Thanks @@DarrenPritchard-p4e We enjoyed putting it together & seeing the birds growing. Hopefully some of our other videos are of interest as well. We are trying to integrate regenerative agriculture practices in raising our food & improving the soil we farm on. Thanks for watching & have a good day. 🍻
My wife and I moved off grid in the upper Murry in a tiny home. Trying to be more self sufficient. We back onto state Forest and national park with 4000 acers of dairy farm surrounded us so I have become proficient in hunting and now qe Live on alot of venison. Got a steer on the 10 acers aswell. Chicken's are definitely next. Thanks for your vider
That’s awesome @@paulcox9366 We can highly recommend the chicken caravan 30 with 2 x electric fence netting. The whole kit costs a bit but well worth it. We have shown the caravan in a couple of videos you might be able to find. I was going to make one but have enough projects. I like the idea of some venison that’s a good way to get high quality meat. A couple of grower pigs would be doable on 10 acres as well, I’m getting ready to get another 3 at the end of December Enjoy the journey. 🍻
What a great, informative vid. Your animal husbandry skills and control of feed ensures a quality bird. Compare this to the hormone infused rubbish that the major meat bird producers turn out!!! Well done.
Thanks @@bruceclarke513 We make sure all our animals have their appropriate diet. We feed our chickens left overs from our lamb, pork & beef processing & cook omelettes with excess eggs when we have them as well as fermented grains & wheat sprouts. 🍻
Hi guys, good thing about growing your own meat nerds. Least you know what’s going in them , They are not being forced fed and they would taste a lot better being free arranged. Keep up the good work. I really enjoyed the video
Commercially, chickens are fed on demand. The feed is available to the chickens all the time. During lights out they rest and obviously don't feed. I don't know where you get forced fed from.
it's really amazing, even if the price looks the same or more than the market price, but the experience it's fun, and raising your own chicken meat you're sure about their food and how they grow totally worth it,
Hi @@marathonman1955 It was great to put the video together to see just how fast they grow. The difference between week 2 & 3 was amazing. Very worthwhile quick way of putting about 64kg of meat in the freezer. 🍻
@@ourstoneycreekjourney5702 As an ex commercial grower, I used to resent people suggesting we used hormones etc to make the chickens grow so quickly. It just goes to show all they need is quality food, water and conditions, and they will grow. Can I ask what breed these were?
Hi @ I don’t believe the commercial guys use hormones or antibiotics, that’s a thing of the past & people causing mischief. I did ask but was not told the breed apart from meat bird or broiler but l believe they might be a Ross 308 or a Cob. I think related to the Cornish cross. The hatchery people are very secretive of the genetics of the bird. 🍻
Hi, Thanks for the video it was very informative. I did not quite understand what you said when the birds were one week old. They developed something but could not catch it. Can you tell me what the malady was and how you combated it.
Hi @@barrysmith8887 Most of the chicks developed a bit of a sniffle sort of like a little sneeze in the first week. Their first bedding was saw dust that l kept from milling logs & was quite dusty & fine. We changed it out to pine shavings which wasn’t dusty & they stopped, so we put it down to being too dusty. We lost 2 chicks at the start from smothering, we think, as we had a couple of frosts & not having the heat lamp down far enough. We lost another the next week to what we think not having a good constitution as it was a bit of a runt. They all thrived after week 3. It’s amazing how fast they grow as compared to laying hens. Thanks for watching. 🍻
Hi There. Not sure what breed they are, in Australia they are just called meat birds or broilers. In the USA they are called Cornish Cross. We got the day old chicks from Mirboo Pastured Chickens who was acting as a go between with the hatchery. There is a hatchery near Sydney & one in QLD. (Barter & Sons & Darling Downs Hatchery) We are lucky to have a friend who has done meat chickens before & has a plucker & boiler that we could borrow but you can get them on line from lots of suppliers. It is well worth the effort to do although l wouldn’t want to do much more at once as we aren’t interested in selling them but supply high quality food for us & family. Thanks for watching. 🍻
Hi @WithTime46. In the end with 27 bird we were able to put away 64kg of meat in the freezer. It worked out about $7.90 per kg. Knowing what the birds ate was really important to us for our health. Thanks for watching 🍻
I raise a lot of different types of chickens, turkeys and ducks. Tried raising my first Cornish Cross this last year. It was sent to me by accident at the hatchery. Cornish Cross are pretty sweet (something no one will tell you). The only thing I did different was keep her in a confinement cage at the end...she was so big but still had the mentality of a 8-9 week old chicken and the other chickens were beating her up. She was huge at the end with a dress weight of almost 9 lbs (4 kilo). I think the confinement cage kept her alive and from having a heart attack but that chicken was larger than my female meat turkeys who weighed in at 1 lb less dressed weight. I am definitely going to raise them again this coming year. The quality of the meat was much better than store bought (not quiet as good as Bresse, which are so tasty) but still very good. And that is a lot of meat for my family that has been treated well, coddled and loved. I think the factory farming is an offense to God.
Hi There 4kg that’s a big bird & your right they are sweet natured. I tried not to get attached to them but you always do with animals that are gentle themselves. Thanks for watching 🍻
Hi @@richardburgers8965 Thanks for watching. Nice climate up in Bundaberg, l wouldn’t mind your winters. We got ours from a hatchery in Victoria near Melbourne but there is Darling Downs hatchery up in QLD that sell small batches of meat chickens. Do a bit of a google search in your area but it’s not as easy as it seems to be for our American homesteaders have it here in Australia. Good luck it’s worth the experiment 🍻
Very interesting to hear about the comparative costs, as well as the excellent filming of the stages. It does make one wonder about the chicken in the supermarkets - where are the cost savings? As you're not including labour or capital costs of housing, equipment, processing etc it's hard to see economies of scale making such a huge difference via feed costs (I may be wrong). Where are the savings? It would actually be good (I think!) to hear from a commercial grower going over these costs - though I don't suppose that's going to happen!
@@sroberts605 It’s an interesting topic. I think it is economy of scale. There are 3 main chicken producers in Aust, about 80% of the market & a few smaller players. They have the industry sown up from growing or contracting huge crops, owning the feed mills, hatcheries & contract growers & the genetics of the birds. The hatchery l got mine from hatches around 20k a week & that was one of 3. That’s also about that number processed. It is a huge industry. We grow our own food for nutrient density. If our food is grown properly we repair the environment & stay healthy. 🍻
@@ourstoneycreekjourney5702 I wasn't sure how long we (Brits in my case) have been keeping chickens, so looking it up, new archaeological evidence shows it was the Bronze Age! But too exotic to eat apparently: Julius Caesar’s De Bello Gallico says: “The Britons consider it contrary to divine law to eat the hare, the chicken, or the goose. They raise these, however, for their own amusement and pleasure”. Lol It's a long story! Initially I was just interested in how chickens were fed before this mass-produced era. Perhaps the next step in going back to sustainable ways is to re-introduce making the feed, along with rowing back on genetics?
Oh bummer, different Stoney creek we are in Wamuran Qld and our Stoney creek is 10 min away. We will continue to search to try and find locally. In the USA they just get them posted by post😬 could you imagine our Australia Post dealing with live chicks😅
Hi, great video. Enjoyed watching it! Can I ask where did you get your chicks from as I can’t find a supplier. Im close to stoney creek so if you can help that would be appreciated, thx
Hi @@JoeVella-i6f We got ours through Mirboo Pastured Poultry. They have a web page but the guy was a bit difficult. Not as easy as our US counterparts have it. There is also Barter & Sons hatchery in Sydney who we will be getting them through next time. Which Stoney Creek are you near. We’re near Candelo. 🍻
Hi @@peterclark6290 You noticed. LOL With rationing the pallets we fed, they would only get between 1.5 to 2 kg twice a day & the feeder when full was 2kg. So to stop me over feeding them l left it. (One less job) In the videos it makes it look like a bit of a fight around the feeder but that didn’t last long as once the front ones got full they moved away. Rationing their commercial feed made them forage more & be just as enthusiastic with ferments, sprouts & scraps which they got as well. Next batch we might cut their commercial feed back more & grow them a bit slower. Thanks for watching. 🍻
Hi @@LilacDaisy2 We got ours through a guy near Melbourne & picked them up myself when visiting kids. Look up Darling Downs hatchery, l believe they have meat birds. Good luck 🍻
Hi there. Google Mirboo Pastured Poultry. He is in Mirboo Nth but can pick up from him closer to Melbourne by arrangement. The guys name is IIan. Good luck 🍻
Hi There. I believe they are similar to a Cornish cross as you would see in an American homestead. We found sourcing them difficult because of the bird flu & you can’t just ring up a hatchery & order. This lot came from Mirboo Pastured Poultry in Victoria who is just a go between. Next time we will get them from Barter & Sons near Sydney. The industry in Aust is mainly owned by 3 big companies & not really interested in selling small quantities. We will continue to raise them for ourselves & are amazed as to how many people have asked to buy some. The difference between pasture raised & store bought is very noticeable. Thanks for watching. 🍻
Hi @ I believe Darling Downs hatchery services QLD. I believe they will send via freight. We did originally look at them but at the time bird flu was or still is a problem. Not sure what the breed is. The exact cross & genetics is well guarded by the hatcheries. They’re just known as meat chickens or broilers. 🍻
Hi There, It’s more about giving them a well balanced diet. They require a lot more protein than layer hens. While out on pasture they eat the different grasses, chase down bugs & spiders. We also fed them different cooked meat left overs from our processing our sheep, pigs & beef. They also got cooked eggs as an omelette with leftover eggs from our layers. They also get the opportunity to exercise. As compared to store bought that only get pallets that are full of vegetable oils as the fat content & only get to walk from their feed to water. 🍻
The Cornish cross, Is an industrialised, Supermarket bird. Is design to live 8 weeks and then it must be killed. That's because Naturally they will die from organ failure. There's nothing in mother nature that says that this chicken would ever survive without us. That's why they require the high protein. For industrialization the Cornish cross is a miracle, It's the only animal that I know of that has Feed to product ratio ( I've forgotten the actual name) The other meat birds that you can raise takes double the time to reach the same Wait as the Cornish cross does in half the time. And as far as I know not being any kind of expert just someone watch some videos they don't have a chance to lay any eggs in the weeks. Now you know
Hi @ It would be a good experiment to put a couple of them in with our layer hens & see how they go. Richard Perkins of Ridgedale Farm has grown them out. Industrial grown meat birds would struggle as they have access to high protein feed 24/7 when on pasture & fed only twice a day, giving them digestive rest they are much healthier & grow slower & stronger. I have been in a shed with commercial bird production & there is a vast difference to how we raised our birds. We also grow our roosters that hatch from our layer hens & there is a vast difference in meat, fat & taste as compared to commercially grown birds. We are going to do another batch in February & we might keep a couple of hens with our egg layers as an experiment. Thanks for watching & interacting. Appreciated. 🍻
Hi There, I think they would get too big, but having said that l know Richard Perkins of Ridgedale Farm has successfully grown meat birds out. I haven’t finished reading that section of his book yet to find out how they went. Thanks for watching. 🍻
Absolutely awesome video and thanks so much for sharing .. I so much appreciate great Australian content
It was really a interesting video. I enjoyed watching it. Thank you for sharing
Thanks @@DarrenPritchard-p4e
We enjoyed putting it together & seeing the birds growing.
Hopefully some of our other videos are of interest as well.
We are trying to integrate regenerative agriculture practices in raising our food & improving the soil we farm on.
Thanks for watching & have a good day. 🍻
Thank you for the detailed journey.
Really we’ll done love it, raised my own in Oberon, I started with chooks/ rooster & incubator
Cheers George
My wife and I moved off grid in the upper Murry in a tiny home. Trying to be more self sufficient. We back onto state Forest and national park with 4000 acers of dairy farm surrounded us so I have become proficient in hunting and now qe Live on alot of venison. Got a steer on the 10 acers aswell. Chicken's are definitely next. Thanks for your vider
That’s awesome @@paulcox9366
We can highly recommend the chicken caravan 30 with 2 x electric fence netting. The whole kit costs a bit but well worth it.
We have shown the caravan in a couple of videos you might be able to find.
I was going to make one but have enough projects. I like the idea of some venison that’s a good way to get high quality meat.
A couple of grower pigs would be doable on 10 acres as well, I’m getting ready to get another 3 at the end of December
Enjoy the journey. 🍻
New subscriber watching from England. 😊
Hi @@yvettekinchking8838
Thanks for watching
Hope you enjoy some of the videos of our not for profit farm. 🍻
Great video very healthy looking chicken 🇳🇿🐓
What a great, informative vid.
Your animal husbandry skills and control of feed ensures a quality bird.
Compare this to the hormone infused rubbish that the major meat bird producers turn out!!!
Well done.
Thanks @@bruceclarke513
We make sure all our animals have their appropriate diet.
We feed our chickens left overs from our lamb, pork & beef processing & cook omelettes with excess eggs when we have them as well as fermented grains & wheat sprouts. 🍻
Hi guys, good thing about growing your own meat nerds. Least you know what’s going in them , They are not being forced fed and they would taste a lot better being free arranged. Keep up the good work. I really enjoyed the video
Commercially, chickens are fed on demand. The feed is available to the chickens all the time. During lights out they rest and obviously don't feed. I don't know where you get forced fed from.
it's really amazing, even if the price looks the same or more than the market price, but the experience it's fun, and raising your own chicken meat you're sure about their food and how they grow totally worth it,
Great video. It’s amazing how fast they grow.
Hi @@marathonman1955
It was great to put the video together to see just how fast they grow.
The difference between week 2 & 3 was amazing.
Very worthwhile quick way of putting about 64kg of meat in the freezer. 🍻
@@ourstoneycreekjourney5702 As an ex commercial grower, I used to resent people suggesting we used hormones etc to make the chickens grow so quickly. It just goes to show all they need is quality food, water and conditions, and they will grow. Can I ask what breed these were?
Hi @
I don’t believe the commercial guys use hormones or antibiotics, that’s a thing of the past & people causing mischief.
I did ask but was not told the breed apart from meat bird or broiler but l believe they might be a Ross 308 or a Cob.
I think related to the Cornish cross.
The hatchery people are very secretive of the genetics of the bird. 🍻
Hi, Thanks for the video it was very informative. I did not quite understand what you said when the birds were one week old. They developed something but could not catch it. Can you tell me what the malady was and how you combated it.
Hi @@barrysmith8887
Most of the chicks developed a bit of a sniffle sort of like a little sneeze in the first week.
Their first bedding was saw dust that l kept from milling logs & was quite dusty & fine.
We changed it out to pine shavings which wasn’t dusty & they stopped, so we put it down to being too dusty.
We lost 2 chicks at the start from smothering, we think, as we had a couple of frosts & not having the heat lamp down far enough.
We lost another the next week to what we think not having a good constitution as it was a bit of a runt.
They all thrived after week 3. It’s amazing how fast they grow as compared to laying hens.
Thanks for watching. 🍻
Great to see this. What sort of birds are they? Where did you get your chicks from? Where did you get your plucker from too?
Hi There.
Not sure what breed they are, in Australia they are just called meat birds or broilers. In the USA they are called Cornish Cross.
We got the day old chicks from Mirboo Pastured Chickens who was acting as a go between with the hatchery. There is a hatchery near Sydney & one in QLD. (Barter & Sons & Darling Downs Hatchery) We are lucky to have a friend who has done meat chickens before & has a plucker & boiler that we could borrow but you can get them on line from lots of suppliers.
It is well worth the effort to do although l wouldn’t want to do much more at once as we aren’t interested in selling them but supply high quality food for us & family.
Thanks for watching. 🍻
Great to see the total cost of the birds at the end. Really good perspective on the cost of quality food.
Hi @WithTime46.
In the end with 27 bird we were able to put away 64kg of meat in the freezer.
It worked out about $7.90 per kg.
Knowing what the birds ate was really important to us for our health.
Thanks for watching 🍻
I raise a lot of different types of chickens, turkeys and ducks. Tried raising my first Cornish Cross this last year. It was sent to me by accident at the hatchery. Cornish Cross are pretty sweet (something no one will tell you). The only thing I did different was keep her in a confinement cage at the end...she was so big but still had the mentality of a 8-9 week old chicken and the other chickens were beating her up. She was huge at the end with a dress weight of almost 9 lbs (4 kilo). I think the confinement cage kept her alive and from having a heart attack but that chicken was larger than my female meat turkeys who weighed in at 1 lb less dressed weight. I am definitely going to raise them again this coming year. The quality of the meat was much better than store bought (not quiet as good as Bresse, which are so tasty) but still very good. And that is a lot of meat for my family that has been treated well, coddled and loved. I think the factory farming is an offense to God.
Hi There
4kg that’s a big bird & your right they are sweet natured.
I tried not to get attached to them but you always do with animals that are gentle themselves.
Thanks for watching 🍻
@@ourstoneycreekjourney5702 It is hard not to get attached. I agree. 🙂
very nice. we have been doing something similar in Bundaberg. I would be interested to find out where you get the 1 day white chicks from.
Hi @@richardburgers8965
Thanks for watching.
Nice climate up in Bundaberg, l wouldn’t mind your winters.
We got ours from a hatchery in Victoria near Melbourne but there is Darling Downs hatchery up in QLD that sell small batches of meat chickens.
Do a bit of a google search in your area but it’s not as easy as it seems to be for our American homesteaders have it here in Australia.
Good luck it’s worth the experiment 🍻
Very interesting to hear about the comparative costs, as well as the excellent filming of the stages. It does make one wonder about the chicken in the supermarkets - where are the cost savings? As you're not including labour or capital costs of housing, equipment, processing etc it's hard to see economies of scale making such a huge difference via feed costs (I may be wrong). Where are the savings? It would actually be good (I think!) to hear from a commercial grower going over these costs - though I don't suppose that's going to happen!
@@sroberts605
It’s an interesting topic.
I think it is economy of scale.
There are 3 main chicken producers in Aust, about 80% of the market & a few smaller players.
They have the industry sown up from growing or contracting huge crops, owning the feed mills, hatcheries & contract growers & the genetics of the birds.
The hatchery l got mine from hatches around 20k a week & that was one of 3. That’s also about that number processed.
It is a huge industry.
We grow our own food for nutrient density. If our food is grown properly we repair the environment & stay healthy. 🍻
@@ourstoneycreekjourney5702 I wasn't sure how long we (Brits in my case) have been keeping chickens, so looking it up, new archaeological evidence shows it was the Bronze Age! But too exotic to eat apparently: Julius Caesar’s De Bello Gallico says: “The Britons consider it contrary to divine law to eat the hare, the chicken, or the goose. They raise these, however, for their own amusement and pleasure”. Lol
It's a long story! Initially I was just interested in how chickens were fed before this mass-produced era.
Perhaps the next step in going back to sustainable ways is to re-introduce making the feed, along with rowing back on genetics?
Yep certainly growing unnaturally fast !
Oh bummer, different Stoney creek we are in Wamuran Qld and our Stoney creek is 10 min away. We will continue to search to try and find locally.
In the USA they just get them posted by post😬 could you imagine our Australia Post dealing with live chicks😅
@@JoeVella-i6f
Have a look at Darling Downs hatchery. I believe they are very helpful. 🍻
Thank you kindly 👍
Amazing video
Thanks Jack.
It was well worth the effort & a quick way of putting high quality meat in the freezer. 🍻
I watched it while on the flight to the US, I can’t wait to start actually putting these videos to use one day , Keep them coming!
Hi, great video. Enjoyed watching it!
Can I ask where did you get your chicks from as I can’t find a supplier. Im close to stoney creek so if you can help that would be appreciated, thx
Hi @@JoeVella-i6f
We got ours through Mirboo Pastured Poultry. They have a web page but the guy was a bit difficult.
Not as easy as our US counterparts have it.
There is also Barter & Sons hatchery in Sydney who we will be getting them through next time.
Which Stoney Creek are you near. We’re near Candelo. 🍻
What ended up being the difference between in live and dressed weights?
Was it pretty consitent? Or did it vary significantly?
Hi @@WithTime46
Really good question & we forgot to mention.
There is about 700gm to a kilo difference between live & dressed weight. 🍻
The bigger feeder wasn't built? Or another one?
Hi @@peterclark6290
You noticed. LOL
With rationing the pallets we fed, they would only get between 1.5 to 2 kg twice a day & the feeder when full was 2kg.
So to stop me over feeding them l left it. (One less job)
In the videos it makes it look like a bit of a fight around the feeder but that didn’t last long as once the front ones got full they moved away.
Rationing their commercial feed made them forage more & be just as enthusiastic with ferments, sprouts & scraps which they got as well.
Next batch we might cut their commercial feed back more & grow them a bit slower.
Thanks for watching. 🍻
The meat chicks I can find near me in SE Queensland are $8 each! I'd love to know more about how you got yours
Hi @@LilacDaisy2
We got ours through a guy near Melbourne & picked them up myself when visiting kids.
Look up Darling Downs hatchery, l believe they have meat birds.
Good luck 🍻
@@ourstoneycreekjourney5702I'm in Melbourne and would love to know where in Melbourne to get meat birds please?
Hi there.
Google Mirboo Pastured Poultry. He is in Mirboo Nth but can pick up from him closer to Melbourne by arrangement.
The guys name is IIan.
Good luck 🍻
May I ask what the breed is and where did you purchase them from?
Hi There.
I believe they are similar to a Cornish cross as you would see in an American homestead.
We found sourcing them difficult because of the bird flu & you can’t just ring up a hatchery & order.
This lot came from Mirboo Pastured Poultry in Victoria who is just a go between. Next time we will get them from Barter & Sons near Sydney.
The industry in Aust is mainly owned by 3 big companies & not really interested in selling small quantities.
We will continue to raise them for ourselves & are amazed as to how many people have asked to buy some. The difference between pasture raised & store bought is very noticeable.
Thanks for watching. 🍻
@@ourstoneycreekjourney5702 thanks for your reply. I am based in QLD so understand completely. What breed did you say they were in Australia?
Hi @
I believe Darling Downs hatchery services QLD. I believe they will send via freight.
We did originally look at them but at the time bird flu was or still is a problem.
Not sure what the breed is. The exact cross & genetics is well guarded by the hatcheries.
They’re just known as meat chickens or broilers. 🍻
@@ourstoneycreekjourney5702 thank you for taking the time to reply to my message. have a good day
hi - pasture fed but giving them grains? I was not aware that is how you raise them.
Hi There,
It’s more about giving them a well balanced diet.
They require a lot more protein than layer hens.
While out on pasture they eat the different grasses, chase down bugs & spiders.
We also fed them different cooked meat left overs from our processing our sheep, pigs & beef.
They also got cooked eggs as an omelette with leftover eggs from our layers.
They also get the opportunity to exercise.
As compared to store bought that only get pallets that are full of vegetable oils as the fat content & only get to walk from their feed to water. 🍻
The Cornish cross, Is an industrialised, Supermarket bird.
Is design to live 8 weeks and then it must be killed.
That's because Naturally they will die from organ failure.
There's nothing in mother nature that says that this chicken would ever survive without us.
That's why they require the high protein.
For industrialization the Cornish cross is a miracle, It's the only animal that I know of that has Feed to product ratio ( I've forgotten the actual name)
The other meat birds that you can raise takes double the time to reach the same Wait as the Cornish cross does in half the time.
And as far as I know not being any kind of expert just someone watch some videos they don't have a chance to lay any eggs in the weeks.
Now you know
Hi @
It would be a good experiment to put a couple of them in with our layer hens & see how they go.
Richard Perkins of Ridgedale Farm has grown them out.
Industrial grown meat birds would struggle as they have access to high protein feed 24/7 when on pasture & fed only twice a day, giving them digestive rest they are much healthier & grow slower & stronger.
I have been in a shed with commercial bird production & there is a vast difference to how we raised our birds.
We also grow our roosters that hatch from our layer hens & there is a vast difference in meat, fat & taste as compared to commercially grown birds.
We are going to do another batch in February & we might keep a couple of hens with our egg layers as an experiment.
Thanks for watching & interacting. Appreciated. 🍻
Could you keep a rooster & 6 ladies to create the next generation?
Hi There,
I think they would get too big, but having said that l know Richard Perkins of Ridgedale Farm has successfully grown meat birds out.
I haven’t finished reading that section of his book yet to find out how they went.
Thanks for watching. 🍻