Cornish X Rocks Max. Growth?

[Tervil Torv]

First time grower here. I have 300 cornish X rocks that are now eight weeks old. According to the breeder, these chickens dress-out at 5-6 lbs in 6-8 weeks. Since I started these in mid-October in Minnesota, I assume a considerable amount of my feed has gone into energy production to combat the cold temps. However, I could be wrong! Obviously, to get those dressed-out weights, I need 8 lb birds. Will these birds grow to 8 lbs if I keep feeding them, and is it economical? I know fish reach a point of "diminishing returns" relative to feed conversion ratios. Just wondering about these chickens.

Thank you,
Tervil

 

[donrae]

How big are your birds now?

I've taken a few CX to 3 months, I think they were over 10lbs butchered, not sure on live weight. An 8lb live weight bird is absolutely achievable.

 

[Tervil Torv]

Thank you for the response. Not sure how big they are. Some are quite small still, while some others are quite large. I am at about 9-weeks now.

Tom

 

[my sunwolf]

We do them in batches, butchering the biggest first (usually males) and letting the smaller ones grow up a bit more. I have not had much luck getting them to 8lbs live weight by 8 weeks on pasture, except for the big males. If they are on litter and confined they tend to get bigger faster. I would say you're right about feed conversion, and that you should go ahead and butcher. A 4lb of chicken is still a good size. You can always keep a few around to let them get really large and butcher them later if you're after big weights.