Buying meat birds...

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CTChickenMom

CTChickenMom

Songster
11 Years
Jan 5, 2009
789
28
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SE Connecticut
I had asked a while ago at mypetchicken.com about the best breed for raising for meet (duh...pet chicken site...hello?) and they gave me this web site: http://www.jmhatchery.com/free-range-broiler/colored-range-chicks/prod_5.html. They said that the cornish Xs can often grow so fast that their bone growth can't keep up lending them unable to walk and that they can be prone to heart issues. I checked out this site and its quite informative. The chicks are $2 each if you buy 25 and then price/chick goes down as you buy larger quantities.

http://www.poultrylabelrouge.com/images/home_illustr_mid1.jpg

Just an FYI
smile.png
 
IF you educate yourself as to HOW to raise the Cornish X before you buy them, you will have minimum problems that they describe and then you will be rewarded with the most meat in the shortest time. You will have saved yourself at least 2 weeks of hard labor , worry, and housing. More time to enjoy your family.
 
I think you're oversimplifying this a bit. Many of us live in climates where pasture raising the CornishX is a death sentence. For example where I am at in Western Washington, our soils harbor coccidiossis which stay dormant for decades. This is just one example.

Plenty of people raise the CornishX well and no one disputes that. But not everyone can get the same results and it's not simply through ignorance as you' seem to be implying here.
 
If you lived in a high desert climate where you only got 6.5 " of rain between mid Dec. to end of May and none thereafter until Dec.. Brown grass the rest of the year unless one irrigated the grass. Irrigation water is very expensive. The reservoirs are down below 25% now and being rationed to almost nil for the farmers. and will get more so due to the environmentalist law suits and Liberal Judges decision to restore the water flow of the San Juaquin River from the Sierra Nevada Mts. to the Pacific. This River has been bone dry for about 80 years now. Temeratures from Nov. to late Feb. get down to the 20*'s for a low and mid 40*'s for a high. Then from mid June through Sept. the temps go into the high 90*'s and reaching 105* to 117* for week at a time then drop down to a cool of 99*. This morning I saw 4 coyotes, 1 racoon, 3 barn owls and right now there are 7 Red Tailed hawks circling overhead on my land. There is noone within 50 miles circumferance raising any chickens. There are quite a few empty chicken houses with pens attached but no live chickens. So, my dear Watson, what would you do to raise a chicken and what type of chicken would you raise if you wanted to savor a game hen or a fried chicken or Bar B Que or a roasted chicken other than going to the frozen food section at Von's or WalMart?
 
Quote:
I guess there is only one way to find out.
Order a bunch and let us know.Otherwise you'll have to take someone elses word for it.
It's kinda like "which is better coke or pepsi"?Ask a rep from each company and I'll bet I know what they say. Will
 
I'd agree with the heart issues, and as Greyfields said, there are other issues, but the bone/leg issue is easy to avoid and shouldn't deter anyone from getting Cornish X's.
 
Quote:
Greyfields, or anyone, can you give me a clue as to what to do based on these environmental conditions, please?
 
True free ranging where the chicken gets all of its nourishment, except water, from foraging is difficult to attain and manage. I would say that most people that "free range" actually use a combination of ranging and feeding.

I think that just allowing your chickens as much freedom as possible will enhance the quality of their life and of the finished product.

Getting the Cornish X, feeding them a prepared chicken feed, shoving them outside to a covered run, and encouraging them to move around will produce a better quality meat than you would normally buy in a store.

My suggestion is to have a covered run as large as possible. Make it as predator proof as you can. Provide shade and shelter from the wind in it. Manage the food so the birds don't just sit at the feeder and eat. Restricting the food might slow down the growth so you you can avoid the typical fast growth problems with the Cornish X.

Or do the same thing with one of the "ranger" types.


Just some ideas.
 
This summer we did a batch of both Cornish and Range Broilers.

We live in CT, as does CTChickenMom.

Here are our results:

1-Cornish had a much higher mortality rate. They dropped all the time
for no appearant reasons. The Rangers were the most healthy and
hearty bird we have ever raised.

2-Rangers would range and eat other things. The Cornish would barely
move. They couldn't even get up the ramp to get back into the coop.

3-The Cornish feed consumption was higher and their poo was disgusting
and smelled much worse than any other chicken or bird I raise.

4-IMO the Rangers tasted better.

5-With all costs considered I believe the Rangers ended up giving me more
meat than the Cornish did for the money.

In a meat production setting I realize Cornish are better meat producers.
In a backyard farm setting Rangers are superior. I can't wait for our next
batch.

I read Greyfield's post and those of others who raised Rangers for a year
before I ordered my first batch. Again, I couldn't be happier.

We also raised 50 fryer roos from Meyers too. Are freezers are packed.
 

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