Meaties 101

I kind of thought 'meaties 101' would have more than just cx's. What about other meat birds? How long to grow them out?


20-24 wks. You can go much longer if you want them bigger or just want to fix what your going to eat. I've had my best thanksgiving with 3 non meat roosters (Hamburgs) at 8 months old. Some of the Amish down the road from me have the x-rocks. They started eating 2 at a time then went to 1 after they got bigger. Getting about 200 at a time. They free ranged with limited feed to keep them from crippling.
 
With so many newbies asking questions on raising Cornish Xs, I thought I would put together a post on how I raise them.  I am not saying my way is the only way or the right way, but it is how I do it.  I have had great livability percentages and great final results using this method.  So, here it goes.

The Brooder

When I am expecting an order of CX chicks (I get mine from Eagle Nest Poultry in Oceola, Ohio and have been very pleased with their chicks), the first thing to get ready is the brooder.  If I havent already done it, the day before they arrive, I put down fresh wood shavings, starting with 1-2.  I also plug in the heat lamp, fill the waterer, and fill the feed tray.    You always want newly arrived chicks to have water to drink that is not tap water temp, as it can bring down their body temp very quickly.  At the direction of my hatchery, I put 1 Tbsp of molases per gallon of water for the first few days.  My brooders are 5x9, and I hang 2 heat lamps about a foot apart in the center of the brooder.  Just like other chicks, CXs know what temp they need, and will move in and out from under the lamp as needed.  By placing it in the center, it keeps brooder temp uniform and at the same time, allows them ample room to move away from the heat.  As far as size of the brooder, I figure ¾ of a sqft/chick, assuming they are going to be in there for 3 weeks.  You could put more, but I have found unless you are going to change litter daily, this is about the right density.  I still have to rebed, but only 2-3 times in 3 weeks.  Under no circumstances will I ever brood them in my house.  They are fine for the first few days, but after that the smell and the dander will drive you nuts.  I have a simple rule, NO LIVESTOCK IN THE HOUSE!

Theyre Here

When the chicks arrive, they promptly go to the prewarmed brooder.  After putting them in, I will stand there and observe them for a few minutes.  After a few hours, I go back and check again.  If they are all huddled under the lamp, I move the lamp down a little to increase the brooder temp.  If they are going about their business, I leave it alone.  I have my lamps on small chains and attach them to hooks, allowing me to easily adjust the height.  I have found that the sooner you can wean them from the heat, the quicker they will feather.  After the first week, weather permitting, I will unplug the heat lamp during the warmest part of the day for a bit, increasing the time a little each day.  In doing this, it allows me to get them out of the brooder and into the tractor by at least 3 weeks of age.  During warmer weather, I have gotten them out to the pasture as early as 2 weeks.

Feeding

Cornishes are eating machines.  It still amazes me how much they can eat.  As a rough guide, I figure a total of 18-20 pounds per chick.  I use a custom made 22% feed from my mill from start to finish.  I am finding out from others on here that you can lower the protein percentage after 5 weeks and still get good results, but I choose to stick with only 1 type of feed.  Cornishes will literally eat themselves to death if allowed, so it is important not to overfeed them.  Most will suggest feeding them 24/7 for the first 2 weeks and then 12 hours w/ feed and 12 w/out.  I agree with this, as it does keep their growth at a pace that will keep their livability % higher.  I, however, have been going about it differently.  I give them only the amount of feed I want them to consume in a day.  I have a chart that gives the approximate daily food consumption for up to 8 weeks.  I found the chart on here a while back, and have found it very useful.  I have modified it to my liking, and always have average weights of 4-5 pounds in 8 weeks, while having almost no flips.  Sure you can feed them more and get them bigger faster, but for me, the reassurance of not losing a bird at the 6 week mark to CHF is well worth it.  Staring from day one, I always make sure all of them have a place at the table when feed is given.  I place my feeders in the tractor as far away from the water supply as possible so they are forced do more activity.  At this point from experience, I know at what mark I need to add feeder space.  To figure it out, after you give them feed, just make sure they all fit at the feeder.  If they dont, add more feeder space.

Watering

CXs will drink a tremendous amount of water in a days time, especially in warm weather.  Just like other breeds, it is important to have clean water in front of them at all times.  After 5 weeks of age, it is nothing for 80 of them to drink over 10 gallons a day.

Housing

I use the tractor method.  As stated above, I most always have them out to pasture by 3 weeks.  It is very helpful for them to start to eat greens at this age, as the nutrition in the greens result in much healthier birds.  I am also a firm believer that the amount of sunlight they get from being outside is beneficial.  My pasture mix is a horse pasture blend of white clover and 4 or 5 types of grass hay.  The birds love the clover.  As soon as I start to move the tractor, most of them will move to the front to get to the new pasture.  My tractors are 10x10, and I put right at 70 per, giving them around 1.5 sqft per bird.  Tractor density is more important than people think.  If you have them too dense, it is tough to keep enough feed in front of them and some will get shorted, resulting in some smaller birds.  If you dont have it dense enough, they will not grow as well due to lack of competition.  Not sure of the science behind it, but I can tell you from experience it is a factor.  At any rate, I am happy with the results I get with this density.  I move the tractor at least once a day, twice on the weekends or when I am home all day.  One thing I see asked over and over is if you can house CX and layers together.  In my opinion, no.  CX and layer have very different needs, and I don not like the idea of keeping them together.  I know some people do and are successful, but I never have and never will.

Here are a few pics of my tractors and dolly.  Both are inspired by Joel Salatin.
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Processing

This is the part of raising meat birds that get people.  It seems either a person has no problems or worries about, or they just refuse to try it or even think about it.  I have seen many on here that say there is no way they could ever butcher a chicken, but after doing it say, "It wasn't that bad."  IMHO, if you're going to take the time to raise your own food humanely, you might as well do it from start to finish.  Afterall, you just spent 8 weeks catering to their every need, why stop now.  I am not going to go into the actual process as there are many other great guides to processing already on here.  I would like to discuss pre and post processing.

 
Pre

It is important (at least to me) that the crops of the birds be empty prior to processing.  To accomplish this, I take their feed away 12-18 hours prior to butchering.  After 12 hours, the crop will be empty, but they will still have an abundance of partially digested feed in their digestive track.  At 18 hours, the tract will be much emptier.  After you process a few times, you will come to realize the longer you withhold feed the better.  I am considering trying taking it away for at 24 hours prior to see if the tract will completly empty.  I do keep water in front of them as long as possible.  The night before processing, I load my birds up in the back of my pick-up truck with the topper on with a fountain waterer in there.  In the morning I just reach in and grab birds as needed.  I like this because it doesn't keep them in crates overnight, and they are able to drink as needed.

Post

After your birds are processed, it is important to get their temp below 40 degrees as quickly as possible.  Quick cooling with ensure quality meat and eliminate the chances of contamination.  We always let our processed birds chill for at least an hour before further cutting or bagging.  You will find that if the birds are very cold, it makes cutting them up much cleaner and easier.  We have found that letting them "rest" in the fridge for 2-4 days will result in a more tender bird after it is cooked.  We have gone as long as 7 days, but I really couldn't tell much difference than at 4 days.

Conclusion

Raising this breed properly will result in a bounty of reward.  You can get a very nice eating size bird in a relatively short period of time.  No other breed will ever give you as proportional breast and dark meat as these.  The Cornish often gets a bad rap, unrightfully so.  They are not genetically modified and are not frankenbirds as I have often seen the called.  People who have problems often get into them not being fully knowledgeable of how to properly take care of them.  As a result, they spread a fury of misinformation about their expirience.  I think that this misinformation hinders some folks from even trying them, which IMHO is wrong.  Under no circumstances will they ever die for no reason or just break a leg walking.  I have never had one go down from bad legs and have had very few flips.  If either if these happen, it is from improper care, not the breed.


I hope this is insightful for those of you considering trying your hand at this breed, and hopefully it clears up some of the misinformation people spread.  Once again, I am not saying this is the right way or the only way to raise these, just my way.
 
I enjoyed reading your post. I have done nearly exactly what you have done here because I did my research first. I'm not new to chickens so that helps. My Cornish X are just turning 7 weeks old. I plan to process within the next two weeks due to their size. I have used organic feed and free range as well as using the tractor for their sleeping quarters. I am excited to process and eat my own home grown food! :)
 
So what am I looking at feed wise for about 20 birds?

Feed is $25 for the meat birds.

2lbs to 1lb? Is that the accurate ratio?

I plan on butchering at 8 weeks. Around 4lbs or so. So is that 8lbs feed, per bird for its life time? Or is my math wrong?

This is my first time growing out meat birds, and I'm doing it for someone else; who is paying for everything. I figured 3 to 4 50lb sacks, at that ratio. And put that into the cost, but will it be more like 5 to 6 sacks?
 

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