cornish cross meatbird - walking abilities?

[PlentifulPrairie]

Hi! i've been raising meat birds the last few summers (and also as a child) however i've never raised cornish crosses before so i have no idea what they are capable of doing. I've read they just sit and eat.. and i've also heard they can behave just like other chicken breeds.. so my question is can they get in and out of a coop like a normal bird, like off a walking plank, or will i need to have something that's pretty much on the ground for them? we have an old truck flatbed truck and have considered converting it into a meat bird coop... but i don't know if they'd be able to walk up and down it? or if they'd just sit and do nothing. i'm not planning on letting them have access to feed 24 hours like some people do.

thank you!

 

[gatrapper]

I have raised quite a bit of cornish cross in a free range setting. I raise them just like my layers, but I just feed them more. They are fed 1-2 times a day. Each time I feed them, I move the feeder to a new location. I like the keep the birds a little hungry. That seems to encourage them to get up and move to search for food. I DO NOT give them access to food 24 hours a day after 2 weeks old.

 

[EntruRichelle]

I have raised quite a bit of cornish cross in a free range setting. I raise them just like my layers, but I just feed them more. They are fed 1-2 times a day. Each time I feed them, I move the feeder to a new location. I like the keep the birds a little hungry. That seems to encourage them to get up and move to search for food. I DO NOT give them access to food 24 hours a day after 2 weeks old.

When do you switch up their feed to only feeding them for 12 hour on then 12 hours off?

 

[gatrapper]

I just feed them a bucket of feed in the morning and a bucket of feed in the late afternoon. Not real scientific.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I raised CX my first year with my free range layers. I fed them (the whole flock) only at night, so I could head count, check for injuries, etc. This forced them to free range all day with the rest of the flock. I raised a couple to 1+ year in age, for use in my culling project (which I sort of regret, in retrospect - much harder to get rid of the white than I expected, and any size increase was gone by the second generation).

As to the rest?? After they put on a bit of weight, they can fast flap/run ( a bit like ducks, actually) across the ground, but they won't be flying up to sit on any 4' gates, or hopping any 4' fences. They can make their way up a moderately steep ramp (more than 30*, less than 45*), and can hop/flap their way into a nesting box 12-14" off the ground. But by the time they started laying, I'd guess 18" was the top of their flight altitude.

Hope that helps.

 

[Geena]

Hi! i've been raising meat birds the last few summers (and also as a child) however i've never raised cornish crosses before so i have no idea what they are capable of doing. I've read they just sit and eat.. and i've also heard they can behave just like other chicken breeds.. so my question is can they get in and out of a coop like a normal bird, like off a walking plank, or will i need to have something that's pretty much on the ground for them? we have an old truck flatbed truck and have considered converting it into a meat bird coop... but i don't know if they'd be able to walk up and down it? or if they'd just sit and do nothing. i'm not planning on letting them have access to feed 24 hours like some people do.

thank you!

In my experience they will go up and down and in and out just fine until they reach a certain age/size and then mine would just lay around the bottom of the ramp at dusk waiting to be put to bed. But maybe it depends on which hatchery/ type of cornishX you go with. You could also try the slow grow cornishX or colored broilers, they might work out better for you.

 

[CNJ]

A BYC member started a thread on raising Cornish X on a restricted diet. His birds look like normal chickens.

This lady on Youtube did it too.

 

[EntruRichelle]

I just feed them a bucket of feed in the morning and a bucket of feed in the late afternoon. Not real scientific.

I meant to ask at what age do you start feeding them 12 hrs on and 12 hrs off? Mine are two weeks old and they are huge at this point they waddle and eat laying down.

 

[Acre4Me]

Our Cornish are kept confined, but in a large area, with cover (they are hot birds and do not deal with heat very well). Put feed in one place (or two) and place waterers where they need to walk to from the feed. Cornish x drink a lot of water. Plan on having many or a couple large waterers for them.

Feed 24/7 for 2 or 3 weeks. At that point drop to 2 feedings per day, always providing water. Yes, they sit a lot bc they eat a lot and they get hot very easily.

Mobility: depends a bit on the strain you purchase. We have had ones that get quite large, but can walk and run the day of processing. We have had them get large and then they step on something uneven (like a paver) and this tips them over…they roll onto their back and cannot get up. They die -maybe asphyxiation?


Ramps and roosts: yes, they could likely use a ramp. But to get up to the back of a truck height flatbed might be a bit much for them as they gain size. You could still use it, but might be needing to physically put them in/out towards the end. The flatbed would provide them some great shade underneath I would think. Roosts- even our Cornish cross chicks never really roosted- they just sit on the ground. Flying up/down: not very likely after 3/4 weeks. They have quite the size and their legs can get broken from impact if they were to try to fly down or got knocked off a perch.

Goals: one huge reason to grow Cornish x is for a quick, meaty carcass in short time for least feed (per ounce of muscle). If you have the space or desire, you can grow them like a regular bird. But, then why not just get Rangers or a particular dual purpose that has been bred for a good size carcass (example: traditional White Rocks)?