Cornish X's dying....HELP!!!!

[hawtchick]

We have cornish X's that are almost 8 weeks. We were set to process next weekend......we have been losing them to CHF, but yesterday and today it's been in the 90's here and we lost 2 tonight. Fine 1 minute then dead.

Hubby processed them and the breast meat seems almost bruised I guess.....and defintely had some clots or blood I was unable to was off the breast. Looks different than the 2 we processed the other day.

Hubby also said their core temp had to be 120 degrees. He could not leave his hand in the cavity. ugh! They are outside with shade, fresh cold water, grain on a 12 on 12 off schedule.

We only have 18 of our 25 left..

This is not going well at all, and now I think the meat is to beat to eat. (no rhyme intended)

Please help.


It's our first time and it is definitely swaying us from trying again.



Thank you!!

 

[urbanfarmer101]

put a fan out there. Those birds are muscle heavy, so they get hot!

 

[NurseNettie]

They definitely don't do well in the heat. Lots of cool water, fan, whatever you can do to cool them off will help.

As for the processed birds with too much "blood", try brining them-- soak them in a salt water solution for 24 hours or so- it might help pull some of it out.

 

[Dogfish]

Two questions.

1. How many birds (CX) do you have?
2. How many have you lost, total?

If you have lost 2 out of 10, then your losses are high. Lost 2 out of 20-25, normal. 2 out of 100, oustanding. You will likely lose some CX during the process, but you need to measure your losses relative to the number of birds you have.

Sorry about the loss of your birds. It is part of raising animals for food. Just remember that they lived a much better life on your farm than they would have in a factory farm.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree with using the fan and maybe putting a frozen pop bottle in their water to keep it cold/cooler to decrease their core temps. Put some unpastuerized ACV in their water as well. As for the grain, I'd cut that ration with some oats and not offer it continuous for 12 hours.

 

[hawtchick]

We put a fan out last night....thanks!
Love the idea about the frozen soda bottle too!!! Great idea! I will be using that.
We have lost 6 out of 25. That is terrible. I knew to expect about a 10% loss.....but this is beyond.

I will try the salt water brine for the breast meat we tried to salvage. It seems impossible to save it. I think it looks bruised somehow and hubby says it looks almost a little cooked.....eeewww!
I will post pics and updates later!

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[Beekissed]

More than likely your breast meat is darkened because your bird had a pulmonary emboli. On humans, the whole chest area will turn dusky when this happens. I doubt it will affect the flavor of the meat, it just looks different.