Questions on Cornish X?

[Triple Willow]

I have 12 CX I purchased on March 20th so they are about 23 weeks old. They are all still healthy with only a couple with a slight limp -but still moving fast. The majority of the time I have fed them fermented feed (2X/day only what they will clean up in a few minutes) and they got about 2 hours of free range time most days- and yep they are great at free ranging! I fed a feed mix of starter/grower, cracked corn, steam rolled oats, alfalfa pellets and whole flax seeds. I did not "push" them by over feeding them so they stayed more sound. These birds have been really athletic. The pullets still jump up on top of a wire dog crate (at least 3 feet) and roost. I would guess they range in weight from 8-12 lbs. The pullets are dang good layers too, but the eggs aren't very big yet. I plan on keeping two pullets for breeding.

These are the first CX I have raised so I can't help you on how long if will take to get them to the weight you need. You could raise some huge ones and blow everybody's mind. LOL Good luck! You will really enjoy the CX. Don't get too attached to them, they are sweet birds.

 

[Triple Willow]

Swedish...hopefully others might chime in. I have a thread I just started today that I plan to keep updated, so that may help you as I will give approximate weights for my birds as they grow. Remember, I'm using fermented feed, and not full free range, but they do get some freedom for a period of time most days. Not as much as they would like, for sure, as they hate getting rounded up to go back in their pen. . This may be more challenging for us as they get bigger. Anyway, the thread is here if you want to follow it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/921678/cornish-cross-broilers-husbandry#post_14033898

Good luck on your project. I would turn mine out to free range then feed them when I put them back up. They will still come running to the feed bucket so getting them put back up has never been a problem. But you have to really hide the feed bucket to get them to go free range. lol

 

[Triple Willow]

@SwedishDude99... I don't know where you live but seeding some white clover this winter (that will come up in the spring) for your CX will really help. That stuff is like crack to CX! lol Also get them out free ranging by 3-4 weeks, the earlier the better. I'll also add that I got my CX from TSC so they came from Mt Healthy Hatchery.

 

[SIMZ]

My kids have raised meat birds for fair the last few years and have problems keeping them from going over the max weights. I believe the roasters were 10 weeks and the broilers were 8 weeks. They gave them a large pen and access to a large yard area. They fed them in the morning - what they could eat in about 15 minutes, again around noon, and again in the evening. As long as you feed them they'll have no problem making weight.

I second what Triple Willow said about getting them on scraps and outside early! We start treats and scraps as soon as we get them. Otherwise they act like they don't know it's food. If the weather is bad and we can't get them outside by 3 weeks they seem to have to be made to go out. The ones that get outside at 2-3 weeks just about break the door down to get out every morning.

 

[Devon07]

We are using Manna Pro Organic......they are moved 3 to 4 times daily in a tractor and are gaining as quick as ones feeding 24/7 it appears.....I feed them twice a day and at 4 weeks, they range for the most part....they seem more excited about being moved than the red feed dish getting filled....but they are crazy at both times. My birds are extremely clean and look like white cotton balls....they have no dirt and are in about three inch tall grass/weeds they get moved through. I put ACV in the water and i may even do some FF to change it up a little. I had 26 birds and lost two...one in shipping and one due to impacted crow when it was very young....I suspect it ate a wood chip as they were starting to do so and it worried me. They went to the tractor at 2.5 weeks and loved it.....we had warm nights though...otherwise, I would have waited until they feathered more. Good luck and enjoy.

Devon-