cornish X are getting mean!

[shadowpaints]

OMG my cornishx are getting just plain ole mean! i cant change their water with out 30 pecks lol they are 5 weeks old and getting very large.

oh and how much should i be feeding them? they are getting 4 coffee cans of the meat builder a day but i seperate it into 4 feedings... your not supposed to feed em at nite right?

freezer camp is coming soon and really i cant wait!

 

[cassie]

The usual method to feed is free choice for 12 hours, then no feed for 12 hours starting at about a week of age. For instance, take the feed away at seven at night and give it back at seven in the morning. The only time ours stampede us is when we put the feed back down in the morning. That is not aggression. It's just 'cause they are eager for breakfast. It sounds like maybe your birds are hungry. They should have access to feed all the time during the 12 hours during the day. You should probably be feeding a broiler feed. I don't know if your meat builder feed is broiler feed or not. Check the label.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

We have feed in front of our Broilers 24 hours a day. The chickens won't eat at night so they are taking time off of feeding. There is NOT a hard and fast rule that the birds have to have the feed removed, the commercial operations utilize lights to achieve the feeding break.

Jim

 

[cassie]

Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay :

We have feed in front of our Broilers 24 hours a day. The chickens won't eat at night so they are taking time off of feeding. There is NOT a hard and fast rule that the birds have to have the feed removed, the commercial operations utilize lights to achieve the feeding break.

Jim

Ain't nothing in this life that is hard and fast. About anything. Ever. If there is, I sure haven't found it. The protocol I cited is taken straight off the Welp Hatchery web page. Since their specialty is meat chickens I figure they know what they are talking about. They have the wherewithal to do the research. I don't. Shadowpoints mentioned that his/her chickens were getting mean. Sounded like they were hungry to me so I mentioned the Welp recommendations. BTW, the one time I tried feeding CornishX 24/7 I had a bunch of dead and crippled chickens. That was just my experience. Other people are able to get away with it because of differences in chickens, feed, lighting, climate, location, temperature, longitude, latitude, elevation, and heaven knows what else. After my first meat chicken disaster, I did what Welp said to do and both me and the chickens are a lot happier.​

 

[shadowpaints]

the feeder i have only holds a coffee can of feed. so i fill it 4 times a day wonder if i should start filling it 5 times? i should go get another feeder lol

oh and i dont feed them again after 9pm.... then start feeding them again at 9am... and yes the feed i have them on now is a broiler finisher.

 

[kassy68]

Quote:
I fill the big feeder and it lasts a couple days. My eat as much as they want until 7 or 8pm and then I take the food out for the night.. Kim

 

[jaku]

Nah, they aren't mean, it's just that they absolutely LIVE to eat, and when they see you coming, they assume that you've got food, so they go nuts! Feed them as much as they will eat during the day. They might be flipping out on you because they aren't getting enough. I like to keep my feeders full during the day, and my birds only attack me when I bring them their morning food. Yes, withhold feed at night.

 

[dbjay417]

LoL I shove them away with one hand while i fill their feeder and change out their water.

 

[shadowpaints]

i added another coffee can of food and they seem to be better lol they still swarm when i bring it out but not as agressive! lol it looks like i am gonna have to add a can a week to up their intake lol

do most of you butcher the cornishX at 6 weeks? or is 8 weeks ok? lol im a first timer here!

 

[cassie]

Quote:
You might consider getting another feeder. We got one that hangs and will hold quite a bit of feed. I don't remember what I paid for it but it wasn't all that expensive. As to when to butcher, it depends on how big you want them. We butcher at ten to twelve weeks because we like VERY large roasters. If you want regular fryers I think 6 to 8 weeks would be about right. Weigh a few chickens. I don't know how you convert live weight to dressed weight, but I am sure there are a lot of people on this list that can tell you what the dressed weight should be from a chicken weighing x number of pounds live. I am just not one of them.