First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[LindaB220]

This week has been extra crazy but I have videos from week 5 and week 6 to post. If I don't get to it on Sunday, I guess I will be posting week 7 at the same time as the rest.

All of my chickens have been doing great this week! They are spreading far from the tractor at free range time. My hubby got a bunch of apples from a customer that they are loving nibbling. When I put them to bed at night, they have full crops.

I got my first egg from my layers: She chose to lay it on my husbands tool box in the racing trailer. She subsequently also laid egg 2 and 3 in that same spot. I don't know if I can break her and make her lay in the nesting box. Silly chicken! I heard egg song from one of my BOs this morning but no egg yet. I am excited that more are on the way soon!



I have a Gold Laced Cochin Roo and 3 Silkies that I adopted several weeks after I got my laying hens. I am still trying to integrate them all together. My little Roo is seriously showing some excitement, doing his little dance for my layers and chasing them. He is a very #orny little guy. They free range together every day and I'm not pushing them into the same sleep space. I hope it works out. Sheesh, I wouldn't want to have to deal with him. He is a stinker, but beautiful.



Never a dull moment when you have 40 chickens!

Is that the only rooster you have? Then no worries, he'll calm down and they will love him.

Good luck on your process. Maybe you ought to do a practice with a couple of chickens a few days in advance. It will let you know of things you might not remember on processing day. Like extra ice, paper towels, etc.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Is that the only rooster you have? Then no worries, he'll calm down and they will love him.

Good luck on your process. Maybe you ought to do a practice with a couple of chickens a few days in advance. It will let you know of things you might not remember on processing day. Like extra ice, paper towels, etc.

No, the cochin isn't the only roo I have. I'm pretty sure that at least one of my silkies is also a roo. I don't have an LF roo though. It seems that my cochin and black silkie are working together in the chase of the girls at this point. The cochin and silkies have been raised from chicks together. I don't know the dynamic exactly, but my cochin does protect them from the big girls.

My husband swears that we don't need practice (men) and that we got this. He always says this and in my experience, we will get started and have a monkey wrench. Story of our life. Constant adventure! It's a good thing we make an awesome team and can regroup quickly!

 

[LindaB220]

No, the cochin isn't the only roo I have. I'm pretty sure that at least one of my silkies is also a roo. I don't have an LF roo though. It seems that my cochin and black silkie are working together in the chase of the girls at this point. The cochin and silkies have been raised from chicks together. I don't know the dynamic exactly, but my cochin does protect them from the big girls.

My husband swears that we don't need practice (men) and that we got this. He always says this and in my experience, we will get started and have a monkey wrench. Story of our life. Constant adventure! It's a good thing we make an awesome team and can regroup quickly!

Bahahaha Men, gotta love 'em. Just so you have a list of all the things you need.

 

[JessicaThistle]

The plucker is ready!! It's a good thing because we have one week left! I had a beefy 7 1/2 pound roo during random weights this week!

 

[Pinkaboo]

How does the plucker work?

 

[JessicaThistle]

How does the plucker work?

The drum rotates, you throw the chicken in and as the chicken swirls around the drum, the rubber fingers "rub" the feathers away. If you go to Youtube there are a ton of videos that show it.

 

[NiaAbbott]

Question- My Cx's are 6 weeks 1 day old, I haven't lost any yet, but noticed last night right after I fed them that one was a little off. she had eaten, but was sitting in a little awkward ball with her head and butt tucked in, and her right eye closed. I watched her for a while and she could open it, but only did for a second or two in maybe 15 minutes. I separated her and put some electrolytes in her water for the night, she let me snuggle her and was responsive. I'm hoping she just got something in her eye and not seeing well is making her guarded, but I know these guys can get strange ailments, so I figured I'd ask if it sounded like anything.

 

[PlaidBattleAxe]

The plucker is ready!! It's a good thing because we have one week left! I had a beefy 7 1/2 pound roo during random weights this week!

That roo will make a nice roaster! You're growing yours out to 8 weeks? Mine come next Wednesday and I've been reading about people only doing 6 weeks, and others up to 10. I'm torn between 6 and 8 (it'll be 1st week of October at 8 week point), but figure I'll just have to see how they grow and how they tolerate the cold------my big fear right now: having to keep them inside if the weather gets too cold, though I suppose I could run a heat lamp to their tractor (I have yet to build it, as I'm getting ready to go out of town on a business trip for a few days), but I've got a brooder ready to go.
I have a question--- It gets into the 50s at night here where I live, at about how many weeks (I was guessing 3 or 4) are they feathered enough to be able to tolerate temperatures in that range?

 

[NiaAbbott]

I don't know what the lowest temp they can handle would be, but mine have been outside in the tractor since they were 3 weeks old, and we've gotten into the high 40's low 50's at night time, they've seemed to handle it well.
I plan on processing at 8-9 ish weeks, I'll go be weight, aiming for 8-10lbs live weight. I think the big variable in processing time lies in the feeding regiment you follow, I feed by weight twice a day, so my birds will take a little longer than someone that feeds free choice.

 

[NiaAbbott]

I should add, they have a section of tractor that is semi enclosed, and they throw off quite a lot of heat, so I'm sure it's well above the outside temp with them in there