burberry
In the Brooder
- Aug 9, 2022
- 6
- 0
- 12
I’m starting a project line of Dark Cornish specifically for meat and would love to share the ride with y’all! Current goals are to push for early fleshing at 12 weeks first and foremost and also work towards correct type and color. I have been tossing around the idea of using some cornish cross hens to enhance/add some desired traits(broad breast, thick legs, quick fleshing, perhaps larger eggs?). I would be sourcing yellow skin/yellow leg broilers who lay brown eggs to help minimize the variety in the crossbred birds but feather color and combs will be “fun” to get back on track and breeding true. I’m not expecting to get/retain monster weights or freaky-fast fleshing if I go this route, just looking for a bit of help to boost the “quality” of my starting stock. Sourcing show quality birds has been a massive headache so I’m more than willing to just take my time with this and enjoy myself.
Breeding will be done by one rooster over a max of 8-9 hens in a mobile tractor/coop. Individuals will be replaced in order of least desirable adult birds as desirable chicks are hatched. Record keeping for weight will be my top priority. Grow outs will be housed in my fenced in orchard and butchered at 12 weeks(my harvest goal).
On to the record keeping! Let me preface this by saying my current sample size is small(9 chicks) and these are not show quality/up to standard birds. I’d say better than typical hatchery stock, though. Currently have two groups, one four weeks older. The numbers up until week 2 are an average of both cockerels and pullets. After 2 weeks, I noticed that sex is distinguishable by weight, comb, and feathering so I’ll be keeping separate averages after that point. I’ll update weekly and can provide individual chick weights if anyone wants. Chicks will be weighed daily for the first _ weeks. Will update how long I will do daily weighing when I get tired of doing said daily weighing.
Hatch; 33.8 grams/ 1.19 ounces/ 0.07 lbs
1 week; 63.8 grams/ 2.25 ounces/ 0.14 lbs
2 weeks;
Breeding will be done by one rooster over a max of 8-9 hens in a mobile tractor/coop. Individuals will be replaced in order of least desirable adult birds as desirable chicks are hatched. Record keeping for weight will be my top priority. Grow outs will be housed in my fenced in orchard and butchered at 12 weeks(my harvest goal).
On to the record keeping! Let me preface this by saying my current sample size is small(9 chicks) and these are not show quality/up to standard birds. I’d say better than typical hatchery stock, though. Currently have two groups, one four weeks older. The numbers up until week 2 are an average of both cockerels and pullets. After 2 weeks, I noticed that sex is distinguishable by weight, comb, and feathering so I’ll be keeping separate averages after that point. I’ll update weekly and can provide individual chick weights if anyone wants. Chicks will be weighed daily for the first _ weeks. Will update how long I will do daily weighing when I get tired of doing said daily weighing.
Hatch; 33.8 grams/ 1.19 ounces/ 0.07 lbs
1 week; 63.8 grams/ 2.25 ounces/ 0.14 lbs
2 weeks;
