2020 Meat Birds - Week Three

This past week continued more of the same for the meat birds.  As they grow, we make changes.  We removed the 3 small feed troughs and replace them with an eight foot long PVC gutter that we use as a feed trough.  We also removed the two 1-gallon waterers and replaced them with a bell-waterer that is fed by gravity flow from a 5-gallon bucket.

The chicks have been on grass since Day 1, and when we push the chicken tractor each day, they scurry to eat the fresh grass even before going for the Chick Grower feed.  We've had a few abnormally cooler evenings, but we've lowered the heat lamps and the growing birds bunch up together underneath them to stay warm. 

One night earlier this week we had some weather blow through with strong winds.  Several years ago, strong straight-line winds blew the chicken tractor over, killing many of the birds.  We learned our lesson.  This year when strong winds are forecast, I stake down the tractor to keep it from flipping over.   Crisis averted.

Weigh in time.  Tonight, I picked up and average bird and carried it into the garage.  I set it on top of the scale for accurate weighing.  Of course I line the top of the kitchen scale with paper to avoid dirtying the scale. 

And here are the Week Three results....

This week - Week 3 - the Cornish Cross weighed 1 pound 14 ounces.  (1 ounce off the 5 year record!)
Last week the bird weighed 1 pound 4 ounces, giving him a weight gain of 10 ounces.
In week 3 of 2019, they weighed 1 pound 10 ounces.
In week 3 of 2018, the bird weighed in at 1 pound 10 ounces.
In week 3 of 2017, they weighed 1 pound 9 ounces.
In week 3 of 2016, they weighed 1 pound 15 ounces.

See ya next Wednesday when we do this again.  At that point they'll be at the halfway point.