1st & last time raising Cornish X

[sanmar4chickens]

I raised 20 this winter/spring. I wasn't able to free range them, so we had them in a 12' x 12' stall/pen. The seemed to have plenty of room, and there really wasn't that much mess considering how much they ate. This is what I have to show for it: My summer meaties are Red Rangers, and an assortment of white dual-purpose males(orpingtons, rocks, and giants) to caponize. They should free range well this summer.

Red Rangers can handle hot summers?

 

[nova022]

Fermented feed seems to be the answer, along with plenty of room.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I agree that they stink and that their poops are epic, but I do think it's partly a function of space. I've heard people keeping broilers in as little as 1.5 sq ft. per bird. IMO, that's just nasty.

We brought 18 back from the processor yesterday and have another 12 to go in three weeks, and six heritage cockerels will go with them. The heritage birds will be 14 weeks old, and will weigh half as much.

We give ours about 5 sq. ft. per bird, and don't really have problems. We don't even get poo-slaked grass, although their shelter gets gross and I have to bed it and clean the bedding once a day.

They're worth it to us because they are around for such a small period, and the payoff is so great. With the cockerels we raise (we hatch our own layers, so the boys go to the meat pen) they are around for sooooo long and are still so scrawny at the end, I wouldn't do them if I didn't already have a meat pen going and wasn't already planning a trip to the processor anyway.

 

[nova022]

Red Rangers can handle hot summers?

Those look so nice. Do you process them yourself? We have a food saver but the packages do not look that nice.

 

[dolfi]

So cornish is the regular chicken? Because im having a bit of problem myself with my chicks. How can i better my situation, they have room, but they eat all the grass and now its a mud place full of flies. not nice. Yet i love to have them. any one can help.

 

[nova022]

So cornish is the regular chicken? Because im having a bit of problem myself with my chicks. How can i better my situation, they have room, but they eat all the grass and now its a mud place full of flies. not nice. Yet i love to have them. any one can help.

I put sand in my run to eliminate the mud. I bought builders sand and put about 3" but I guess it would vary depending on how low your area is. It is easy to clean.

 

[dolfi]

Thank you so much i will try that

 

[BCMaraniac]

Those look so nice. Do you process them yourself? We have a food saver but the packages do not look that nice.

Yes we processed those ourselves, and those were the last ones. The shrink bags can be found at this site:

http://www.cornerstone-farm.com/equipment/poultry-packaging/shrink-bag

I have a vacuum sealer, and used it for some of them. The packages aren't as pretty.....but in all honesty I believe the vacuum sealer bags will keep longer. I plan to use the vacuum sealer for some of my Red Rangers, and the shrink bags for some.....but I will use the ones in the shrink bags first.....

 

[BCMaraniac]

Red Rangers can handle hot summers?

It is my understanding that they tolerate the summers better. They are more active, and are better free rangers. I figured it was better to have birds this summer that could benefit from all of the grass, bugs, etc...and hopefully require less feed.

They do not have the huge breasts like the CX, so the body is more proportional. In addition they take longer to reach processing weight(approx. 80 days, so I won't have to process in the middle of the summer.

I have Red Rangers, along with white giants, orpingtons, and rocks that were hatched 11 days ago, and you can tell that the Red Rangers are the broilers, because they are bigger than all of the others already. They aren't growing as quickly as the CX, but they aren't supposed to.

 

[carolinagirl58]

I have 17 Cornish x that will finally go away on Saturday. We are putting the finishing touches on our whiz bang plucker now. I won't raise these birds again. They are nasty and I feel sorry for them. They are just so abnormal looking. Half of them can't even properly use their legs. They have a large pasture to range in but rarely move more than a few feet from their feeders. Seems kind of cruel to me. I plan to ger a RIR rooster and some Delaware hens and make some sex link chicks. There is a pretty good market for pullets and laying hens and I'll raise the cockerels for meat.