Cornish X size at slaughter

[Bdfarm]

I've raised Cornish X for about 7 years, skipping last year. My new processor only slaughters 1X a week.

I got my birds April 9, April 15 and April 29. (120 total). It has been so unseasonably cold here that they only went out on pasture recently. They seem to be small for their age and I am afraid that the processing dates I have are each about a week too soon. 1st batch scheduled to be processed in 5 days have a live weight of around 4.5 lbs. I'd like the processed weight to be around 5- 5 1/2 lbs. I'm thinking I need another week to get that. Any thoughts?

Has anyone tracked weights weekly to see if that last week weight gain is bigger than previous? I have, in the past, sometimes wound up with hens that dressed out in the 3.5-4.25 range and that is too small and undeveloped for me. Of course processor charges an additional $.50 for birds over 5 lbs., then again if over 6 lbs. Sigh! I'd like to do our own processing, but hubs refuses. Need to find a home butchering friend nearby! Thanks for any insight on weights.

 

[iwltfum]

I've raised Cornish X for about 7 years, skipping last year. My new processor only slaughters 1X a week.

I got my birds April 9, April 15 and April 29. (120 total). It has been so unseasonably cold here that they only went out on pasture recently. They seem to be small for their age and I am afraid that the processing dates I have are each about a week too soon. 1st batch scheduled to be processed in 5 days have a live weight of around 4.5 lbs. I'd like the processed weight to be around 5- 5 1/2 lbs. I'm thinking I need another week to get that. Any thoughts?

Has anyone tracked weights weekly to see if that last week weight gain is bigger than previous? I have, in the past, sometimes wound up with hens that dressed out in the 3.5-4.25 range and that is too small and undeveloped for me. Of course processor charges an additional $.50 for birds over 5 lbs., then again if over 6 lbs. Sigh! I'd like to do our own processing, but hubs refuses. Need to find a home butchering friend nearby! Thanks for any insight on weights.

Tough to answer that one. Every batch is different in my experience. At the current weight, your birds will probably be just over 3lbs dressed, but it's really hard to say if, in 5 days, they could gain half a pound or, if given the extra week, if they would be to the size you need. Is there a reason you need them to dress out at a certain weight, like for a contract you are trying to fill, or if they are for your own consumption, could you just bite the bullet and plan on growing them a week longer next year? I have never dealt with a processor, but I can imagine scheduling that is most difficult. We often have to push our butchering date back or forward by as much as a week to match the weights that we are looking for in our meat birds, but can do that easily because we do it ourselves.

 

[Parront]

I've raised Cornish X for about 7 years, skipping last year. My new processor only slaughters 1X a week.

I got my birds April 9, April 15 and April 29. (120 total). It has been so unseasonably cold here that they only went out on pasture recently. They seem to be small for their age and I am afraid that the processing dates I have are each about a week too soon. 1st batch scheduled to be processed in 5 days have a live weight of around 4.5 lbs. I'd like the processed weight to be around 5- 5 1/2 lbs. I'm thinking I need another week to get that. Any thoughts?

Has anyone tracked weights weekly to see if that last week weight gain is bigger than previous? I have, in the past, sometimes wound up with hens that dressed out in the 3.5-4.25 range and that is too small and undeveloped for me. Of course processor charges an additional $.50 for birds over 5 lbs., then again if over 6 lbs. Sigh! I'd like to do our own processing, but hubs refuses. Need to find a home butchering friend nearby! Thanks for any insight on weights.

7 lbs is what I need to get a 5 lb dressed weight.