Questions on Cornish X?

[SwedishDude99]

Hi all, I am part of the FFA organization at my highschool. For my SAE (supervised agricultural experience) project, I would like to raise 10 Cornish X meat birds. I want to sell two of them at the county fair and process the rest at home. My problem is, I don't want to raise them how they are raised in factories. I would like to allow them access to pasture and not have feed out for them 24/7. In doing this, I realize they will not reach a good butchering weight in eight weeks. To bring birds in to fair and sell them, they have to "make weight". So I guess my question is, when should I start raising these birds if I want them ready for butcher June 9th of next year and in general, how many weeks do you think they will take to reach that weight?

 

[SwedishDude99]

Forgot to add: I would also like to raise them organically and without GMO's, so would anyone here be able to recommend a good feed to use in order to do that? I will be throwing organic vegetable scraps from the garden in their pen as well when they are not on pasture, and I realize that feeding them other things aside from the commercial feed will alter their growth rate. Do you think i can get this to work, or are there just too many factors that could effect the number of weeks until butcher?

 

[SwedishDude99]

Anyone?

 

[Bladeguy]

I wish I could help more, but I'm just shy of week 4 with my 52 bird flock. They weighed just shy of 2 lb.'s this morning. I've been using fermented feed and letting them range quite a bit. Right now they are about 20% behind where the charts say they should be. You could extrapolate that out and say it will take 10 weeks or so to reach 8 week weights, but that is merely a somewhat educated guess.

 

[SwedishDude99]

Thanks Bladeguy! That's what I thought- between 10 and 12 weeks. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[Bladeguy]

Swedish...hopefully others might chime in. I have a thread I just started today that I plan to keep updated, so that may help you as I will give approximate weights for my birds as they grow. Remember, I'm using fermented feed, and not full free range, but they do get some freedom for a period of time most days. Not as much as they would like, for sure, as they hate getting rounded up to go back in their pen. . This may be more challenging for us as they get bigger. Anyway, the thread is here if you want to follow it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/921678/cornish-cross-broilers-husbandry#post_14033898

 

[phalenbeck]

Just looked at my current batch at 9 weeks. They forage a few hours daily, and 10-12 weeks seems like butcher time. If they stay healthy then they can stay longer as I like a 5+ carcass. 10 weeks has often been it in the past, but batches have varied.

 

[chickenz500]

Cornish crosses will gain weight really fast if you feed them properly. I had a few that almost were 10lbs! They do sell special food for them. Make sure that they don't live over 8 weeks or they will start to break bones. they are also really fragile, and they catch diseses fast. They will taste great though. If you give them a run, they will enjoy it for a few weeks, then they will lose interest and they will only want to eat.

 

[SwedishDude99]

Thanks everyone for your help. What type of feed do you guys use for your birds?

 

[chickenz500]

You can just use game bird feed when they are older. You do need a certain amount of protein though. also when they are chicks you can use chick starter. They do make meat bird grower that I suggest that you use when they are older