cornish x

[sjh]

Quote:
The earliest is at 2.5 to 3 lbs live wieght. That will make a cornish game hen.

 

[Judy]

I don't even want to try Cornish X, but there are other alternatives; they won't be ready as fast as Cornish X but they will act more like normal chickens. Dark Cornish make great meat birds. Colored Rangers from JM Hatchery will free range but grow faster X but grows a little more slowly; I forget which hatchery sells them.

We go with the old fashioned "dual purpose" breeds, bought and will hatch straight run, keep some layers, butcher most roos and the mean hens. Buff Orps are good for large legs and thighs, RIR taste great, BR are popular for this (well, any of the Rocks, white, plymouth, barred.) Dominiques and Marans are popular. Speckled Sussex were originally bred for dual purpose or meat, I forget which, though our hatchery SS are not very large. Even EE's make good meat birds. There are others.

What do you mean by fryers? There is one hatchery that sells a mix they call "fryer special" or "bbq special" or something like that, which you don't want. I think it's McMurray but not sure. It is all roos, which would be OK, but it includes breeds that are not much good for meat like Leghorns; much too small and skinny, barely worth processing.

 

[Judy]

How big are the holes in your wire? You would be surprised how small a hole a rat or member of the weasel family can get through. These would be my guesses. Chickens will peck each other to death under some circumstances, but disemboweling is not the way it is usually done.

 

[dirtyshoes]

processed 50 Cx this last month spread out. Birds ranged form 8 to 12 wks and 2.5 to 5.5— 6 pounds. worked it large to small—mixing but generally roos first heading to hens.
they were not very imaginative birds and had some issues with getting in gear. mostly just sat, ate and pooped. They did pack on some weight there at the end and werent much inclined to move about, scratch— certainly didnt put any effort into a fight of any sort and had some cleanliness issues— bothered me more than them.
they taste fine and have a nice bit of fatty balanced with nice meat texture.
They were a bit of a bore so I think Ill go with something else next season. Im looking at those D rainbows. they look like they might at least get up on their feet once in a while.