Chronicles of Raising Meat Birds - Modern Broilers, Heritage and Hybrids

[aart]

Best group chick pic is the first one.

 

[wild chick]

Just read this whole thread, thank you for the info, stories & pictures! Thinking of raising some meaties and trying to learn in advance all I can.

 

[LilyD]

Processed today 7 Cornish X 3 of whom had wounds from getting out of the yard and running in with the locals. One had a bite on the rear one a wing injury (owl maybe) and the last was being abused by the other roosters. Average weight was around 5lbs after processing. The 5 that were healthy were heavier the two with the injuries were much lighter (3lbs and 4.1lbs) The one with the leg issues due to attempted breeding had just come up lame this am so was added to the mix. The two with the injuries were cut up to be used for dog food (only the uninjured parts). The others were parted out for our freezer.

I also processed 4 Muscovy at a year old and they averaged 10lbs after processing with the heaviest at 11.3 and the lightest just just under 10. Super dark meat on both breast legs and thighs. Very lean not a lot of fat but some fat like most ducks.

 

[aart]

Average weight was around 5lbs after processing.

How old?

I also processed 4 Muscovy at a year old

Skin or pluck?

 

[LilyD]

How old?

Skin or pluck?

Cornish X were 9 weeks. Was supposed to process last week but had a fencer blow due to the lightning storms taking it out so had my hands full. Will process the smaller ones next week at 10 weeks.

Muscovy were all around a year and were from last years hatch of eggs but were the breeding/sale rejects due to being mean or too hard on the ladies and themselves. They were very well built birds and very heavy and muscular.

For the Cornish I used a plucker and then parted them out. For the Muscovy I skinned them and they went into the freezer skinned and cleaned. I have done the pluck and wax with them but I hate trying to get the equipment cleaned again after using the wax so plucking it is.

 

[jolenesdad]

Processed today 7 Cornish X 3 of whom had wounds from getting out of the yard and running in with the locals. One had a bite on the rear one a wing injury (owl maybe) and the last was being abused by the other roosters. Average weight was around 5lbs after processing. The 5 that were healthy were heavier the two with the injuries were much lighter (3lbs and 4.1lbs) The one with the leg issues due to attempted breeding had just come up lame this am so was added to the mix. The two with the injuries were cut up to be used for dog food (only the uninjured parts). The others were parted out for our freezer.

I also processed 4 Muscovy at a year old and they averaged 10lbs after processing with the heaviest at 11.3 and the lightest just just under 10. Super dark meat on both breast legs and thighs. Very lean not a lot of fat but some fat like most ducks.

Youve been busy! Good work! How old are the dual purpose set now?

My Cornish have been standing st the gate looking like they want to run with everyone so it will be interesting to see what happens when I open the door. Did yours ever start moving more?

Do you keep your muscovies penned at night?

 

[LilyD]

Youve been busy! Good work! How old are the dual purpose set now?

My Cornish have been standing st the gate looking like they want to run with everyone so it will be interesting to see what happens when I open the door. Did yours ever start moving more?

Do you keep your muscovies penned at night?

The DP roos are all about 12 weeks. I have been eyeballing them to see who I might be able to process in the next month. Some are looking pretty nice right now. The Cornish X are not moving that much they will go outside and lay in a spot and eat there for a bit and then go back to the pen but they always stay in sight of the pen so they don't miss when I bring dinner.

I have a duck coop that's 4 by 16 feet that they go into at night separate from the chickens because they are messy kids.

 

[RUNuts]

My Cornish have been standing st the gate looking like they want to run with everyone so it will be interesting to see what happens when I open the door. Did yours ever start moving more?

My CX moved. The garden is next to the chicken area. Waddle to the gate to greet me with food. They roamed the 40'x40' garden area and did a decent job of trampling and eating the grass and the rest of the garden.

Raising barnyard mixes now. Barnyard are definitely more lively. They are almost too big to go through the fence at 4 weeks. Once that happens, I will let them roam. The cucumbers are almost done for the summer. They are my only concern. The lettuce and radishes have long since bolted. Didn't do well this year.

Interesting comparison. The CX ate grass, bugs and frogs. Lots of feed. The barnyard are smaller and lively in the tractor. I'm sure they will go wild once let out.

 

[jolenesdad]

Moyer Broilers - Day 49
Cornish Cross - Day 28

Robust White
3.5 lbs (70%)

Royal Red
4 lbs (85%)

Cornish cross
I only weighed the clear males -
Almost 2 lbs (60%)

Notes:
All birds are handling the heat, and the Cornish are growing right on pace with my previous batch, so I’m really pleased with that. With the way these other broilers are going, I’m fairly certain this will be my last batch of Cornish cross.

The male Royal Reds are shockingly broiler like in build. There not freedom rangery at all, they look like red Cornish crosses for the most part. I didn’t get some head on photos of them but wow, they look like a BROILER, just ever so slightly streamlined. They’re not far off in weight from my previous Cornish cross. They’re awesome birds. They’re acting a little pre-pubescent this week, so we will see how that goes the next few weeks. 5 weeks left, and I’m thinking I may need to be able to separate some evening pens if they get real boyish over that time, or process a batch a couple of weeks early. I have a feeling a few of these could be ready in two to three weeks if I wanted them to be, they’ll clearly be over 6 pounds live weight. I can’t believe I’ve got 4 pound birds free ranging and active in just 7 weeks.

I have ONE female royal. I’ll get a photo of her body shape next week. The female robust whites have a slightly rounder shape but are just as big as the males. The dwarf gained a pound this week... and is now 2/3 the size of the rest.

I noticed this week a change, the Robust white Forage with a capital F, and have surpassed the Royal Red in desire to be foraging. I think that’s noticeable with the weight. The average royal red is not absolutely bigger than the average Robust white. Typically the royal red are within 30-50 feet of the feeders. They absolutely forage and roam and do all sorts of real chicken things, but they eat more seemingly than the Robust white do. They also carry themselves a little more like a Cornish, taking a little more rest it seems.

The Robust white I am continually shocked with. I can’t wait to see their carcass in comparison to a Cornish and see what all the grass and bugs does to the taste. They are built JUST like a Cornish cross, but they RUN and forage all the time.

Still a few bald patches and I think by next week at 8 weeks they’ll all be fully feathered.

Couldn’t be more pleased as I pass the halfway mark with this round.


Body shots at 7 weeks
We have had RAIN this week, so they’re rain and mud dirty, but remarkably cleaner than they Cornish I had last time. 7 weeks, and not one dirty butt. Next week I’ll take a photo of their small poop.

Robust white male

Robust white female

Royal red

Various weekly photos:

 

[Newyorkrita]

As usual really great report and fabulous pictures.

You say the reds are not like Freedom Rangers at all so really conforms with what they say on Moyers webpage. That the Royal Broilers have smaller leg portions and more breast meat than the Imperial. So maybe the Imperial are more like the Freedom Rangers in Conformation?

All great to know and I am learning a lot about meat birds. Especially about Moyers Broilers.