Getting meaty meaties

[KBlue]

Way back when I did 4H, I raised Cornish X to show in the junior fair. However we were never really able to get good, fat breasts on the birds that maintained their thickness from the crop to the end of the keel. The breasts were more heart-shaped, and I was always docked points for that. I'm just curious if you all do anything in particular with your birds to get them to fill out better.

What we tried over the years:
1. birds from several different hatcheries, in case it was genetics
2. used turkey starter or game feed for higher protein
3. feeders and waterers raised up a bit and accessed by ramps to encourage them to exercise a little (this helped fix some flabby thighs, but no improvement in the breastmeat)
4. 25 birds were housed in a 12'x12' stall with abundant daylight and ventilation
5. fair rules required them to be 3 - 5 lbs live weight and no older than 8 weeks, were they perhaps not mature enough at the time of judging?

Thanks!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

They are just not ready yet. At 3-5lbs that is like a cornish hen at the grocery. At that weight our birds would only be 4 weeks old. You are not going to get large breast meat at that weight. Our fair birds must be 7-9 lbs to be considered a broiler, anything less is considered a fryer and would not be chosen for Grand champion. I think if I were you, I would be trying to get those rules change. Even a good judge would back you up on that. Good luck to you.

 

[KBlue]

I suspected maturity was a factor, but other families (one in particular) were always able to get good type, even on such young birds. Asking them what they did never really resulted in usable information (they were competition after all), that is why I figured it was something that we were/were not doing.

 

[bigredfeather]

I would say some of it is genetics as well. I know the hatchery I use has a strain of CX that is preferred by those that show due to the larger and more square breast. I have a daughter nearing 4H age, so I will find out next year if there is any difference, as she is already asking about doing a meatie pen for the fair.