Mine just turned 3 weeks of age & have unlimited feed for 12 hours a day (8-8:30 am to 8-8:30pm).
It's recommended to feed only 12 hrs a day after reaching about 3 weeks old to prevent problems.
You should do another batch! I'm on my second batch this year, and am thinking of doing a third when these are gone (like you, mid-August).
We buy 1/4 of a cow every year & with all this chicken we are looking into getting another chest freezer for all this meat! Plan is to never buy...
I'm no expert (and I'm sure someone else will chime in)......
But mine are 3 weeks old & you can start to notice the comb on the rooster's head larger than the females.
Yes. Let us know.
I just went on a poultry processing web site & it said that a dressed bird is usually 75% of the live weight (so a 6lb would come out at around 4.5lbs).
You know, I really wish I had done a weight before processing. So I don't know what they weighed alive.
I've already started my 2nd batch this year so if I remember to do weights the night before process I will!
Friends of ours averaged their CX's at 5 lbs with a few above 7 dressed.
Maybe...and this is total speculation....
Maybe it's too cool for them yet to spend too much time outside? Some time outside could be ok (I haven't let mine out yet), but maybe the one that died got too cool? Tomorrow ours should be of age to have the brooder at 85 degrees.
I'm having a bit...
So my first batch of Cornish Crosses are in the fridge "resting".
I'd like to know what you guys who have raised CC's weights were after culling.
Out of 19, I had 2 over 6lbs. Few in the 4 lb range, but most in the 5lb range.
Thanks!
What we (small chicken raisers) have over big chicken companies and especially ANYTHING from China...is that we can say its completely natural meat without any chemicals(if we do it that way, which i am). Yes, a lot of companies advertise hormone-free, free range chicken, but they can still...
What's the outside temp where you are? When it gets pretty hot here....like over 80 degrees (past few days its been mild though), I put powerade in their water regardless for the electrolytes.
Sorry to hear about the chick :(
Cool videos! It's funny when you put them in a new surrounding/area they stay all together until one or two decide to venture off.
I haven't tried to offer them watermelon yet. But maybe now I will try.
With my first batch this year I fed 24 hrs a day for the first 3 weeks.
At 3 weeks of age, they were fed for only 12 hours a day. Basically from early morning till late evening.
I bought another fridge (a lot smaller than my main one).
Only use its going to get is resting my birds before eating and freezing, and miscellaneous stuff that doesn't fit in my main fridge.