I have 27 chicks (heavy breeds) about 8 weeks old and are doing very well on medicated chick starter. I have built a 10'x10' portable coop (chicken tractor). Is this a good age to let them range in the coop and simply throw in some ground or cracked corn every day and get them off the starter crumbles? They are in a 4'x8' coop now and seem to be getting crowded. What is a good age for butchering?

Snofs, I've let my chicks rnage when they are feathered out, which yours must be. I've also switched them from chick starter (STart'n'Grow) to chick grower, whichis a cracked grain mixture. Do it slowly, that is to say, mix the two kinds for 4-5 days till their digestive tracts can accomodate the grain. Don't forget grit, too, which lodges in their gizzards to grind the grain, instead of teeth to chew. I've opened up my birds at butchering time (2-5 months, dpeending on the bred and teh size you wnat) and their gizzards were full of driveway gravel.