I got my 23, 7 week old Cornish's butchered Tuesday. I have them all frozen and canned. I have the last batch of broth on the stove cooking right now. We had one for Christmas dinner and it was delicious. It feels really good to know I've put some good meat in the freezer for my family. They averaged 4.6 lbs/each for a total of 105 lbs of meat.
Honestly, I had hoped for a bit higher average, but for my first batch, I am satisfied. I'm glad I decided to take them all in at 7 weeks. I was going to wait 2 more weeks for the smaller ones, but with the unusually cold temps and worry of sickness, I decided to get it over with. They didn't seem very happy. I felt bad for them when it was below zero, and the heat lamp was not enough to keep them warm. I ended up at $1.38/lb for the meat, with a 2.6 Feed Conversion Rate.
Will I do it again? Definetly! Will I do some thing different? Definetly!
Things I would do different:
Early in the Fall when it is warmer
Get straight run instead of all pullets
Start 12/12 feeding at 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks
House them in either in a tractor or have a run for them
Consider butchering myself and save about 20 cents a pound
All in all it was a learning expirience that I feel I had some success. I will probably order more chicks sometime in September. Thanks for all the advise from everyone along the way. You are all responsible for the successful I had.
THANKS!
Honestly, I had hoped for a bit higher average, but for my first batch, I am satisfied. I'm glad I decided to take them all in at 7 weeks. I was going to wait 2 more weeks for the smaller ones, but with the unusually cold temps and worry of sickness, I decided to get it over with. They didn't seem very happy. I felt bad for them when it was below zero, and the heat lamp was not enough to keep them warm. I ended up at $1.38/lb for the meat, with a 2.6 Feed Conversion Rate.
Will I do it again? Definetly! Will I do some thing different? Definetly!
Things I would do different:
Early in the Fall when it is warmer
Get straight run instead of all pullets
Start 12/12 feeding at 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks
House them in either in a tractor or have a run for them
Consider butchering myself and save about 20 cents a pound
All in all it was a learning expirience that I feel I had some success. I will probably order more chicks sometime in September. Thanks for all the advise from everyone along the way. You are all responsible for the successful I had.
THANKS!
