Cornish X 6wks tomorrow, question??

[jessicayarno]

Okay, my Cornish X will be 6wks tomorrow and I have read that some people process at 6wks.. I do have some little butterballs out there, but could I possibly have a few 5 pounders??? I would love to process a few this next monday and have them instead of turkey for Thanksgiving.. Obviously I need to get a scale, what weight would I be shooting for if I want a 6lb carcass?? Thanks

 

[HEChicken]

I think the formula is roughly 2/3 of the live weight, is what you will end up with. So if your bird weighs 6lb live, you will have a 4lb roaster.

 

[Mr. Nappy]

Quote:
Dressed weight is about 75% of live weight. Hence, for a 6 lb. dressed bird, you'll need an 8 lb. live weight.

Edited to add: I use a digital hanging scale, purchased inexpensively wherever sporting goods are sold

 

[erinszoo]

We processed two at 6 weeks. One was 4 lbs live weight and 3 lbs dressed weight. The other was over 5 1/2 lbs live weight and was 4 1/4 lbs dressed if that helps. The 5 1/2 lb bird was the biggest one we had at 6 weeks.

 

[peterlund]

I waited til my Cornish X were a bit too big at 10 weeks... Lost a few, and oh my were the legs an issue on many by then. Still tender and delicious, but they were not too happy, or good looking by then. Big birds however. I had a few 7 pound fellows in a bag!

 

[machoman]

Just processed one of mine a week early, at 7 week.s It was the biggest one and breathing with its mouth open. Dressed out at 3.5 lbs.

 

[jdw]

we just processed 25 this past weekend.At 7.5 weeks they ranged from 4.75-5.25lbs. They are delicious!

 

[jessicayarno]

Quote:
Was it filled with fluid? I had to cull one yesterday, and that is what mine was doing and by the time I had the cone up and everything ready, she was almost dead in my arms, very sad to watch.. She was filled with yellow fluid, so i cleaned her and fed her to my dogs..

 

[machoman]

No fluid, but that sounds freaky.

 

[Oregon Blues]

How many birds do you have? Can you process just the Thanksgiving dinner ones and let the rest grow for a couple more weeks? (Home raised chicken for Thanksgiving sounds wonderful to me)