it would work for me. Which is why I want someone else to look it over and say "Yeah it checks out" or "Uh you missed _______". The meat birds would HAVE to spend about 90-95% of time in the garden area for me to justify doing this. That's been why we haven't had them before because of what they'd do to the yard for the time they are on it. So if I can keep them moving the tractor in the garden I could justify them. Good meat, improve the garden, win-win situation.

So the 2014 garden will be expanded beyond the little 2013 row of plants to 50'x75'.

So @ 50'x75' that's 3750 square feet of gardening space. The tractor is 8'x8' giving the birds 64 square feet of room.

The tractor is moved daily over that 3750 square feet of area. So we divide 3750 by 64 giving me 58.5 so we'll call it 58. That's 58 times I could move the tractor within that 3750sqft area and not be over the same ground twice.

Now moving the tractor once a day, that's 8 weeks and 2 days. If they go to 11 weeks at processing, and they go out at 3 weeks, that gives me 8 weeks I'm pushing them around the garden before I'm either going back over an area they were on or I'm out of space in the garden. I know its not 100% realistic since some of that surface area will still be tied up for things like squash that are still ripening but still that's a lot of time in the garden in a tractor, eating, and putting nitrogen back into the ground for next year.

Are my numbers right? Am I missing something?

 

[bobm]

Well Jared... sounds like a great idea, but have you considered the fact that that tractor bottom of the sides rides on the soil surface, but one creates rows/ furrows for the plants which then creates several openings on the tractor bottom for the chickens to escape through or any hungry predator to enter then have some fun by playing war games to the extreme then have lunch of only one chicken ? If one were to place wire on the tractor bottom of the tractor , one would create havoc (with the chicken legs ( as in broken ), difficulty in moving the tractor over uneven ground (rows) with crop residue being dragged in front of the tractor as well as by the bottom wire.. This scenario too just may destroy said tractor. I think that the best way to utilize this idea is to fence the whole garden and turn the chickens in then watch them while they are playing chicken games with a shotgun handy . Come evening herd the birds back into a safe coop. By the way... Cornish X are not your everyday barnyard chicken. They were specifically bred to be the most efficient converters of feed in the shortest time possible. Therefore they need nutrient dense feed but not overfed or one creates health issues. Contact a commercial hatchery for proper husbandry protocol for optimal results. Properly raised Cornish X are harvested at 35 days for 1 1/2- 2 lb. Game Hens, at 6- 8 weeks for 4.5- 5.5 lb. fryers. If one is to raise them to 11 weeks of age they would be 10-12 lbs. ( I have seen some reach 14-15 lbs. at 14 weeks) heavyweight roasters. Have fun !

 

[journey11]

The greatest number of days (average) that you would have the CX birds tractored would be 42. It is not recommended to let CX go much past 7 weeks old for males and 9 weeks old for females as the risk of health issues increases. You lose the first 3 weeks that they are in the brooder, so you end up with the females staying out in the tractor longest--6 weeks, times 7 days=42. If you wanted to be sure to cover your whole garden, you might consider doing the Freedom Rangers instead, since they are kept 'til 16 weeks, I believe. If you weren't done growing things in the garden, you could plan your crops to have at least a section of the garden available when they need to be out to pasture, as you wait for the rest to finish.

There are other things to consider too. I will be doing a light till on my garden after the weeds and crops are cleared off. That would take care of the furrows that Bob is talking about, although my furrows aren't really deep anyway. My biggest predator problem is dogs, so my tractor has kept my birds (layers) safe all summer long since it is sided with woven wire and chicken wire. If you have a big problem with coons, you are going to need better safety measures altogether, no matter what kind of coop/tractor you are running. But for my area, it is a very safe set up. CX won't try to get out either, like "real" chickens do. They won't go far from their feeder. When I am ready to move the tractor, I move their feeder over to the edge on the side I am moving to, so they will all congregate there and not get squished. I have tried penning them on a fixed area before and it was a nasty mess. They will poo knee-deep and heaven forbid it be a rainy season.

Doing this in the fall has one more very important factor to consider too. You need to time it out so that the birds are not out in extremely cold weather. They generate a lot of heat on their own, but being that they are in contact with the ground and possible moisture (depending on how rainy the fall is), you want to be sure they are not going to take a chill and get sick. I have never been able to get my CX to roost, although I am going to try providing them one in the tractor this time, now that I have my good set up and an adjustable roost already available in there. I am also putting their heat lamp out there with them at first, just in case the nights get cold. It's more a problem when they are babies and not feathered out, but at no time do you want them to get soaking wet and chilled.

The tractor can be difficult to move if the ground is really muddy too (on grass or garden). So you may lose some days of rotation there too. I am also thinking of running out to the farm to collect some of the old hay bales we have to add for bedding, which will also be a nice amendment to the soil. Combined with the manure, it should compost quickly, but provide the birds some clean bedding while they are out there, especially if the ground gets damp.

ETA: Although I've not been over to BYC recently, you might want to go over to the Meat Birds, ETC forum and get their take on it as well. There should be folks there with many more years of experience with CX than I have (...4 years for me.)

 

[Jared77]

I was thinking of Freedom Rangers, because I wasn't sure I wanted a batch of CX at first. They don't leave a lot of margin for error with their rapid growth rates so I figured I'd start with a slightly slower growing variety. Not dual purpose birds, but something that isn't so industrial.`

I just checked the frost dates and I'm looking at the 1st week of Oct. That's when I'd want to be sending them to freezer camp anyway at the latest. Its also the first day of bow season so its time to have things done anyway. I don't mind running a lamp out to them to keep them from pilling up and smothering one another for a night or 2 till I can get them processed but they should be ready to go.

So with the new numbers in mind I'd be looking at getting them out into the tractor around Labor Day, and that's ok. At that point the garden is mostly done anyway. There are some stragglers that I may be counter ripening but the bulk of is over. At that point its my winter squash that I'm still waiting on.

I did make it over to BYC and posted something there. We'll see how that goes

 

[catjac1975]

Your question brings back memories.

"Two trains leave the station at the same time, one heading west and the other east. The westbound train travels 18 miles per hour slower than the eastbound train.
If the two trains are 570 miles apart after 3 hours, what is the rate of the westbound train?"

 

[OldGuy43]

The only problem that comes to mind is the fact that tomato vines are poisonous to birds.

 

[catjac1975]

I give my chickens tomato vines. WHat does it do to them?

The only problem that comes to mind is the fact that tomato vines are poisonous to birds.

 

[OldGuy43]

I give my chickens tomato vines. WHat does it do to them?

The only problem that comes to mind is the fact that tomato vines are poisonous to birds.

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) Stem, leaves, sprouts (ripe fruits are OK) Solanine, atropine-like alkaloids Vomiting, diarrhea, irregular or rapid heart rate, difficulty swallowing, labored breathng, dilated pupils, no urine production, paralysis, seizures

Source: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1912&aid=2236

 

[seedcorn]

Cat, west bound 86 mph; east bound 104 mph.

Love doing algebra problems.

Jared, 6 weeks puts you into November. Do you really want to clean birds in November? Not me!

 

[journey11]

My garden's getting cleared off before the chickens go on, so no vines will remain.

Depending where you live, I guess, on the weather. November isn't too bad here. We butcher deer in the garage in November anyway. October will be perfect timing for me. It will sure beat being spattered with chicken innards and feathers in the heat of late May though.

ETA: Just checked on McMurray Hatcheries website. Latest they sell CX chicks is Oct. 28th. Mine came here Aug. 28th, ready to butcher Oct. 12th and 26th. There is a family farm here locally that sells them almost year-round, minus the dead of winter. I figure they have really nice facilities to process theirs in. They tractor all of their poultry though, the layers and the CX. Got to have a nice long talk with her a couple weeks ago at a wedding. Very quiet lady otherwise, but when you get her talking about chickens...she'll talk your ear off.