DemeterAD9
Songster
- Mar 21, 2024
- 647
- 1,268
- 193
This is Chunky, a 10 week old cornish cross pullet from Meyer Hatchery. She is supposed to be in the freezer like all her other friends.
These are her less lucky friends that already met their end as was the plan. 7 were processed just shy of 8 weeks and weighed 7ish pounds on average after plucking and gutting (first photo). I kept back the other pullet and largest cockerel and butchered them at 9 weeks for 8lb and 11lb carcasses.
But Chunky was a personable chicken who was much more active and lovable than her plump siblings, I noticed this at around 5 weeks of age when I put them outside. I do not know if she will live happy and healthy for too much longer but I will try to keep her going for as long as I can, until she either shows signs of the usual cornish cross issues or passes on her own. Currently she is thriving with the main flock, even free ranging with the dual purpose pullets the same age. Everyone is fed 20% chick starter mash from the local feed mill. Ideally I'd like to get Chunky on a 16% maintenance diet but I've too many youngsters running around.
I have not weighed her recently but she is not nearly as lazy as the other cornish cross that came with her. She stands when she eats, runs around with the other chicks, even looks up and joins the alarm calls when a crow flies by. She is smart and not as food driven like the others were. This was my first time doing proper meat birds so I only had a small group of 10. It was certainly interesting to compare them to my dual purpose mixed flock but sad to see them struggle to walk. The poor dumb things didn't even wander off when I let them out but preferred to stay inside the pen despite leaving the door open for them. Plus the flavor of the cornish cross was pretty watered down. Tender sure but not very flavorful unless seasoned heavily. I will note that their skin was fantastic, much easier to chew than the average chicken I've butchered thus far. I want more flavor and more dark meat though!
Hopefully Chunky starts laying fairly early, say 18 weeks or so, and I can hatch some of her eggs and boot the chicks outside before winter settles in. I have a feeling she won't be getting much exercise once the snow piles up and she may end up dying on me. By then I'll likely have switched everyone over to a 14% layer mash mixed 50/50 with 20% chick starter for a 17% protein. Currently the plan is to have my blue copper maran rooster with her. He is more of a stocky bird with a wide stance, not as stocky and wide as the cornish cross but I'd say he looks a lot better than all the other cockerels I had previously. Disregard his funky comb, a result of winter. I also have a handful of his sons I may decide to use instead but they are still too young to show how they'll turn out. Counting chicks before they hatch, I'm wondering if it would be better to focus on keeping cockerels or pullets from Chunky for future breeding. Both probably but that is assuming I get a handful to actually choose from. Better mobility, meat flavor, amount of dark meat, overall health and hopefully added heat and cold tolerance is what I would like to get with this cross. I wouldn't expect to butcher them until 12-14 weeks.
I've already scoured the website and read up on the handful of others who have used Cornish cross as breeding stock. The only thing I haven't seen was what the cornish cross eggs actually look like and when they may start laying. I assume cream colored, maybe on the smaller side? Probably the usual time line at around 16-24 weeks. Hopefully Chunky doesn't have any laying problems, I've already had 3 of those in my short time of chicken keeping so it seems more common than I thought it would be.
These are her less lucky friends that already met their end as was the plan. 7 were processed just shy of 8 weeks and weighed 7ish pounds on average after plucking and gutting (first photo). I kept back the other pullet and largest cockerel and butchered them at 9 weeks for 8lb and 11lb carcasses.
But Chunky was a personable chicken who was much more active and lovable than her plump siblings, I noticed this at around 5 weeks of age when I put them outside. I do not know if she will live happy and healthy for too much longer but I will try to keep her going for as long as I can, until she either shows signs of the usual cornish cross issues or passes on her own. Currently she is thriving with the main flock, even free ranging with the dual purpose pullets the same age. Everyone is fed 20% chick starter mash from the local feed mill. Ideally I'd like to get Chunky on a 16% maintenance diet but I've too many youngsters running around.
I have not weighed her recently but she is not nearly as lazy as the other cornish cross that came with her. She stands when she eats, runs around with the other chicks, even looks up and joins the alarm calls when a crow flies by. She is smart and not as food driven like the others were. This was my first time doing proper meat birds so I only had a small group of 10. It was certainly interesting to compare them to my dual purpose mixed flock but sad to see them struggle to walk. The poor dumb things didn't even wander off when I let them out but preferred to stay inside the pen despite leaving the door open for them. Plus the flavor of the cornish cross was pretty watered down. Tender sure but not very flavorful unless seasoned heavily. I will note that their skin was fantastic, much easier to chew than the average chicken I've butchered thus far. I want more flavor and more dark meat though!
Hopefully Chunky starts laying fairly early, say 18 weeks or so, and I can hatch some of her eggs and boot the chicks outside before winter settles in. I have a feeling she won't be getting much exercise once the snow piles up and she may end up dying on me. By then I'll likely have switched everyone over to a 14% layer mash mixed 50/50 with 20% chick starter for a 17% protein. Currently the plan is to have my blue copper maran rooster with her. He is more of a stocky bird with a wide stance, not as stocky and wide as the cornish cross but I'd say he looks a lot better than all the other cockerels I had previously. Disregard his funky comb, a result of winter. I also have a handful of his sons I may decide to use instead but they are still too young to show how they'll turn out. Counting chicks before they hatch, I'm wondering if it would be better to focus on keeping cockerels or pullets from Chunky for future breeding. Both probably but that is assuming I get a handful to actually choose from. Better mobility, meat flavor, amount of dark meat, overall health and hopefully added heat and cold tolerance is what I would like to get with this cross. I wouldn't expect to butcher them until 12-14 weeks.
I've already scoured the website and read up on the handful of others who have used Cornish cross as breeding stock. The only thing I haven't seen was what the cornish cross eggs actually look like and when they may start laying. I assume cream colored, maybe on the smaller side? Probably the usual time line at around 16-24 weeks. Hopefully Chunky doesn't have any laying problems, I've already had 3 of those in my short time of chicken keeping so it seems more common than I thought it would be.
