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mcmurray meat birds

post #1 of 7
6/25/12 at 6:43am
Thread Starter 
McMurray hatchery offers 2 meat birds. One is the"Jumbo Cornish X Rocks" and a"Cornish Roaster". They say that the roaster takes a week or two longer but that many of the health problems are avoided. Has anyone here had any experience with these two types of birds? I have visitors come to the farm and I want something that has an attractive appearance. Or, something that doesn't look pitiful. I'm going to raise them in a chicken tractor so they have fresh grass every day. This is more to keep them on clean ground. Any suggestions?
Free range Delawares, White Jersey Giants, Araucanas, Welsummers, Red Stars, and Chaps a Buff Cochin.
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Free range Delawares, White Jersey Giants, Araucanas, Welsummers, Red Stars, and Chaps a Buff Cochin.
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post #2 of 7
6/25/12 at 4:45pm

I'm curious about those too. i'll have to try them next year. Although, we're so happy with our birds from Welp Hatchery that I'd love to order from them again. McMurrays is local to us though. You might try the Red Ranger from Welp, they are a bit slower growing than the Cornish Rocks but they are much more active and pretty to look at. Not sure how they taste, we're butchering the first of them next week.

Farm mama to an ever-growing clan with miscellaneous Egg Layers, Meaties, and 15 Bourbon Red Turkeys along with 1 English Springer Spaniel, 1 spoiled rotten house cat, and 2 little helpers. 

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Farm mama to an ever-growing clan with miscellaneous Egg Layers, Meaties, and 15 Bourbon Red Turkeys along with 1 English Springer Spaniel, 1 spoiled rotten house cat, and 2 little helpers. 

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post #3 of 7
6/25/12 at 6:04pm

I've never ordered from McM, so can't help you with that part. I raise CX on very restricted amounts of commercial crumbles, and all the graze they want. If you add low roosts to your tractor, they will use them. They feather nicely, stay clean as long as they have the tractor on clean grass, and have none of the problems so many complain about.  I have a just a few, purchased from TSC in March, right now, but much prefer the quality of Schlecht's. Their prices are great too.   http://www.schlechthatchery.com/chickens.htm  I have even kept them and used them to breed with, and they make it to about one year before I start loosing them to heart problems, though I lost a couple due to laying prolapse also. My experience is that, at any time over the feeding period, if you decide to grow them faster and thicker bodied, just step up the amount of feed they are allowed. However the rapid growth related problems will surface at that time.  

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post #4 of 7
6/25/12 at 8:50pm
Thread Starter 
All great information!
Free range Delawares, White Jersey Giants, Araucanas, Welsummers, Red Stars, and Chaps a Buff Cochin.
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Free range Delawares, White Jersey Giants, Araucanas, Welsummers, Red Stars, and Chaps a Buff Cochin.
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post #5 of 7
6/26/12 at 1:13pm

A roaster is a Cornish Cross you grow out a couple extra weeks to get just a little bigger. I'm guessing the Roaster advertised is just slightly slower growing than the Jumbo so it can handle the stress of the extra weeks, but I don't know for sure.

"There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere." --Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

What I'm reading now:  Bullspotting: Finding Facts in the Age of Misinformation, by Loren Collins.

 

 

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"There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere." --Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

What I'm reading now:  Bullspotting: Finding Facts in the Age of Misinformation, by Loren Collins.

 

 

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post #6 of 7
6/26/12 at 9:29pm

I purchased 5 one died of a broken foot at 4 weeks, unrelated to anything to do with the bird. I am not sure what happened in my coop.

The other four birds were perfect, dressed out at 5.5 pounds.

I would NOT recommend this for the summer as they do pant heavly due to extreme size. I do live in Southern Florida.

 

Here are two videos the first one is an example of them the day before the slaughter, the next video is of the slaughter. I did it myself.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKxXN21YVLA

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy_FJ6qvR6Q

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post #7 of 7
6/27/12 at 5:42am
Thread Starter 
Nice videos. Were those birds the jumbo CXR or the Cornish roaster?
Free range Delawares, White Jersey Giants, Araucanas, Welsummers, Red Stars, and Chaps a Buff Cochin.
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Free range Delawares, White Jersey Giants, Araucanas, Welsummers, Red Stars, and Chaps a Buff Cochin.
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