What do yall think of this mix?

[FrankHomestead]

We have 2 coops, but one is just used for introducing new chickens. Another is for ducks. Everyone will be let out soon to free range. If I can talk my husband into letting his darlings out. After rescuing I think he is afraid they will get hurt if they go out. I think it is a good idea to have 2 coops, you never know when you might need to separate some. Good luck keeping them separate if they free range. And don't forget a hen can reject semen of a rooster she feels is inferior. Pretty cool trick, imagine if women could do that. So if your hens think the rooster in the other cage is more for her, she may in theory reject semen of the one in the coop with her. Not sure how realistic that is, but interesting to ponder if you end up with no fertilized eggs. It's pretty easy to figure out if the eggs are fertile. Also, chickens go back into their coops in the evening or late afternoon. I think you would have to alternate days, or be willing to coax one group in to let the other out. Alternating days may cause undue stress to the one being kept in. Good luck.

LMAO at the rejected semen comment, and I've never heard that before, how interesting!! I think you're right about the stress factor. Maybe I need to not worry about it, I can't control every little thing unless I kept them pinned up!

 

[crity]

Oh, I forgot. You could think of getting chicken fencing. It is electric and people use them to separate critters or keep them in an area. But if your birds are good at flying it might not work. I guess you could clip their wings.

 

[FrankHomestead]

Many will start trying to mate around 12 weeks. They may or may not be successful at that point but they will certainly try lol.

How many chicks are you planning to hatch out per week/month/year? How many do you plan to butcher and how many times a year do you plan to butcher?

TBH it should not matter much if they are mingling, especially if you are not keeping the offspring to put back into breeding.

From what I understand, anything that goes past a "cornish X" age is going to be tough. "Tough" is also a matter of personal opinion and preference. I find store chicken to be a bit mushy. I only slow cook and shred my butchered birds and their texture is perfectly fine to me.

Remember these will be very large birds so you will need a large tractor and move it frequently if you go that route.

I usually suggest selling pullets rather than butchering them. I feel like that is the more lucrative way to go, unless you think you can actually yield $15 worth of meat per bird. Put that money back toward feed and flock maintenance.

That's a very good point, it doesn't matter if I'm not breeding those accidental crosses! didn't think of it that way. I wonder how hard it would be to sell boXjg pullets

 

[FrankHomestead]

So what do you guys think of the cross? would it be a nice meaty bird? I know they will be slow growers and I'm 100% fine with that. I think I would be overwhelmed if it happened as fast as the Cornishx

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Honestly, in your situation, I would go with a couple breeds from here or similar:

https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/

Do you have a very large family so that you need your birds to be near turkey size just for one meal? lol

 

[SunHwaKwon]

FWIW, my Jersey Giant pullet is growing verrrryyyy slow. She is larger than my other pullets her age, but only just slightly so. I expect it takes a very long time for them to reach their "true" size, and that just adds up to more and more feed costs if you are raising them for meat, even if you offset it with free ranging.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Here are some other good options I have found over the past few months:

https://hoovershatchery.com/rainbow.html

https://www.moyerschicks.com/product-category/specialty-broilers/

 

[FrankHomestead]

I will check out those links, thanks guys! my family consists of 6 ppl, most being males, so a big bird is needed! lol I also make homemade feed and want to grow it myself, money is an issue but labor is not!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Other things to consider - how many birds you feel comfortable butchering in a day and how often you'll want to do it, which freezer space will also factor into that. That will tell you how many chicks you want to hatch at a time and how frequently, and if you have overlap of batches that may be a lot of birds to care for, so a bird that grows moderately fast (~12 week butcher rate) can actually be less overwhelming so you don't have batches and batches that you are trying to grow out simultaneously.

 

[FrankHomestead]

Other things to consider - how many birds you feel comfortable butchering in a day and how often you'll want to do it, which freezer space will also factor into that. That will tell you how many chicks you want to hatch at a time and how frequently, and if you have overlap of batches that may be a lot of birds to care for, so a bird that grows moderately fast (~12 week butcher rate) can actually be less overwhelming so you don't have batches and batches that you are trying to grow out simultaneously.

I see your point, but regardless I do not want to raise the freakish cornishx lol I respect that a lot of you do and understand why, I would just rather work with heritage breeds/crosses. it just feels more natural to me I guess