Letting my broody raise 20 meaties. Now I have a rooster raising 50 CX chicks~new batch! - Page 28

Mine were at 9-10 wk mark when we were in the worst of our drought with temps from 90-101....past the butcher point and had slowed down on eating.  They just spent the majority of their time lying in the shade of the orchard and drinking the cool spring water in their waterer.  Mornings and evening were spent foraging. 

I got my meaties April and butchered July 4th weekend.....some of the highest temps we've had in this region in some time were happening the whole month of June. 

I never lost one bird.  I think it really matters the type of feed they are fed, the living conditions in which they are kept and keeping them hydrated.  I mounted a fan in my chicken coop until I realized all the birds were spending their time outside in the cool grass....never had to use it.

BTW, finally got to try my meat birds.....best chicken I've ever tasted!  Rich flavor, good texture, tender and juicy.  Nothing like store bought....no resemblance, really.  I'm amazed at the good flavor and how easy they are to eat....tenderest chicken I've ever eaten. 

I give the CX five stars!!!!     

This may sound like a weird question, but what color was the fat?  Supermarket chickens tend to have white fat.  When we've eaten a heritage breed cockerel from our backyard, the fat was yellow (for any breed we've had).  Is that due to the breed or the pasture raising?  Do pasture-raised CornishX have yellow fat too?

The fat was a creamy yellow but not the very yellow of the fat on my dual purpose hens.  Not white, though.  These CX had a yellow layer of fat under the skin that gives the skin a pinky-golden glow....very pretty. 

I feed my dogs the raw meats also....no need to cook them and the dogs really benefit from the muscle tissue.

WOW!  Big roo!  Sounds like you are an old pro at this now, WW....   

Can't wait until you taste it and see how it is....I just ate some baked thighs this evening and I can't tell you how different this meat tastes than the store bought variety.  It has a sweet flavor and soooooo juicy! 

Post some pics of your processing?  Or did you take any?  You got some enormous weights out of your birds! 

Since we are getting close to meaty season, I thought I would revive this thread from last year's meaty project so that others can try this if they wish to do so.  It was easy to do and took all the worry and guess work out of just how to raise meaties. 

The answer was quite simple....let an expert do it!  A mama hen will beat a brooder, heat lamp and feed station any day to keep chicks alive and thriving. 

After she left them to their own devices they just blended in with my layer flock and that too was easy. 

If it had been difficult and messy with worries about turning on and off lights, removing feeds at certain times and regulating protein percentages for optimal growth I would have never did it.

Wishing everyone well and good luck with their meat bird projects!