How many of you FULLY Free Range your Cornish X Meaties? Tractors do not count.

[Owingsia]

Ours go into the goat field with the goats. We love watching them romp around. They do not truly free range with the "wild" hens. I say wild because other than the sleeper coop (even some of them roost in trees near the coop) they spend their days running around our 5 acre wood and going to the neighbors garden to eat bugs.

 

[Clsikes]

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Thought I'd give you all an update. My two keeper hens are laying. Here is Big Bertha being serviced by a terribly ugly molting frizzle rooster. HA! Not hatching until I can ensure her eggs are sired by my Heritage Barred Rock Jagger Have you hatched any of the eggs out yet, and if so, how do the chicks look?

 

[aoxa]

Quote: Not yet. Way too cold to start hatching. It's so cold she is not laying right now. It was -39 yesterday.

 

[Chris Duke]

I free range my meaties completely. The ones i have left, about 15 are starting to lay eggs. I have only lost one to predation and that was because the kids didnt get him in at night. It was hidden in the grass and they missed him. He wound up losing his head but the dogs chased off the critter before it could eat any more. I will kill the rest after the weather cools down in about 2 weeks. These meaties are close to 20 weeks old, maybe older. The only ones left are the females. I ahd about 4 males die of heart failure a few months ago when we had a heat wave for a couple of days but otherwise these birds thrive outdoors on bugs and other chickeny type things. I can not, in good conscience raise my birds like a factory does. So they roam and wander. They arent as tender as pen raised birds but that is cured by brining them after they have rested. I plan on canning about 10 of the birds that are left. From now on though i am doing meaties on a smaller scale. No more 100 bird sets.

I'm no where near reading all the posts yet on this thread, but this does bring up the only concern I have about the Cross X. I'm wondering about their egg laying ability in a free range environment. I know, they are not bread for laying eggs, etc, and that they are usually processed before that age anyway, but I also really don't want to be constantly having to buy new chicks. Anyone free ranging them have any luck keeping a few around for laying and breeding? One of my biggest goals when I get my place will to be as self sustainable as possible. Having to keep ordering new chicks all the time would be counter productive to that goal.

~EDIT~ Ok, I read the rest of the post from page 8 - 15. Good info. So they can be let to breed. Good to know. I plan on trying more than several breeds. Until reading this thread, I had not considered the Cross X for all the negative stuff I've been reading about them. Now I will have to give them a try as well as the others. It's going to be interesting cross breeding some of the free range birds with them and seeing what comes out.

 

[aoxa]

I'm no where near reading all the posts yet on this thread, but this does bring up the only concern I have about the Cross X. I'm wondering about their egg laying ability in a free range environment. I know, they are not bread for laying eggs, etc, and that they are usually processed before that age anyway, but I also really don't want to be constantly having to buy new chicks. Anyone free ranging them have any luck keeping a few around for laying and breeding? One of my biggest goals when I get my place will to be as self sustainable as possible. Having to keep ordering new chicks all the time would be counter productive to that goal.

~EDIT~ Ok, I read the rest of the post from page 8 - 15. Good info. So they can be let to breed. Good to know. I plan on trying more than several breeds. Until reading this thread, I had not considered the Cross X for all the negative stuff I've been reading about them. Now I will have to give them a try as well as the others. It's going to be interesting cross breeding some of the free range birds with them and seeing what comes out.

Big Bertha and her sister are 33 weeks old now and I have their eggs in the incubator I will update once they hatch. Looking forward to it!

 

[Chris Duke]

Big Bertha and her sister are 33 weeks old now and I have their eggs in the incubator I will update once they hatch. Looking forward to it!

Me too now that I've found this post!

 

[Fentress]

Great thread. Interesting reading. I had no idea that CX would do well under this type of management method. What strain of CX do you use? Does it matter? Are some strains, maybe some of the older strains, a little easier/better suited for free range? I picked up in the reading that you can not free feed. How many times a day do you feed. Is twice, early morning and evening enough? I would have to feed them after work, so how much time after the evening meal would they need prior to bedding down for the night? This could determine what time of year I raise them.

I have a bit of a hawk issue and have been leery of bringing any hybrid onto the property because I have assumed that they would be unaware/stupid re: hawks. I have had problems with brooding chicks on pasture, but eventually they learn the hard way and you only end up losing a few. Would the same senario play out with the CX? I just have visions of them offering them selves up to the hawks on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I have just recently learned about the Coopers Hawk this winter. He is a quick, persistent little you know what!

Thanks.

 

[Beekissed]

I didn't lose any to a hawk, though they ranged all over 3 acres and my dog only ranges on 1/2 of that and on one end. I think a combination of a dog in the range area at all times, a crow pack that was vigilant for hawks and just human wary hawks here in the backwoods might have insured they were safe...but anywhere else I'd be putting a dog or two in the free range area.

 

[mrs1885]

I'd never considered the Cornish X either given what I've read about their shortened life spans. My plan was to get meat birds and layers, keep them in separate areas, and allow half the group of each to stay to provide is with the next generation. From what I read you couldn't let the Cornish X live that long. So I guess it really depends on how you keep them? Still not sure I'd get any. We're bringing in Jersey Giants and likely some Light Brahmas. And we do plan on free ranging them in a fenced area. I'm very worried about predators, but I guess we'll see how it goes as time passes.

 

[chickeemama]

Marking my spot on here. This is a great thread. I was thinking I would try free ranging this summer, now I know I will. Luckily I have a huge barn with very large cages, 15 x 30 or so. Still when you put 50 meaties in there, it was a full time job trying to keep them clean. I am so impressed with the pictures of the CX in this thread, they are beautiful white and their feet are so clean. The downstairs of my barn has an area that is 35 x 40, has a chicken door on it as I use this for the entire chicken population in the winter when they are not in the breeder pens. I am going to use it for the cx's this year. It is mostly underground except the side that is open to the pasture, so it stays naturally cool in the summer.