Good luck with your project. I use Dark Cornish over a CX hen. I also use a high protein starter. You are on the right track. Your birds look good. I have to use vitamins in the water. Meat birds grow fast and at times they grow unevenly. Too much stress on the bone to muscle without a vitamin supplement can cause leg/joint issues.Ok, before I start let me clarify that I'm no meat bird expert. I was trying to breed a sustainable meat bird until my coop was raided by some stray dogs but here are the weighs of my surviving 8 of 5wks and 4wks.
5 wk old 1.9 lbs
5 wk old 1.6 lbs
4 wk old 1.3
4 wk old 1.5
4 wk old 1.3 lbs
4 wk old 14.8 oz
4 wk old 14.9 oz
I don't know if they are doing good in weight since I didn't have a scale to record weight when they hatched. Also I was feeding them turkey starter the first two 50 lb bags then mixed their feed with cracked corn and were free ranging also. For next hatch I'm gonna have them caged feed turkey starter only, giving them also 16 hr light with timer and weighing them from newborn and updating weekly their growth.
Wow....they looked delicious. What 's hen you were using? Slow growth Cx or Jumbo Cx? I'm using Madisons DP hen and white Plymouth rock. Used RIR also but Madisons and WPR offspring look bigger. How old were your birds when those pics were taken?Good luck with your project. I use Dark Cornish over a CX hen. I also use a high protein starter. You are on the right track. Your birds look good. I have to use vitamins in the water. Meat birds grow fast and at times they grow unevenly. Too much stress on the bone to muscle without a vitamin supplement can cause leg/joint issues.
I used Murray McMurray's Cornish Roasters - slower growing. My birds grow faster than heritage Dark Cornish, but slower than The CX type. The group meat pics are birds taken at Cornish game hen size ~2 pounds dressed weight. My 50%DC / 50%CX birds usually attain weight by 4 to 5 weeks. I like Cornish game size so this is what I am breeding for weight and age wise. They are nice and breasty, well proportioned at all stages of growth. This is what I am breeding my chicks to look like. Quail sized to adult - all look correct.
