First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[LindaB220]

Chicks are 3 weeks old today!! Random weighing revealed a 1 pound 9 oz chick as the biggest. My 16 week EE was visiting me and I plopped her up on the scale and got 2 1/4 pounds. These chickens grow fast. I'm amazed! And I learned that my EE would not make a good dinner. Lol!

Jessica, I simply adore your videos. They are so cute. And your set up is great. I wish I had the room to do this. I'm getting 25 in Sept. I just can't wait.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Jessica, I simply adore your videos. They are so cute. And your set up is great. I wish I had the room to do this. I'm getting 25 in Sept. I just can't wait.

Thank you Linda! I am so blessed to have the setup, my little 1 1/2 acres and the wonderful husband that will build this stuff and put up with 41 chickens running around. He is busy planning the plucker, knife sharpening, cones and all the stuff that concerns me while I get to enjoy the little fluffy fun!

He also built me a beautiful coop for my 8 hens that will be ready to lay any time here and is thinking he may have to build me another small coop for my 4 banties - gold laced cochin roo and 3 silkies. I have never been happier. I LOVE having chickens and if I would have known how much fun they are, I would have done it years ago!

I hope you have as much fun with your little guys when you get them as I am! I am actually planning to "possibly" pick up my second batch in mid-August after we butcher the current batch. If all goes smoothly, it will be a definite! I want to go into the winter with a full freezer!

 

[LindaB220]

Thank you Linda! I am so blessed to have the setup, my little 1 1/2 acres and the wonderful husband that will build this stuff and put up with 41 chickens running around. He is busy planning the plucker, knife sharpening, cones and all the stuff that concerns me while I get to enjoy the little fluffy fun!

He also built me a beautiful coop for my 8 hens that will be ready to lay any time here and is thinking he may have to build me another small coop for my 4 banties - gold laced cochin roo and 3 silkies. I have never been happier. I LOVE having chickens and if I would have known how much fun they are, I would have done it years ago!

I hope you have as much fun with your little guys when you get them as I am! I am actually planning to "possibly" pick up my second batch in mid-August after we butcher the current batch. If all goes smoothly, it will be a definite! I want to go into the winter with a full freezer!

Good luck, my next purchase is a run. Then a freezer and pressure canner. One step at a time.

 

[RedMini]

Thank you Linda!  I am so blessed to have the setup, my little 1 1/2 acres and the wonderful husband that will build this stuff and put up with 41 chickens running around.  He is busy planning the plucker, knife sharpening, cones and all the stuff that concerns me while I get to enjoy the little fluffy fun!

He also built me a beautiful coop for my 8 hens that will be ready to lay any time here and is thinking he may have to build me another small coop for my 4 banties - gold laced cochin roo and 3 silkies.  I have never been happier.  I LOVE having chickens and if I would have known how much fun they are, I would have done it years ago!

I hope you have as much fun with your little guys when you get them as I am!  I am actually planning to "possibly" pick up my second batch in mid-August after we butcher the current batch.  If all goes smoothly, it will be a definite!  I want to go into the winter with a full freezer!

You should do another batch! I'm on my second batch this year, and am thinking of doing a third when these are gone (like you, mid-August).
We buy 1/4 of a cow every year & with all this chicken we are looking into getting another chest freezer for all this meat! Plan is to never buy store-bought chicken & beef, as well as for the meat we have to last the winter.

 

[PlaidBattleAxe]

I've been reading this line from the beginning.. I want to get a batch of chicks to put away in the freezer this fall. If I were to get say... 30 birds, and you typically butcher around 9 weeks, right? How big of a coop would I need for these guys? Do you use the same 4sq ft per bird ratio? I'd have to have a darn big coop if that's the case.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I've been reading this line from the beginning.. I want to get a batch of chicks to put away in the freezer this fall. If I were to get say... 30 birds, and you typically butcher around 9 weeks, right? How big of a coop would I need for these guys? Do you use the same 4sq ft per bird ratio? I'd have to have a darn big coop if that's the case.

Thank you for following my thread! My chicken tractor is about 55 square feet or so and okay to house 30 birds. CX don't need as much space because they are bred to be confined in a small space. I personally don't like that idea, so I let mine out every day for several hours so they can explore. They are voracious at hunting for bugs and things.

I believe 8 weeks is the standard butchering age but many do it as early as 6 weeks or let them grow out a little longer. I think it depends on how big you want your dinner to be.

These are the plans we used for our chicken tractor to give you an idea. It cost less than $200 to build and I can move it easily even though I am 5 ft tall. I can say that my birds are way happier out on the grass than they were when I had them in the brooder inside for almost 3 weeks. I'm happier too because I don't have to shovel bedding or smell them!

http://foodcyclist.com/stress-free-chicken-tractor-plans/

 

[JessicaThistle]

You should do another batch! I'm on my second batch this year, and am thinking of doing a third when these are gone (like you, mid-August).
We buy 1/4 of a cow every year & with all this chicken we are looking into getting another chest freezer for all this meat! Plan is to never buy store-bought chicken & beef, as well as for the meat we have to last the winter.

I have already checked in with my hatchery.

My husband and I were just talking last night about buying 1/4 or 1/2 of a cow. He has a customer that raises cattle. I would love to never go to the store for meat, especially since our local grocery shut down a while back. What a pain to drive half hour to a grocery store!

My son moved out and I think I'm going to make his room into a brooder room and have a big freezer in there. The room is on the end of the house and has a door to the outside. It would work perfect. Then my hubby could have the garage back for the race car. That would make him happy.

 

[PlaidBattleAxe]

Thank you for following my thread! My chicken tractor is about 55 square feet or so and okay to house 30 birds. CX don't need as much space because they are bred to be confined in a small space. I personally don't like that idea, so I let mine out every day for several hours so they can explore. They are voracious at hunting for bugs and things.

I believe 8 weeks is the standard butchering age but many do it as early as 6 weeks or let them grow out a little longer. I think it depends on how big you want your dinner to be.

These are the plans we used for our chicken tractor to give you an idea. It cost less than $200 to build and I can move it easily even though I am 5 ft tall. I can say that my birds are way happier out on the grass than they were when I had them in the brooder inside for almost 3 weeks. I'm happier too because I don't have to shovel bedding or smell them!

http://foodcyclist.com/stress-free-chicken-tractor-plans/

Thank you!! Appreciate the info

 

[new2chickes]

I waited the 3 days and they were MUCH tastier!!!

 

[JessicaThistle]

All of my chickes are doing well! They will be 4 weeks old on Monday and I will be posting my random weights and pics. Plus, my weekly video! So excited!