Cornish X, Caponizing, and feed conversion

[LeghornJosh]

I wasn't getting a response on another thread so i started this one.

1. Do you need to caponize your Cornish X cockerels to get them up to the 8-10lb dressed weight?
2. Does caponizing change the flavor? If so how?
3. About how many pounds of feed would it take to get a Cornish X cockerel up to 8-10lbs?

 

[bubblebean11]

go to the welphatchery.com and at the bottom of the page click on 2010 catalog and scroll down to meat birds and there is a chart for how much food and the weight of the bird.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
1. no
2. only in regular roosters
3. depends on how you are feeding them, grass-no grass, when you grow them the warmer the temp. the less feed they eat. an 8 to 10 lb'er is about 10-12 weeks old

This is with very processed feed, like from fleet farm

 

[LeghornJosh]

Excelent answers, I plan on ordering these chicks in the next couple of months and i just want to get the facts straight. I would hate to either pay someone to caponize the birds, or have to play "doctor" on them.

And i have looked at the chart on welps, but they don't show anything past 63 days and a live weight of 10lbs.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

If you live by a WI co-op Sunnyside broilers are great and cheep, if you get stright run they where less then $1 each, I got some for $.80 last year

 

[LeghornJosh]

well i'm concentrating on cockerels for my first batch, so i planned to order them as such. At welps you can order odd numbers of chicks as long as its 25 or over and at least 5 of each breed/and sex. But vacinated, and shipped the cockerels will be $1.88/bird

 

[silkiechicken]

Really, the cornish x was developed and selectively bred so you don't have to take time, energy, or risk the bird caponizing them. I forget their regular FCR, but because of their fast rate, I think surgery may actually slow them down a bit due to needing to recover.

That said, an 8-10lb dressed bird is only going to take an extra two weeks or so beyond their normal butchering time at 8-10lbs live weight.

From my exprience, it took 50lbs of feed to get 4 of the meaties to 8.5lbs dressed in 9 weeks, raised with heat in an outdoor coop. If housed with more heat and away from elements not in 30-40F weather (they had access to the run at 3 weeks onwards), they probably would have been a lb or more heavier.

As for flavor, they will be still so young, it probably won't make a difference. If you were talking about dual/layer types, it is the age that changes the flavor really.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
If you order through the co-op you can order as little as one, and you can get only cockerels, cornish do not need vac. they are not alive long enough

 

[LeghornJosh]

Silkie- excellent information, very helpful

Buck creek- Ok, i'll have to check into a co-op for ordering, How do cornish hens do? is it better to butcher them young "cornish game hen" or let them grow to a nice fryer size?

 

[jjparke]

No need to caponize cornishx they get up to weight before cocks mature

I use the rule of 3 so if I want a 10 pound chicken that's 10 lbs times 3 = 30 pounds of feed I need to feed it for it to gain 10 pounds. I've found that to be pretty close if over just a hair then I know what to budget for when I buy chics.

BTW most supermarket chickens are 4-6 lbs dressed out and that's pretty typical of what your broilers should be at about 9 weeks old. 10 lbs dressed would be a quite large bird.

Good for you too it's totally worth it to grow your own broilers. Not terribly cost effective but VERY rewarding when you have a freezer full of chickens.