First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[Double Kindness]

My dp meaties are so silly, they start begging for treats as soon as they see me, crowd my feet. I feel like I'm getting mobbed every day lol.

I looked in our camping cooler yesterday, ewww my bf forgot to empty it after our camping trip in August. I think we need to go buy new coolers. He is highly unlikely to clean it, and aftee opening it yesterday in the front yard I quickly shut it and ran inside the house.

Has anyone read reviews on good deep freezers? I HATE my lg fridge/freezer and it's barely over a year old, I would hate to buy another big appliance and hate it too for dumb design flaws, like constantly breaking door shelves and an ice cube maker that freezes all the individual cubes into a giant solid mass. I want a great deep freezer, as my standing chest freezer also is awful and frosts ip badly, freezer burns stuff and the door likes to just pop open sometimes. I need sonething I don't hate like my current set up.

I'm also lobbying hard for a new kitchen and bathrooms. But the deep freezer, coolers, cones, plucker, scalder, processing sink are all on my list of stuff I need to get. Next I need to think about how I want to package my birds. I might end up getting 3 turkeys in the spring Ralphie, I can't help myself. Birds! !

 

[Betsy57]

My dp meaties are so silly, they start begging for treats as soon as they see me, crowd my feet. I feel like I'm getting mobbed every day lol.

I looked in our camping cooler yesterday, ewww my bf forgot to empty it after our camping trip in August. I think we need to go buy new coolers. He is highly unlikely to clean it, and aftee opening it yesterday in the front yard I quickly shut it and ran inside the house.

Has anyone read reviews on good deep freezers? I HATE my lg fridge/freezer and it's barely over a year old, I would hate to buy another big appliance and hate it too for dumb design flaws, like constantly breaking door shelves and an ice cube maker that freezes all the individual cubes into a giant solid mass. I want a great deep freezer, as my standing chest freezer also is awful and frosts ip badly, freezer burns stuff and the door likes to just pop open sometimes. I need sonething I don't hate like my current set up.

I'm also lobbying hard for a new kitchen and bathrooms. But the deep freezer, coolers, cones, plucker, scalder, processing sink are all on my list of stuff I need to get. Next I need to think about how I want to package my birds. I might end up getting 3 turkeys in the spring Ralphie, I can't help myself. Birds! !

Consumer Reports is my go-to before I buy anything. I've always been pleased with my products when following their ratings. Libraries will have the paper issues and you can access it also on-line for a mere $30 a year. Worth it I think. I get both paper issues and have on-line access.

 

[JessicaThistle]

My dp meaties are so silly, they start begging for treats as soon as they see me, crowd my feet. I feel like I'm getting mobbed every day lol.

I looked in our camping cooler yesterday, ewww my bf forgot to empty it after our camping trip in August. I think we need to go buy new coolers. He is highly unlikely to clean it, and aftee opening it yesterday in the front yard I quickly shut it and ran inside the house.

Has anyone read reviews on good deep freezers? I HATE my lg fridge/freezer and it's barely over a year old, I would hate to buy another big appliance and hate it too for dumb design flaws, like constantly breaking door shelves and an ice cube maker that freezes all the individual cubes into a giant solid mass. I want a great deep freezer, as my standing chest freezer also is awful and frosts ip badly, freezer burns stuff and the door likes to just pop open sometimes. I need sonething I don't hate like my current set up.

I'm also lobbying hard for a new kitchen and bathrooms. But the deep freezer, coolers, cones, plucker, scalder, processing sink are all on my list of stuff I need to get. Next I need to think about how I want to package my birds. I might end up getting 3 turkeys in the spring Ralphie, I can't help myself. Birds! !

They are like piranha aren't they?

I admit we also have a problem regarding cleaning coolers after the last use. It's just a pain and easy to forget I guess. Haha!

I don't know about the best freezers or anything but I have a small chest freezer that I bought at sears like 12 years ago and works like a charm. We did buy a second stand up freezer recently and it seems to be great but I don't remember what kind. I'll look and post later. I do know that Frigidaire is a fabulous brand. I have a Frigidaire washer and dryer that I bought 15 years ago that still works great. I don't know if that translates to freezers or not.

I bought my processing bags at http://www.nadyaspoultry.com. They work great and i like that I could mix the order and get bags for 3-5 pound birds as well as 5-8 pound birds. Good price too!

 

[Betsy57]

My chicks will be three weeks old Monday. They're still small (I thought by now they'd be huge but I guess they are big compared to a typical 3 week old egg laying chick). Weight up to 12.55 oz. One or two are significantly smaller but I couldn't grab one of them to weigh. Will try later. There's 15 of 'em and I'm giving them a cup of food twice a day. Does that sound about right for their age?

 

[KCMOLisa]

Quote:
I was thinking of using these bags too. Jessica, do you put them in the bags right after cleaning and then rest them in the cooler for a few days or do you just put them in the cooler with ice and then bag them up after they have rested? I don't have the fridge space so I'm planning to keep mine in this huge cooler I have, but I'm worried about them soaking in water/ice for three days straight. Have you had any problem with it?

I'm trying to get everything figured out because doomsday is in only 11 days! I can't believe my meatballs are already ready for freezer camp. I want more time with them! I am processing at 7 weeks so they will be a more manageable size for me to cook with.

Quote:
Betsy - I was thinking mine were smallish when they got to be three weeks old, but man have they blown up between Week 3 and Week 5. I can't remember exactly, but I think they were around 20 ounces each at three weeks. Then at 4 weeks, they were almost all around 2 pounds with one 2 1/2 pounder. Now at 5 weeks, they're all over 3 pounds with one 4 pounder!

2 cups a day seems pretty low for 15 CX at three weeks old. I know people are all over the board on here regarding how much they feed them. I know some people free feed and use a lot more and some people feed a lot less. From a few different feeding charts I've found online, they should be eating about 0.2 pounds each per day at Week 3, which would be 3 pounds a day for your 15. All food is different, but with my Nutrena Meatbird food, it's about 3 cups per pound, so that would be 9 cups a day for your three-week-olds. I made a daily feed chart for how much I'm feeding mine. Message me and I can email it to you if you're interested.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I was thinking of using these bags too. Jessica, do you put them in the bags right after cleaning and then rest them in the cooler for a few days or do you just put them in the cooler with ice and then bag them up after they have rested? I don't have the fridge space so I'm planning to keep mine in this huge cooler I have, but I'm worried about them soaking in water/ice for three days straight. Have you had any problem with it?

I rest mine in the cooler with ice for 3-5 days. I also don't have the fridge space. No problem with resting in the ice water. I think the skin actually looks less dry. I rested one in the fridge that didn't fit in the cooler and the skin looked dry to me. It didn't taste bad when cooked it just didn't look as moist before cooking. When you are used to seeing wet store-bought chickens it just looks weird.

Oh the one problem I had with the ice water is that the cooler drain leaked some onto the carpet in my spare room where the cooler rested. I told my dh we needed to remove that carpet but it didn't happen. It is stinky. So make sure your drain is super tight!!

 

[JessicaThistle]

Chickens all packed away. Love it! I traded out a few chickens with some people that raise free range beef today too, so the door shelves are stocked with beef. Now I need to find someone that raises pigs to trade for pork!

 

[KCMOLisa]

Quote:
I think I'm going to leave mine on the porch with some cinder blocks on top to stop any 4-legged thievery to avoid that problem!
Quote:
They look soooo good!! Trading for other meat is SUCH a good idea. I think I'm going to try that. I want to raise a pig next year myself, but I'm afraid I'll get even more attached to it than I am to the meatballs.

 

[Betsy57]

Broiler Body Weights and Feed Requirements
​

Male

Female
Age Days/
Weeks

Body Weight/LB

Avg. Daily Gain/Week

Daily Intake

Cum. Intake

Body Weight

Avg. Daily Gain/Week

Daily Intake

Cum. Intake
7 1

0.386

0.042

0.079

0.335

0.377

0.041

0.075

0.328
14 2

0.977

0.084

0.143

1.109

0.913

0.077

0.128

1.030
21 3

1.909

0.133

0.231

2.458

1.717

0.115

0.208

2.238
28 4

3.133

0.175

0.324

4.449

2.747

0.147

0.289

4.021
35 5

4.545

0.202

0.401

7.039

3.913

0.167

0.366

6.358
42 6

6.030

0.212

0.463

10.113

5.126

0.173

0.423

9.153
49 7

7.482

0.2.07

0.501

13.510

6.314

0.170

0.465

12.288
56 8

8.836

0.193

0.516

17.086

7.421

0.158

0.489

15.639
63 9

10.046

0.173

0.518

20.171

8.419

0.143

0.499

19.101


Found this in another post on BYC. If you want a quickly raised meat bird, looks like it is best to butcher by 7 weeks as the returns decline after that. Mine are 3 weeks old tomorrow and weigh from 7.35 oz to 13.55 oz so mine are not in line with this chart. I am not feeding them as much as the chart indicates I should if I want a quick result. I thought I'd probably need to butcher mine around 8 weeks old if I continue to feed as I am now. I did bump up their food today and will as they continue to grow. We'll see how things go. My first attempt at meat birds. I hadn't planned on feeding mine so much that they'd be ready in 6 weeks as this chart indicates.

 

[duluthralphie]

Broiler Body Weights and Feed Requirements
​

Male

Female
Age Days/
Weeks

Body Weight/LB

Avg. Daily Gain/Week

Daily Intake

Cum. Intake

Body Weight

Avg. Daily Gain/Week

Daily Intake

Cum. Intake
7 1

0.386

0.042

0.079

0.335

0.377

0.041

0.075

0.328
14 2

0.977

0.084

0.143

1.109

0.913

0.077

0.128

1.030
21 3

1.909

0.133

0.231

2.458

1.717

0.115

0.208

2.238
28 4

3.133

0.175

0.324

4.449

2.747

0.147

0.289

4.021
35 5

4.545

0.202

0.401

7.039

3.913

0.167

0.366

6.358
42 6

6.030

0.212

0.463

10.113

5.126

0.173

0.423

9.153
49 7

7.482

0.2.07

0.501

13.510

6.314

0.170

0.465

12.288
56 8

8.836

0.193

0.516

17.086

7.421

0.158

0.489

15.639
63 9

10.046

0.173

0.518

20.171

8.419

0.143

0.499

19.101


Found this in another post on BYC. Looks like it is best to butcher by 7 weeks as the returns decline after that.

Actually, I would disagree with the conclusion to butcher by 7 weeks. If your goal is to get the best priced meat, it is correct. However, I am not looking for a bird that I can grow as fast and cheap as possible.

Mine are 12 weeks old this week. I processed one last week at 11 weeks. It dressed out at 7.5 lbs. We ate it last night. It was great. Juicy, tender and huge. The flavor was superb. My daughter in law is a tad fussy and she even loved it.


I wanted the healthiest birds possible. I slowed their growth down. The charts refer to birds raised like Tyson or Golden Plump would raise theirs. I do many things Tyson would not be happy with.


I free range mine. I feed them scratch and make them work for their food. I give them cheap food. In the morning I throw out corn and oats for scratch. I give them a little 18% protein feed at night when they go back into the tractor/brooder. I know I need to butcher mine soon. I hope to sometime within the next month.

I have not lost one bird to heart, leg or ascites raising them slower. This is worth a lot to me.

I actually think I am saving money by not feeding them the high protein feed, which throws the chart off. Feeding as much corn as I do decreases the cost per pound even more. I know some people do not like corn fed birds, it does not bother me. I buy my corn from a farmer for $15 for a 55 gallon barrels full of shell corn.

I have actually changed my goal some now, I want birds over 10 pounds dressed! After last nights chicken dinner I know I am doing it right for us.


I am looking forward to raising baby frogs next year!


I guess what I am saying is I do not believe the charts tell the whole story on CX's.