A broiler is a chicken that is specifically bred to grow at a fast rate.
Broilers are a type of chicken bred grow at a very fast rate. Growing to full size in only seven to eight weeks, broilers are used mainly for meat production. Because they grow quickly, broilers are utilized by many large commercial food processors. On a smaller scale, though, broilers can be raised at home. Raising broilers to show at a county fair is a good project because of the chicken's fast growth rate.
Instructions
1. Visit a farm that is selling broiler chickens and look at the broilers between two and four weeks old. By that age, broilers will begin showing signs of health problems, if they have any. A chicken that is not walking upright and appears to be limping will have health problems as the weeks progress. Make sure the nostrils are clean. A nasal discharge is another sign of a chicken that may have health problems.
2. Purchase eight to 10 chickens that appear to be healthy. You will not be showing all of the chickens you purchased, but you will have several broilers from which to choose.
3. Feed the chickens a combination of broiler feed and a mixture of vitamins in their drinking water. The feed and vitamins can be purchased at any establishment that sells supplies for farm animals and any poultry supply store. Tell the employee you need supplies for broiler chickens.
4. Select four of your best broilers two or three weeks before the date of the county fair. These broilers should be fleshed out, especially in the thighs and drumsticks and should roughly form the shape of a rectangle. The broilers should also have a yellowish color to them and no muscle and/or blood vessels should be able to be seen through their skin. If this is the case, the broilers will look red. Broilers should also have mature feathers. These feathers should have feather tips exiting through the skin and should be hard to remove. Finally, your broilers should have no broken bones, bruises or tears. Additionally, no blisters should be present on the breast as this is undesirable in broilers.
5. Separate the broilers into another part of the area you are housing the chickens by placing a curtain between the halfway point of the living area. These broilers will be the ones you will be showing at the county fair. Bathe them every day and make sure there are always walking on clean shavings on their side.
6. Pick the two best broilers in your group of four broilers. These broilers should be physically matched and should be in the best of health. At this point, you may put the other broilers you do not want to show at the fair into the other side of the living area. Clean the broilers and change their shavings twice a day until the day of the county fair.
7. Place the show chickens into a ventilated box a few minutes before you drive to the county fair. If you want to give away your other chickens, place them all in a separate ventilated box, as well. You should see a designated area at the fair for animal check-in. Once checked in, place your two broilers in their assigned pen.
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