First batch

[calliescluckers]

Hello, New to the site... (and chickens, other than growing up with them)


So we ordered our chicks... they arrive on April 30th :O so excited.

we got 4 hybrid brown layers, for our cute little backyard coop.

we also got 45 meat birds. we were trying to decide on a number and had so many peopler interested in helping butcher etc, that we wanted to make sure we got enough. (i think were safe on that one)


so... any advice from the experienced cornish x growers??? how big should their pen be? we have a hen house, and will make the yard as big as it needs to be...

also, how long should they stay in the basement/on the light?
we live in northern bc so it is SOMETIMES still getting down to 0C at night.


Can I keep all the babies together for the first bit? should i limit the cornish food??

any advice is appreciated!!! this site rocks!

 

[lightchick]

I can't answer all your questions but I can say that you should definitely not limit the cornish rocks food or the other chicks food either. I getting my chicks shipped on April 30th.

 

[calliescluckers]

thanks! i didn't plan on limiting the layers... but I've heard of people limiting the cornish when they're a bit older???

will you be getting cornish??? same date as me... we can share on growing!!

 

[lightchick]

No, I'm getting a Black Australorp, Black sex link, Brown sex link and a Silkie!
I don't eat my chickens, but I won't hold you eating your chickens against you!

 

[calliescluckers]

I have 4 brown sex links coming as well

thanks!

 

[Loc20chick]

Not that I know very much but here is my 2 cent.

You can keep the chicks together for a few weeks, the Cornish X are going to grow faster than the others. I kept my CX together with my red and black sex link also known as stars.
you keep them with the light changing the height of the light until they get feathers. check the learning center it has more info.

If you decide to FF it will work well for all chicks.

All the best in raising chickens and enjoy.

 

[Mommatarr3]

Sorry to jump in-- Loc20Chick, I'm local to you and happy for it, you seem like you know a lot about easing chickens! .

Where do you all order your chicks, I'm having a hard time finding any locally for sale.
Calliescluckers, I love the idea of having meat birds ! I'll be keeping an eye out on your posts to see how it goes for you

 

[lightchick]

I have 4 brown sex links coming as well

thanks!

Where are you ordering them from? I got mine from IDEAL and that was the only hatchery that I saw that had Brown sex links.
If you look up Brown sex link online than NOTHING comes up about them!

 

[RedMini]

Little late on the thread, but....

I feed my CX's a 12 hour on & 12 hour off feeding cycle. Food is available during the day, i pull it up at night. They're 4 weeks old & I've been doing it for a week now.
I've been told its better for their health (legs, heart) to feed them on this schedule.

 

[dusica731]

Little late on the thread, but....

I feed my CX's a 12 hour on & 12 hour off feeding cycle. Food is available during the day, i pull it up at night. They're 4 weeks old & I've been doing it for a week now.
I've been told its better for their health (legs, heart) to feed them on this schedule.

X2! These guys are bred to grow super fast and over feeding them can cause a world of problems, heart attack, broken legs, eating themselves to death (sorry, not pretty but true). I use starter/ grower 24/7 for the first two weeks, then reduce to 12/12 ( feed 8am-8pm) and remove feeder till next morning. At 5 weeks old I put them on grower/ finisher and continue the 12/12 schedule. I also allow them to free range and they are kept in a separate coop and run from my flock. My first batch of meaties were ready for processing at 8 weeks, and yummy there is a ton of info here on BYC and also online elsewhere. Ull figure out what works best for u and ur flock. Good luck!!!