How to Raise Broilers
- 1). Order chicks during late winter for early spring arrival from a reputable stock supplier or hatchery. Raise the chickens during the spring and early summer for the best results. It will take up to eight weeks to produce a 3.5 to 6.5 lb. broiler. Raising broilers when the weather is warm keeps them from getting sick from drafts and cold. Raising them early enough in the year to avoid the extreme heat of late summer allows them to stay on their feed and not use too much energy staying cool. Rock/Cornish hen crosses are the best broiler breeds. They grow fast and big with white feathers so there is no dark pin feather when plucked.
- 2). Determine the amount of room you have to house your chicken broiler flock. You need at least 1.5 square feet of indoor space for housing, and the chickens should have access to an outdoor yard that is fenced in with chicken wire for their safety.
- 3). Block any doorways or areas that have drafts. Young chickens must be kept in a warm, draft-free area. Hang a heat lamp so that it is no more than 2 feet off the ground at the center of the area for your chickens. That way if they are cold they can gather under the lamp, and if they are warm, they can move to the sides. Make sure the area covered by the heat lamp(s) includes at least half of the area so there is plenty of heat and chickens do not have to pile on top of each other to get it. Do not turn the lights off at night. Chicks need extra heat, especially during cold nights when temperatures drop. As chicks grow and get feathers, raise the lamp slowly until they no longer need it when they have a full covering of feathers.
- 4). Buy a broiler ration feed. Chicken feed comes in a variety of types. Broiler feed is designed for fast growth. It contains a high level of protein, up to 24 percent, that is actually too much, too fast for a chicken, but creates a large, meaty bird in a few weeks for your freezer.
- 5). Put feed in chicken feeders to avoid waste. Throwing feed on the ground ensures a lot will go to waste from being defecated on, stepped on or just kicked aside. Fill chicken water jars that keep a ring of water available at all times with a continuous supply in the adjoining jar that works by gravity. This provides a clean fresh supply of water at all times.
- 6). Add 10 percent banana leaf meal to your broiler ration for an added protein boost. Add a vitamin/mineral solution to the water supply for the first few weeks to give the broilers a good start. Broilers are bred and fed to gain massive amounts of weight quickly. Without a backup of vitamins and minerals to develop their strength and muscles, many lose the ability to stand up under their own weight and losses are high.
- 7). Keep the chicks' housing clean and remove soiled bedding as soon as possible. Make sure the feed you purchase also contains a coccidiostat that prevents the most common cause of death in young chickens of any type, coccidiosis.
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