First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[mountain mom]

What a sad day here. Holm, I am sorry to hear of your turkeys.

I too have bad news... well, not bad yet, I guess. Kokanee, my Salmon Faverolles, suddenly has a middle toe (they have 5, not 4) that is half chopped off. From what, who knows. There is nothing sharp that could have made this type of cut. It is very swollen, hot, etc. No red streaks though.
When did it happen? Good question. I just noticed it yesterday, but the past couple of days they were hiding in the coop because of the snow.
Good news, she is still walking around like a normal chicken, doing normal chicken things. Even laying eggs. So I decided she didn't need sick bay. I hope that was not a bad choice.
I put some Frankincense (I use a lot of essential oils for my MS as well as general health of my family and pets) on it. Fingers crossed.

 

[duluthralphie]

When it rains it pours in Jessica's bar!

MM I think the toe missing should not be fatal. Hopefully you will be fine.

I moved Bert, yesterday was his first full day in the new coop. He was happy last night when I went to lock them up. He was actually "roosting" sorta. He was sitting on a sack of feed. When I opened the door and came in, he got excited and jumped down. I shook my finger had him and told him not to jump, as he might break a leg.

I have been closing the human door as I enter the coop feed area Bert is in to keep him indoors. When I went into the chicken area a barred rock hen ran into the feed area. Bert perked right up and started purring and clucking to the hen. I think Bert is a player! Maybe even a gigolo, the girls seem to like him.


I got a private message yesterday MM, a person with 3 cream legbars for sale. Unfortunately, I will not be buying them. They want $50 a bird, I just cannot justify that being on a retirement pension, and because I free range. I would need to keep them in a more secure place than I have. I just don't have a coop and covered run ready for them.

The price is not bad for a breeding trio, from what I have seen, these are show bird stock. I think they were shown last August. If it was May so I could build a pen and coop, I might have gotten them. But then my $150 birds would become $1500 birds. If I paid that for 3 birds, I would want them in Fort Knox.

Dang, I do want them though.

 

[mountain mom]

I don't think the lost toe (if it indeed dies and falls off) will be fatal. I am concerned with it getting infected and causing a bigger problem.

When we first got our little babies a year ago, my animal loving daughter thought the guinea pig should meet the baby chicks.... you know the show Wonder Pets on Nickelodeon?
Anyhow, the pig bit the chicks toe, which eventually fell off. She survived and is living out a happy life with one slightly shorter toe.

I am glad Bert is still happy! Sounds like quite the ladies man.

That is a good deal for a mating trio! I would be tempted too...
Fort Knox would be necessary... those dang birds of prey you have are a bit of a nuisance. And like you said, your $150 chickens become worth more than the crown jewels.

I never made it to the feed store yesterday, or the day before. I will go today since snow is in the forecast for tomorrow. I am ABSOLUTELY going in with the intention of coming out empty handed.
For now. Or maybe not. If I can get my grubby little mitts on some cream legbars and orloffs, I will not be empty handed. I will also be placing my meatie order for April.

What is everyone doing this spring? I am pretty sure I will go with CX again. I really love their personalities. And they shape up pretty good on the table too!

 

[duluthralphie]

I am doing everything this spring.

I am selling a dozen processed birds on Saturday, that mean I will be nearly out. I want to butcher my first batch of CX's in mid June.

I am going to raise a bunch of mutts for eggs. I all of a sudden cannot keep up on eggs. I could sell twice as many as I get, not that I get that many, or make any money on them, I just hate telling people no.

I am getting inquiries now from people wanting hatching eggs. They see the color of the eggs on my Craigslist ad and want to hatch that color egg so they can get their own Blue, Green, Dark Brown egg. I think they think I am lying to them when I tell them their is no way to tell by egg color what color egg the chick would lay.


I want to make a trip to the chick store too, but it is too cod for chicks here now.


You know if I throw the guineas out in the cold, I could put 3 creambars and 4 EE in that pen. It is secure....Hmmmmmmm

 

[mountain mom]

I am sure the guineas would survive...

It is too cold here for chicks too (nowhere near as cold as your neck of the woods though!)... that is my main reason for needing to leave empty handed. I do not like brooding in the house. It is such a mess.

Yay for selling your processed birds! Did my husbands cousin ever get in touch with you?

I think the only way to make money in the egg business is what Jessica is doing. You need hundreds of eggs a day. Otherwise, it is mainly a hobby. A hobby we all love.

Mid June? How old will they be, you think? I am getting mine mid April. Plan on end of June or first bit of July process. I guess it depends on how fast the little buggers grow. I imagine they will grow out a bit faster than the last batch since they needed to use food energy to keep warm for a good part of their growing time.

 

[duluthralphie]

I am going to rush my first batch a bit, or most of them.

I was thinking into the water tank 3rd week of March. 2 weeks in the tank, makes it 13 weeks to June 17th, That is time for slow growing batch.

I could get them mid April and get them big enough to sell before the 4th of July, That is my goal. I will not raise as many HUGE ones as the last batch, People do not seem to want 10 lbs. chickens.

Nope no calls from the cousin.

 

[Dandelioness]

It is that time of year again - to finalize our stock decisions and start looking at hatching/shipping dates!

I am in MN, a little south of Ralphie, and I don't order my Cornish X chicks to be shipped until mid May or first week of June. This way, I can raise them on the grass from day one, without too much cold/wet to deal with. My husband built me a predator proof box with a light inside, which has a little pop door that goes out into an open-bottom run. The whole thing is moveable, but in the first week or two you only move it once or twice a week. They self-regulate themselves, temperature wise, very well. Once they are feathered out, I get them into larger moveable pens. They get fresh pasture as well as all the bugs and weeds from the veggie garden. When they are bigger than the cats

I open the pen doors during the day and they get even more space to run around.

I think raising the Cornish X is much more enjoyable when you see them out scratching and looking for bugs like other chickens. I sell mine commercially, too. I am experimenting with hatching out my own layer replacements this year, and caponizing most of the males.

I'm glad I found a thread devoted to raising these birds in a thoughtful way. It'll be fun seeing how everyone does things.

 

[duluthralphie]

Do you happen to have any CX pullets left from last year? Bert so needs a friend with benefits to raise Little Berts with.


I have a tractor/brooder set up with a heat light in the brooder on a thermostat to keep it at 90-95 degrees, but I doubt that will even work until May. I like to use that for first couple weeks, then open a door to the great outdoors.

I just want some eggs to raise frogs from it all!!! So I need them early, If I can find them somewhere, I would be happy with a dozen straight runs or 6 females.


Time to go let the girls out and collect frozen eggs.

 

[LindaB220]

The weather channel app says it is 23 below right now, which is not too bad, except it is mid February and suppose to be starting to feel spring like. Of course the wind chill factor is making it fee worse at -33.

LInda, Fix up a room, Bert and I are moving in! I am willing to put up with your alligators, snakes and mosquitoes now.







It is still dark so I cannot read my thermometer and I am afraid too, it is always colder here than the app says.

Sure Buddy, you can share the storeroom with the 4 3 wk old babies. Lots of room. I can even bring in a bed and a heater. Southern folk do like to accomodate.

 

[LindaB220]

It is that time of year again - to finalize our stock decisions and start looking at hatching/shipping dates!

I am in MN, a little south of Ralphie, and I don't order my Cornish X chicks to be shipped until mid May or first week of June. This way, I can raise them on the grass from day one, without too much cold/wet to deal with. My husband built me a predator proof box with a light inside, which has a little pop door that goes out into an open-bottom run. The whole thing is moveable, but in the first week or two you only move it once or twice a week. They self-regulate themselves, temperature wise, very well. Once they are feathered out, I get them into larger moveable pens. They get fresh pasture as well as all the bugs and weeds from the veggie garden. When they are bigger than the
cats

I open the pen doors during the day and they get even more space to run around.

I think raising the Cornish X is much more enjoyable when you see them out scratching and looking for bugs like other chickens. I sell mine commercially, too. I am experimenting with hatching out my own layer replacements this year, and caponizing most of the males.

I'm glad I found a thread devoted to raising these birds in a thoughtful way. It'll be fun seeing how everyone does things.
I like the way you think. Putting them first for once. Happy babies.