Cornish game hen

[3 H Eggfarm]

Has anyone had any luck raising Cornish game hens in Louisiana. I would like to try, have raised laying hens, Cornish X for meat, rabbits for meat, pigs for meat and still do, Quail for meat and eggs to pickle, am now raising BB Reds to get the smallest breed as I can, but just trying to find out about Cornish game or Rock hens and how they do in Louisiana weather.
The Egg Man

 

[wyoDreamer]

I am not very knowledgable about chickens, but I thought a Cornish Game hen was just a Cornish X that was butchered early?
As in a baby chicken. Are they a specific breed?

 

[Darin115]

Cornish hens are cornish x hens killed at a smaller size. Most other chickens will be skinny and have very little meat.
The cornish x will be plump and round.

Darin

 

[wyoDreamer]

So a Cornish Game hen is the same as a Cornish X?

 

[PotterWatch]

Quote:
Yep, just processed at an earlier age. We process some of our early for a local restaurant that only wants a 2lb bird and the rest for our regular customers who get birds from 5-5.5lbs. Same birds, just different age. They aren't even necessarily hens, they use either sex, just processed at a specific weight.

 

[3 H Eggfarm]

Thanks guys I will go out in the yard with my fish scale when I get some Cornish X chicks subtract weight for feathers, head, feet and other unwanted to get some 2-2 1/2 lb. birds. Just joking I have seen a reference to Cornish rock hens I guess they are also like Cornish game hens just young Cornish X I can see why those little hens taste so good. Years ago I used to post on a site like this and a person asked how to get the chickens from the yard to be not so tough when cooked another person posted that when he goes out in the yard he brings a meat tenderizer hammer with him and hits the chicken he had picked to butcher a few times to get it tender for when he cooked it, you should have seen the responce that were posted he findly had to say he was just joking.
The egg Man

 

[PotterWatch]

When we weigh birds to see if they are the correct size to process for the restaurant, we pick birds that are between 3lbs and 3lb 4oz, that gives us an average of a 2lb dressed bird.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
That would be a large Cornish game hen, 18-20 oz is the perfect size dressed for a good game hen and you can get there in 3 wks or so with the proper feed and conditions.

 

[Bossroo]

I butcher my straight run Conish X at 30-35 days of age to get the average dressed 2 lb. game hens. Very economical ( $s and time) to raise and oh so tender and good to eat.

 

[SIMZ]

We'd like to try this. Do you feed them any differently then the others before they're butchered? Finish them, is I guess what I'm asking? They'd just be eating the normal grower food at that stage otherwise, right?