Essential tips to improve broiler chicken survival rates

If you’ve ever ordered chicks, you might have noticed a statistic for the “survival rate” or “mortality rate” or something like that included with the description of the breed.  This rate is to give us an idea of how many chicks will actually survive long enough to process.  Typically people assume a 20% loss in the chickens they raise for meat, and thus make sure to order more chicks to overcome the inevitable deaths of birds that don’t reach market weight.  I saw one hatchery proudly stating their chicks had a 70% survival rate.  That’s 3 out of every 10 chickens dying!  We need to do as much as we can to improve these odds.  

What is a Chicken Tractor? (with free chicken tractor plans)

So you’ve overcome the myths and misconceptions about raising chickens for meat and have decided you want to raise your own chickens for meat this summer.  Awesome! We’re totally with you!   You’ve browsed the catalogs, researched the breeds, and are ready to place an order.  But wait, where will you keep them as they grow?  A coop with a run will be a lot of work to clean, especially if you have a lot of chickens!  It’s time to think outside the box… or maybe inside one?