Final Results - Jumbo Cornish Cross from McMurray Hatchery

[halo]

Thank you so much for that lengthy informative post. (Did Murray Mc pay you for that? Just kidding

) I have 6 cornish cross coming in Feb. with my order, so I can try them and see if its something Id like to do on a larger scale. My only issue will be to see if I can find someone reasonably close to process them for me. Ill be going to the Poultry Show in Lake City next weekend, Im hoping to get some contacts from there.

Thanks again for that post, it is exactly the information I was looking for.

 

[dbjay417]

your thread was very informative. Since I've been unwittingly raising meat birds myself, this is all very relavent to me now.

 

[jaku]

MissPrissy- Very informative post!

What did you use for a brooder? Any pics of it on the site? I'm still undecided as to what will work best for my soon to be 25 birds that will grow so fast.

I read that they are pretty cold sensitive, but not sure if that means chilly cold or freezing cold- mine are coming (to Michigan) April 15th, and I'm probably going to keep them in my garage for a couple of weeks in a brooder, then move outside. Will they be warm enough as long as they're feathered out? Days are usually in the sixties, with RARE frost warnings at night.

How big is the coop/run you grew them in?

Will keeping them in a 10x12 tractor, moved every day across 1 (grassed) acre keep the smell lower than a stationary coop? I've read about the poo volume, and I'm sure I won't get the full picture til I see it, but in a 10x12 open floored tractor, with 25 Cornish Cross, moved every day, how much should that be? As in, will it be a managable amount that will blend into my yard with rain and mowing, or will I have to rake the spot I moved it from every day to avoid a poo-caked yard by the end of the eight weeks?

 

[lexustami]

My Cornish X's are right around 26 weeks old now. I got 50 of them in the middle of July and we still have about 30 of them to process. They all free range so they are all very healthy.

We haven't lost any of them due to natural causes (unless you count being stepped on by a horse natural causes. lol) and I attribute that to being able to run around all day.

We are going to finish processing them as soon as the weather is nice enough to get them all done. I estimate the roos to weigh in at about 15-18 lbs. and the pullets are probably 12-13 lbs.

I'm going to miss them when they are gone. LOL

Take care,

Tami

 

[skeeter]

why dont you keep a few pullets to see if they will lay,then cross them with a RIR,BO or a PBR,and ill buy some hatching eggs from you

 

[MissPrissy]

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They are a hybrid bird. They do not reproduce true.

It is the way many fruit seeds will not produce the tree they came from but something different due to pollination..

 

[MissPrissy]

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I do not miss cleaning up behind them! LOL

 

[MissPrissy]

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I use an old pack n play I picked up at a junk shop for like $7 - 10. I keep chicks warm in my kitchen with a heat lamp any where from day 1 up to 8 weeks. Not these! Around 4 weeks it was enough! They stink even when cleaning daily. They kick up alot of dust not to mention they almost out grew my setup.

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All chicks are cold sensitive untl they begin to feather out. They require the same heat, food, water, care as any other chicks do.I chose to raise mine in the fall as the temps are MUCH cooler and I have suffered no losses to heat stress. Your climate seems to be perfect for these birds once they feather out.

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They had their own 10x12 house with free range run.

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They have a HUGE appetite. I can see as they get bigger and the eating machine never stops you may have a few bald patches in your field.

I rationed the feed. All they could eat in the day and took the feed away at night. When we proccessed them after 36 hours of withhold feed and just giving them water they were still full of poop and the gizzards were paked tight with grass, hay etc. They don't stop eating.

In the coop I raised mine in the floor was first covered with about 6 inches of hay. Then it was topped with 3 bales of pine shavings. In one week the area they loved the most between the waterers and the feeder, which is half the coop, was turned into a solid brick of wet gross poop filled muck. Every week it had to be shoveled out and replaced. The build up of ammonia happens quickly, too. Staying in contact with that is what causes the belly feathers to rot away and they will develop feet problems.

When you move the tractor I would rake over it good even try to turn over some of the worst areas. The ammonia in their poop will be too hot for the soil and what they don't eat of the grass may suffer being burned and might die. I really can't say for sure but it would seem that is how it might play out in a worst case sernario. When you clean the coop for your hens often it is too hot to go right on your garden and needs to be composted. So it would reason to hold true for the amount of poop these birds generate in a day in one spot.

Good luck with yours!

Oh, with 25 - make sure you have a BIG freezer. That many birds the size of small turkeys makes tight quarters in the deep freeze!

 

[jaku]

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Wow, I never would have guessed you'd be able to keep 25 of them in a pack and play for 4 weeks! They do the majority of the growing in the second half of their lives then, I'm guessing? Thank you SO much for all of your good advice! I'll probably keep bugging you for info as I continue to find your informative posts on this subject.

 

[tuskajones]

Hi MissyPrissy--Your post has been very helpful to me (I even printed it out for future reference); I am going to do some broilers for the first time this year. Could you give me an estimate of how much feed you went through up to about 10 weeks? I want to try to buy some feed in bulk and need to have a "guestimate" of how much to request and try to get a better deal on the feed.

Thank You!

Kelly
Sewickley, PA