Question on 4.5 week old Cornish X's

[Mikedero]

So the other day we ran out of Chicken in the freezer and I decided to process a few chicken early 4.5 weeks to restock up the fridge.
I processed 4 radom ones the lowest weight cleaned was 4 pounds 1 ounce and the largest 5 pounds 3 ounces. those seem a little big for my understanding.

Does anyone know if they are getting to big? I am feeding them a Multi Flock Blue Seal at 26% protein mixed in with a few cups of cracked corn and scratch feed. they do get the food a little more then 12 hours per day I take the food away around 7-8 PM and return food back at 6AM I change the water twice a day and move the tractor once per day.

Either way I think this weekend I will process another 5-6 chicken and let the other 10 grow out another few weeks. but holy cow they are getting big.

 

[BCMaraniac]

So the other day we ran out of Chicken in the freezer and I decided to process a few chicken early 4.5 weeks to restock up the fridge.
I processed 4 radom ones the lowest weight cleaned was 4 pounds 1 ounce and the largest 5 pounds 3 ounces. those seem a little big for my understanding.

Does anyone know if they are getting to big? I am feeding them a Multi Flock Blue Seal at 26% protein mixed in with a few cups of cracked corn and scratch feed. they do get the food a little more then 12 hours per day I take the food away around 7-8 PM and return food back at 6AM I change the water twice a day and move the tractor once per day.

Either way I think this weekend I will process another 5-6 chicken and let the other 10 grow out another few weeks. but holy cow they are getting big.

Sounds like they are growing quickly. You could slow their growth down a little by giving them feed with a little less protein, say 18-20 percent.

One concern would be that the continued rapid growth would result in leg problems or heart issues. However, if you continue things as is and they continue to grow this quickly and remain healthy you will be able to process the rest of them much earlier....which will reduce your overall cost.

I think the commercial poultry folks process at 6-8 weeks.

 

[Mikedero]

that works as well. I process half this weekend and the rest next weekend.

their legs are HUGE I mean they are bigger then our year old layers

 

[BCMaraniac]

that works as well. I process half this weekend and the rest next weekend.

their legs are HUGE I mean they are bigger then our year old layers

Here are my last 6.....from this past weekend





I grew mine a little slower, but they turned out okay....and they DO have big legs.....

 

[Mikedero]

Here is a picture of mine. I lost one last night so I am going to process some each night this week and finish them off this weekend. Oh and I took this picture before I moved them last night I move the tractor each day

 

[BCMaraniac]

Here is a picture of mine. I lost one last night so I am going to process some each night this week and finish them off this weekend. Oh and I took this picture before I moved them last night I move the tractor each day

That sounds like a good idea. Compare the color of the combs of the pullets with each other, and the combs of the roos with each other. If any of them look pale compared to the others, process those first, because many of us feel that that may be an indicator of early heart failure that can progress pretty quickly. Hope there are no other losses.

 

[Mikedero]

That sounds like a good idea. Compare the color of the combs of the pullets with each other, and the combs of the roos with each other. If any of them look pale compared to the others, process those first, because many of us feel that that may be an indicator of early heart failure that can progress pretty quickly. Hope there are no other losses.

It seems that the bigger ones (Roos) have a pale color to the smaller roos so I processed 2 of them last night and will do 2 each night until done. I am happy with the sizes as there are only 2 of us in the household. After losing the one yesterday and processing the 3 I did this week I have 17 more to go. this weekend I will leave 5-6 of the better looking ones to see if I can break the 8 pound range only if the continue to look good. I dropped the protein down to 18% and stopped mixing in cracked corn, I noticed that the 2 I processed last night had allot of fat around the organs.

The larger one was 5 pounds 4 ounces and the other one 4 pounds 10 ounces

 

[BCMaraniac]

They look great!! Those sizes are really good, especially for 5 weeks old. I am glad you looked at their combs. The roosters seem to be more susceptible to the heart failure, so yours seem to be bearing that out

Four to five pounds will give you a bigger bird than the rotisserie chickens you get at the deli, and is actually a great size to cut up and fry....in a cast iron skillet, of course...lol.

If they continue to look good, letting some grow for a little longer sound good. Their growth will slow now with the protein reduction, and the fat accumulation will slow or diminish without the corn. It has been my experience that the hens are the ones with a lot of abdominal fat rather than the roosters.

Keep us posted on your progress!!

 

[luvmyEs]

This is great! If I can process mine as early as you have I will be happy. The size your's are would be perfect for my small household.

 

[bwmichaud]

That's incredible growth for 5 weeks. We feed a 20% protein feed 12 on and 12 off and get males at around 2.5 pounds and females around 2 pounds in 5 Weeks.