Got some meat birds about two months ago. I've had them in the garage but now that they are fully feathered I want to put them outside and let them roam with my layers. Anyone have any experiences they'd be willing to share? Also, what's a good rule of thumb for when to harvest my fryers? Weight or time? Thanks!

I've not had meat birds but to let them hang out with your layers should be fine:) Just make sure to acclimate them with your lane flock. I do know this about fryers, it is more about getting the weight up as fast as possible in the shortest amount of time. The younger the bird the more tender the meat.

Hope that helps:)

I have never processed a chicken, however I've seen a LOT of post about them in various chicken forums. What I've read is that the goal is to raise them and process them as quickly as possible. What breed of meat birds do you have? The big white ones that lay down in front of a feed dish and eat all day, or something more like freedom rangers? Most people put their meat birds in a tractor that gets moved around the yard so they always have access to the fattening up food and they don't get a lot of exercise. The more exercise they get, the tougher the bird.

All depends on the breeds

Some of the food factory breeds are ready in 6-7 weeks and unheathy in 9 weeks

Heritage breeds need more time