First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[Dave C]

Well quick round up of my 12 week old Sasso Gallic boys that got the short straw.

Removed food Sunday night, water Monday afternoon.
Used a killing cone for the first time which I found very good and will using them again.
Used my mates old plucking machine which wasn't the best so took about 2 hours to pluck, then hung for 24 hours.

Drew the birds tonight which were very clean with good offal, went well and took under an hour.

Lowest dressed weight 1.89kg
Highest dressed weight 2.12kg

So happy with that, bring on the next batch.

 

[Molpet]

Well quick round up of my 12 week old Sasso Gallic boys that got the short straw.

Removed food Sunday night, water Monday afternoon.
Used a killing cone for the first time which I found very good and will using them again.
Used my mates old plucking machine which wasn't the best so took about 2 hours to pluck, then hung for 24 hours.

Drew the birds tonight which were very clean with good offal, went well and took under an hour.

Lowest dressed weight 1.89kg
Highest dressed weight 2.12kg

So happy with that, bring on the next batch.

what temp do you hang them at? you might have said before and I missed it.
ETA very nice birds

 

[Dave C]

Thanks, last week was very warm here (for a change) and I was going to process them straight away.
But then it cooled right down, so hung them in a cool dark barn for 24 hours to let the meat relax and drop.

It was probably about 10'C or 50'F in there.

 

[Birdinhand]

nicely done Dave! I have some lavender orps, out of 8, 6 are looking to be roos, which is a shame. we started out with 14 eggs, 9 hatched, 1 died... and only two hens :~(. but I guess I'll see if they are good eating, so far they feel like skin and bones compared to the CX I processed a few weeks back.

 

[Turk Raphael]

Looking good @Dave C

Let me understand please. Do you hang the birds with offal intact?

 

[lpatelski]

Long story short: I just finished my first round (ever) of CX. My situation is, I live in town and have to keep them 5 miles away in the country. I thought I could just give them enough food to "last" twelve hours every morning, but quickly found out they would eat a dump truck full of feed in a matter of minutes if you let them. Therefore, I was driving out every morning and every evening to feed them. Was looking for any advice on how to get around that. Contemplated Rangers after thinking about cutting my chore drive to once per day, but that will likely take me into November before butchering time. Other than that, my CX went great and they are delicious.

$30.00 plus a $12.00 battery

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When you want a break from feeding chores, there's nothing better than digital technology.
I just bought some American Hunter 5-gallon Hanging Bucket Feeders.
The digital timer on this allows you to feed the amount of feed you want, when you want it.
Setting the timer was easy once I got the hang of it.
I did a trial run to see how much feed this thing flung at the 10 second setting. It was about 4 cups, so I backed it off. I will be feeding 2 to 3 times a day. I also do not want the feed flung so I am hanging it over a feed pan and attaching a feed bag around the outside so the feed hits the bag and falls into the feeder.

The stats below are from the website:

• Durable plastic is weather resistant and will last for years
• 40-lb. feed capacity
• Can be set to feed on different days of the week
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• Runs on a 6V spring-top lead acid battery (not included)

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/american-hunter-5-gallon-digital-hanging-bucket-feeder?a=796940.

You can attach this game feeder to a much larger bucket. I put the feed bag on it to keep the feed from flinging everywhere. Feed falls into the pan and breakfast/lunch/dinner is served. My feeder chicks are fed 6 x a day. I ran a test to see how much feed is flung at 2 seconds/3 seconds.

 

[Dave C]

Looking good @Dave C
        Let me understand please.  Do you hang the birds with offal intact?

Thanks Turk,

Yes we hang them with the guts in, the bigger the bird the longer you hang if the weather is cool enough.
Last week when we had a hot spell I wouldn't of hung at all, in the winter we hang a big chicken for about 3 days and a turkey for about a week.
I always hang game, pheasants and the like for about a week.

 

[JRNash]

Nope. Nope . Nope. Nope .nope. i can't do it. I put bleach in my bathwater after ive been in the field. Kills bugs. I can't "age" a chicken. No way .NO. How

 

[Dave C]

Well each to there own mate but that's how most do it round here.
Overnight dose me for chickens, it's enough time for the meat to drop and relax.

But turkeys and game I hang for longer in the winter.

 

[Molpet]

Dave, How hard is it to eviscerate after hanging vs immediately? I skin my CX , would it be better to wait until after hanging?
I am willing to try this, after all it is an age old method and I am not germaphobic