First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[Sabz]

ah Lisa this is such a good idea. Didn't even think about using anything else than my fridge to keep them for 3 days!
It is almost winter here so I don't think they will have time to warm up! haha if there is anything, the cooler will prevent them from FREEZING if I leave it outside haha. Then again.. afraid of stray cats.. hum.. might as well put that cooler in my basement

Duluthralphie I tried it but when I didn't find it did a good job when I poored out the liquid (I mean versus having the chicken on a pan and pat them dry before bagging). It is way better than without removing the water but not quite perfect.

In a perfect world I would either bag them or put them on a pan until rigor is past, them remove from the bags and freeze all separate on a pan.. This way I could then put multiple breast in a bag and they wouldn't stick. But I would need to do this in multiple shots because I don't have enough space to do it all at once.

Starting to get some ideas now Cooler for 3 days, then freeze as much as I can on a pan so they freeze individually and can the rest! I am processing tonight so I'll give that a try. Thanks for the good ideas, this site is so useful.

 

[duluthralphie]

I learn how many different ways we all do the same things.

I found when setting them on a pan and just covering them they dried out too much. Which is why I went to letting them rest in the bags.

I doubt there is a perfect way, it is kind of each to his own.

I processed of my babies today......... I found a few problems with babies being so big. A couple of them broke their wings thrashing about after I took their heads off.

I remove the heads and hold them dangling by their feet. Then I slip a twine with a half hitch in it over their legs to hang them. I have a rack I hang them from to prevent bruising while they drain out. 3 of the 6 somehow broke their wings today. That has never happened before. I assume it has something to do with the size of the birds.


I also found the skin to be very thin on these compared to those I processed at around 6 weeks of age. The feathers are definitely attached better at this age. I will be weighing them shortly and report the weights. They were 94 days old today.

I had two hens outside the pen and on the far side of it from the gate. That is about a 250 ft walk from their brooder. I decided for being such marathon runners they deserved to live. I moved them into the "real" chickens run/ coop today. They are doing ok, but having it a little rough, getting unwanted attention from 3 of my 4 roosters. I will be watching them to see it does not get too rough. If it does, roosters can be roasted.

The CX hens are already kind of in the pecking order as my CX's have free ranged with my other chickens for months. I assume being in the run coop means having to rediscover their spot on the bottom of the pecking order.

I also noticed my black Australorp rooster was NOT partaking in the activities. He could become the lone rooster. I would hate to get rid of Brutus, but we will see. Rick was being the biggest A-hole. ( Is it alright to say that?) Lucky was there but not really doing much more than giving Rick moral support.

I shall report weights soon.

 

[duluthralphie]

Weights are in on the 6 I did today..

One small bird came in at 6lbs 7 ounces. ( Only bird under 8 lbs)

The largest was 10lbs 10 ounces.

I did 3 hens and 3 roosters. Hens average was 7lbs 8 ounces.

The roosters averaged 10 lbs 5 ounces...

The size of the legs and thighs turned out HUGE, which is what I wanted!

These are all dressed weights.

 

[holm25]

We butchered a beef and three pork well cut and rapped them today the beef was butchered 10-11 days ago pork yesterday. I weighed our CornishX and she only weighs 10 1/2 pounds now she won't leave Tue coop her butt gets cold. Last night The temp got down to 18 degrees and tonight it is gonna be 21 degrees for the low. Frost did not even burn all Tue way off till 3 pm today. Ralph how cold has it been for you .

 

[KCMOLisa]

Good job, Ralphie! For some reason, I had some broken wings from flapping also, and mine were only 50 days old. I wanted to use the cone method, but my brother was the one doing the deed and he wanted to use the ax. He held them by their feet after chopping and while they were flapping so they didn't bruise the meat, but out of 24, probably 6 or so had a broken wing afterwards. Actually, the bone wasn't broken. It was more like the bone came through the skin. It looked awful, but I know it happened after they were dead. I think it convinced him to try the cone method next time because he didn't like seeing the broken wings either.

 

[duluthralphie]

That is what mine were like too. The bone came through the wing at the joint. The bones themselves were not broken..

It is 21 degrees right now. ( 11pm)

I think it was colder last night but not sure. All the waterers and hoses were frozen solid this morning. I guess, tomorrow I will have to place the heaters under them.

Sounds like your set for winter Holm!

We have 3 freezers full right now, I am hoping I can find enough room for the rest of the CX's!

 

[Betsy57]

Good job, Ralphie! For some reason, I had some broken wings from flapping also, and mine were only 50 days old. I wanted to use the cone method, but my brother was the one doing the deed and he wanted to use the ax. He held them by their feet after chopping and while they were flapping so they didn't bruise the meat, but out of 24, probably 6 or so had a broken wing afterwards. Actually, the bone wasn't broken. It was more like the bone came through the skin. It looked awful, but I know it happened after they were dead. I think it convinced him to try the cone method next time because he didn't like seeing the broken wings either.

I'm butchering the one lame chicken today. By how stocky it is, it is a Cornish cross I'd say but definitely smaller (half the size) of the other Cornish cross. I have used the killing cone in the past and find it works the best. It seems less stressful on me ! and the bird. If they start to jerk they're already upside down and confined in the cone. I just have to put my hand on them to hold them in the cone. This one is only about 3 lbs. I am disappointed that my flock of meat birds are all different weights. They vary greatly. Some look like my 7 week old egg layer hens (2 lbs) and some look like the Cornish cross, big and bare (nearly 5 lbs). Looking through Meyer Hatchery's catalog, I did order the BBQ Special which is their choice of Cornish cross and a roaster which is a slower growing bird. So it looks like I will have to do several sessions of butchering, which is not what I wanted to do. I have 3 or 4 that will probably be ready to butcher in 2 weeks. They'll be 8 weeks old then. And then more in maybe another 4 weeks (maybe around 12 weeks). And some maybe even later than that I wanted to get this done and over with but....live and learn. I'll try just the Cornish cross in the spring. My first run at meat birds. So today will be a practice run I guess. I've butchered 2 birds in the past. There are many different ways to butcher from what I've read. Guess there is no real 'right' way; just ways that are more convenient/quicker.

 

[duluthralphie]

Betsy No matter what or how many you do at a time butchering is a pain.

We have done 25 in one day that is way too many and too hard on my old body. If I could get my kids to come around on butchering day we might try that again.( which means it will never happen)

We now do 6 at a time. I have a rack for draining blood from them. It has six pegs. We find we can do 6 in an hour to hour and a half. We are not as sore and the job is not as daunting.

I keep the plucker and propane heater ,for the water on a trailer and we can work without standing in mud.

One thing about butchering this time of year, no meat get overly hot! 18 degrees now.

 

[Betsy57]

Betsy No matter what or how many you do at a time butchering is a pain.

We have done 25 in one day that is way too many and too hard on my old body. If I could get my kids to come around on butchering day we might try that again.( which means it will never happen)

We now do 6 at a time. I have a rack for draining blood from them. It has six pegs. We find we can do 6 in an hour to hour and a half. We are not as sore and the job is not as daunting.

I keep the plucker and propane heater ,for the water on a trailer and we can work without standing in mud.

One thing about butchering this time of year, no meat get overly hot! 18 degrees now.

It's 30 degrees this morning here. The ducks' water was frozen (1/4" of ice on top) but the waterers in the coops for the chickens was fine. Just not ready for the winter thang yet.
I don't have any special equipment for butchering, yet (except a metal killing cone). May look into a turkey fryer for scalding and a table/sink set up later if I think I will continue to do this. With just me here, I won't have a need for many birds. I usually spend so much money on my adventures and am trying for a change to go cheap (we'll see). Got the water ready, going out to do the deed.

 

[Betsy57]

Well, the bird is in the frig. It was just barely over 2 lbs and now it is 1.5 lbs. Hard to clean 'em when they're that small. We'll wait a few days and then roast her and see how she tastes. There was a green area under her one wing in the 'elbow'. It was not fluid and about a nickel in size. It was like the muscle turned green. I would imagine it was an infection?