- Jul 30, 2009
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My husband and I raised 50 Cornish X this summer.
We are very pleased with how they are doing, although not so much with the cost they created
We are going to do something like Delewares next year.
Anyways, I wanted to share how we have fed these birds.
We sadly had to go with standard feed, with soy in it, because we were not able to track down soy free until late in the project.
Next year, its organic grain with field peas for protien.
We started them in the coop with lights, and moved them to a "tractor" at 3 weeks.
This was moved frequently, and when they were between 4 and 5 weeks old, we began letting them out to free range all day.
Prior to this, I was mixing there grain with chopped greens from the yard.
I began feeding them on the ground as well.
It only took them a couple of days, to figure out that anything green was yummy, and they have done a wonderful job mowing our weedy yard.
In addition to all of this, they were given a bit of high vitamin cod liver oil a few times, plenty of raw Kefir, and their water was frequently topped off with Kombucha.
The raw kefir and the Kombucha provided lots of probiotics, and the kefir also provided lots of calcium.
We make our own from raw cows milk, so the calcium is actually in an available form.
I also fed them lots of lacto fermented saurkraut left over from last year, as well as several jars of older fish broth.
We have butchered three of them, due to knees going out, and have been very pleased with the overall health of them birds.
No illness, whatsoever. The bones are very heavy and thick. I would guess about 3 times what commercial ones weigh.
Possibly more.
So, there you have it!
We are very pleased with how they are doing, although not so much with the cost they created
We are going to do something like Delewares next year.
Anyways, I wanted to share how we have fed these birds.
We sadly had to go with standard feed, with soy in it, because we were not able to track down soy free until late in the project.
Next year, its organic grain with field peas for protien.
We started them in the coop with lights, and moved them to a "tractor" at 3 weeks.
This was moved frequently, and when they were between 4 and 5 weeks old, we began letting them out to free range all day.
Prior to this, I was mixing there grain with chopped greens from the yard.
I began feeding them on the ground as well.
It only took them a couple of days, to figure out that anything green was yummy, and they have done a wonderful job mowing our weedy yard.
In addition to all of this, they were given a bit of high vitamin cod liver oil a few times, plenty of raw Kefir, and their water was frequently topped off with Kombucha.
The raw kefir and the Kombucha provided lots of probiotics, and the kefir also provided lots of calcium.
We make our own from raw cows milk, so the calcium is actually in an available form.
I also fed them lots of lacto fermented saurkraut left over from last year, as well as several jars of older fish broth.
We have butchered three of them, due to knees going out, and have been very pleased with the overall health of them birds.
No illness, whatsoever. The bones are very heavy and thick. I would guess about 3 times what commercial ones weigh.
Possibly more.
So, there you have it!
