Maintaining my Cornish crosses til I can process them

[jlf111769]

Is there any particular way to maintain the weight of my Cornish cross meat birds while waiting to process them. They are 6 lb on average at this point and I need another 7 days of time till I can process them. Are there any factors I need to worry about till then other than them becoming completely obese lol.

 

[Mwhit]

They’re probably just gonna get bigger. I’d imagine up to 7lb. You could free range them if that’s an option? They should be just fine though

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

They’re probably just gonna get bigger. I’d imagine up to 7lb. You could free range them if that’s an option? They should be just fine though

I agree with this. Plus, OP, don't forget that they lose about 30% of their weight after processing so their weights now are a lot higher than what the dressed weights will be. Even if they get to 7 lbs, that's still a nice sized dressed bird that isn't overly large. Some might be a bit big to roast whole in the oven, but they will be excellent for parting out or spatchcocking.

Another thing you can do to slow their growth is to reduce protein intake. I wouldn't go lower than 18% but reducing it from what a lot of meat bird feeds are (usually 22-24%) should slow things a little.

They will be just fine if you process them in 7 days. Many people let them get much heavier than you are. Not saying that's necessarily right (or wrong), but I just want to say that they will be alright.

 

[cassie]

I wouldn't worry about it. Personally I prefer larger chickens. I don't suggest anyone do this, but the biggest chicken I processed dressed out at 16 pounds. Best "turkey" I ever roasted.

 

[jlf111769]

Thank you all for your replies. Hopefully this weekend I will get them processed. They have a pretty good waddle going on when they walk around. I will post an update when I get them processed. Again thank you for the help.

 

[cassie]

Thank you all for your replies. Hopefully this weekend I will get them processed. They have a pretty good waddle going on when they walk around. I will post an update when I get them processed. Again thank you for the help.

My husband used to describe them as bowling balls on legs.

 

[speedy2020]

I found they taste better feeding them corn in the final 1-2 weeks. Also, don't feed them the last 12-24 hours to reduce the mess.

 

[jlf111769]

I got all birds dispatched and cleaned up on Sunday. They have been chilling in the fridge since then, hopefully tonight I can get them bagged and weighed. Thanks for all the advice and wisdom. When I get them weighed I will post the results.

 

[DoozyWombat]

I wouldn't worry about it. Personally I prefer larger chickens. I don't suggest anyone do this, but the biggest chicken I processed dressed out at 16 pounds. Best "turkey" I ever roasted.

That's amazing. My first year, I was plucking by hand and could not get to the CX fast enough. The processing was spread out over many weeks. My largest was 13.7 lbs dressed. I think the bird was 12.5 weeks at that point. I had several over twelve pounds. Every bit as tender and juicy as the 8lb broilers, and actually easier to process.

Birds were free range and very active. Unlimited food except weeks three and four, where they were fed for 30 minutes twice per day. Did not lose any to heart attacks or leg issues.

It was hilarious and amazing to come out of the barn and see 30 ten-pound birds come tearing at me from every corner of the yard. My daughter called them "turtle cannons". And yes, some of those ten-pound birds were flying.

 

[cassie]

That's amazing. My first year, I was plucking by hand and could not get to the CX fast enough. The processing was spread out over many weeks. My largest was 13.7 lbs dressed. I think the bird was 12.5 weeks at that point. I had several over twelve pounds. Every bit as tender and juicy as the 8lb broilers, and actually easier to process.

Birds were free range and very active. Unlimited food except weeks three and four, where they were fed for 30 minutes twice per day. Did not lose any to heart attacks or leg issues.

It was hilarious and amazing to come out of the barn and see 30 ten-pound birds come tearing at me from every corner of the yard. My daughter called them "turtle cannons". And yes, some of those ten-pound birds were flying.

My husband used to call them bowling balls with legs. I raised mine in batches of 25. I would process them two or three per day. I could not face trying to process them all at once. Mine had feed from seven in the morning until seven at night. I never tried free ranging them but if I had it to do over I might.