Cornish X Help

[AgroUrica]

Thanks everyone. I did lose two birds. One on day 2 and one on day 3. I think they got to hot. Otherwise all is well. I had to switch from my small feeders to a larger one because they are eating so fast. They are one week old today. Due to increased size of the feeder I am thinking of just letting them Kellie in the enclosed barn stall. I think they will do fine.

They're definitely not heat-tolerant birds as I've found out trying to raise them in the tropics.

On another topic, has crawfish season kicked in yet?

 

[AgroUrica]

The CornishX may eat a lot of feed in 8 weeks time ... however they are the most efficient converter of feed to meat in all of chickendom. While the other so called meat/ dual purpose birds may seem like they are eating less, that less is spread out over many more weeks to a year ( depending on breed and environment) which translates to eating MORE feed over time. Also, don't forget that it takes much more labor for how ever number of weeks vs. for the 8 weeks time frame . Too, one can start to butcher the CornishX at 35 days of age for about a 2lb. " game hen" that is already cooked ... can be found at the local grocery store that is so popular .

Excellent post on the topic of meat birds!

There's a reason most commercial breeders use the cornish x in their programs, effeciency. And for the record, with my first batch of 300 birds, I had some at 3 kilos (6.6 pounds) on day 37.....certainly not all the birds, but there were a number at that weight and heavier.

Also, many of us use something of a modified feeding program for those who'd like to get away from the commercial feeds. We bring them to about 6 weeks of age on commercial feeds, and then switch them over to grains for another couple of weeks. They don't gain weight on corn/fermented grains like they do on commercial feeds, but many of my clients swear they taste better.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

The CornishX may eat a lot of feed in 8 weeks time ... however they are the most efficient converter of feed to meat in all of chickendom. While the other so called meat/ dual purpose birds may seem like they are eating less, that less is spread out over many more weeks to a year ( depending on breed and environment) which translates to eating MORE feed over time. Also, don't forget that it takes much more labor for how ever number of weeks vs. for the 8 weeks time frame . Too, one can start to butcher the CornishX at 35 days of age for about a 2lb. " game hen" that is already cooked ... can be found at the local grocery store that is so popular .

Thumbs up from me, too.

I bought 15 chicks this year. I figured for three losses so, 1 chicken/month for my family of 6 (which is what I calculated we eat in one month (4 meals/bird). This is how I raise them:

Feed:
1 - 50 lb medicated feed - fed them this for the first 3 weeks. They ate 30 lbs. (saving the rest for the chicks I'll hatch from my show flock).
3 - 50 lb "flock raiser" from TSC (has pic of turkey and other birds on it) - until it's gone.
Grasses/plants in pasture

I feed them 24/7 until they are about 3 wks old and once a day (larger amounts) from then on. They eat grass during the times they don't have food right in front of them.

Housing:
(note: good air circulation, access to greens, room to exercise, and virtually no $$ for bedding play a role in my housing choices)
Week 1 - 2: 24"x24" rabbit cage with heat lamp
Week 2 - 4: 24"x 48" rabbit cage in barn at night with heat lamp, outside during the day w/no heat lamp because it was warm enough. This is the beginning of me getting them acclimated to outdoor temps and eating grass. I moved them to an x-pen for more direct access to grass, more room, and because they could still squeeze through the chain link of their final "chicken tractor"
Week 4 - 8: 6'x10' dog kennel (w/shade tarp shade and Dogloo). I move it to fresh grasses every two days

We have had no losses. They are 7 wks tomorrow, have two more days of commercial feed left and I think I'm going to go ahead and start butchering them.

I weighed one cockerel at over 5 lbs so that is fine with me. I'd rather process them sooner than let them overgrow like we did last year. Those birds are meatier than they look and the way I cook, we get several meals out of one bird (stir fry, soup, pot pie, etc, etc).

Costs: My goal is $1.10 /lb but looks like it'll come in a little higher. In any case, I did calculate that I will save well over $200 raising these birds because those of the same quality, if bought at the farmer's market or Trader Joe's (can't find this quality at the super market) cost $15 - $20 per whole chicken. I paid $18 per 50lb bag of feed, already had all the feeders, cages, kennels, and everything else I need because we had bought them (the kennel and Dogloo off of Craigslist) already and have used them for years now. It's a good deal if you can raise them yourself. Nothing compares to the taste - delicioso!