Meat Chickens 101 - Part 1

Fresh From the Farm

Originally published in The North Lake Outpost on August 25, 2025

Meat Chickens 101-Part 1

It’s about time to start thinking about baby chicks. I know baby chicks are mostly a spring thing for a lot of folks, but I love raising baby chicks in the fall because the weather is just right for them. But these aren’t the ones you want to name Sweet Pea and Rosy. No, they need names like Pot Pie and Roasty, because these are meat chicks. It’s best not to get too attached to these. People always ask how I can harvest one…it’s not hard if you see how fast they grow and how gross they get toward the end. This breed is a Cornish Rock X, a hybrid, not a GMO, that is meant strictly for meat.  

You’ll need one light for every 25 chicks if they are kept in the barn in the winter. Happy chicks will be quiet and spread out when sleeping.

Raising your own meat chickens really is one of the most rewarding and economical ways to put protein on the table. Plus, it is nice to let something live a happy life, even if it is short. We normally harvest our birds at around 9 weeks old. That seems short, but that Cornish Game Hen at the grocery store is only 4-5 weeks old. These birds grow really fast! Which makes the feed cost to meat yield ratio really good, and that’s why they are about the least expensive protein out there.

They also don’t take up much space. You can easily grow out up to 50 birds on a very small plot of land. Realistically you could raise them on a quarter-acre…or in your back yard if you were so inclined. Because this is such a short project I wouldn’t even worry about HOA’s and what the neighbors will think. In fact, unless your neighbor is on the HOA board or just hates chickens, they will think what you have going on is pretty neat. Where else can you raise a year’s worth of chicken in a neat little box in less than a couple months?

This version of the Salatin style tractor is quick and easy to build. It holds up to 50 meat birds. It seems small, but this breed is happy to just lay around and eat.

So, let’s start at the very beginning of this project. A good plan will always save money, will almost always save time and will definitely save you a headache or two. I am going to write this for the person that has never raised chickens, so when I explain some common-sense chicken things, just remember that not all farm-sense is common, especially now-a-days. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be taught!

The very first thing we want to do is pick out a processing date. That seems kinda backwards, but you really need to butcher these things on time. Knowing when and where you will do it and, maybe most importantly, who will help is where we start. Find a couple of people that want to learn how and maybe even take home a chicken or two, then set a date that they can commit to. Then count back about 9 weeks. You can shorten it to 7 or 8, but I like the birds to be just a tad bit bigger, so I let them grow to 9 weeks old.

That will be the date you ideally want to get your chicks. You can order your chicks from a hatchery or go through a local feed store that normally has chicks in the spring. It’s not as common for them to get chicks in the fall, but they should be happy to place the order for you. But there’s a catch. Feed stores order a minimum of 100 birds at a time, in 25 chick increments. So, they may not want to just get you 10 meat chicks. But that’s okay, it takes about the same amount of work to raise 50 as it does 10. So just order 50 and find a friend to order the other 50.

You can order directly from the hatchery if you want to as well. The same rule applies as above…the more chicks you order, the less the cost per chick will be. Find some friends that want to go in on an order with you and order at least 25 each. You can also order any breed you want. This is a great time to get egg laying breeds so that they will be laying in spring. You can even raise some egg layers for the sole purpose of selling later to offset the cost of your meat birds.

Now that you have your order placed you know the deadline for when you need to have the inside brooder set up and the outdoor tractor ready. I like to use a Salatin Style tractor for out on the pasture or yard. This takes just a few hours to build and will lasts many years. You will have less than $200 in all of the materials, so it’s not expensive. There are a lot of tractor designs out there, but whichever one you choose needs to be easy to move. Go ahead and get the tractor built before the chicks ever arrive, you will be glad it’s sitting there waiting on you when you need it.

While you are getting things ready, get your feeders, waterers, electrolytes (enough for the first week or so), extension cord, lamps and extra bulbs ready. The meat chicks will use regular feeders and waterers at the beginning, but will quickly outgrow both. I like a trough feeder for later and they can easily be built to accommodate whatever tractor you make. Just make sure it is big enough for several scoops of feed and enough space for all of the chicks to line up to eat at one time.

As far as water goes, I personally think birds grow better on cool, moving water. That is easily accomplished with a water hose secured in place and dripping into a small hanging bucket. I like the little 6” tall square one. It is extremely important that the water is dripping and overflowing the bucket when they are young. If the chick cannot reach the water, it will jump in and drown. I have learned this lesson the hard way by coming to the barn to find floating dead chicks in a ¾ full bucket. 

As far as feed goes, you need to use a 20-21% unmedicated chick feed the whole time. I personally like the meals that you can get from the local mills like Knight’s or Luznars, but plenty of people raise chicks on production feed from the bigger box stores. Talk to your favorite feed store and see what they offer. Then make a plan for making sure they will have enough feed on hand when you need it. This isn’t a big deal at the beginning, but toward the end you will be going through a lot of feed if you are raising 50 birds.

This isn’t exact, but here is a general guide to use when figuring how much feed you will need to order. I plan on 1-2 bags for the first couple of weeks, 4 bags for the next couple of weeks, 6 bags for the next couple of weeks and 8 bags on your last trip to the feed store and you will likely have some left over. Just feed it to something else, a little at a time, to use it up.

Now that the chicks are ordered, your brooder is set up and your tractor is waiting in the yard, all we need to do is wait on the phone call that the fresh chicks have arrived at the post office or feed store. Next week I will go over all of the next steps in raising poultry for your family. Until next time, get outside and start planning for lots of tasty chicken dinners!