First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[bluto in mo]

I had 5 that had it. It's pretty hard to tell a bird to not flap your wings.

 

[Molpet]

I had 5 that had it. It's pretty hard to tell a bird to not flap your wings.

I was thinking that last night and I woke up dreaming on how to make straight jackets for my CX

I do not think that would make them happy though LOL

 

[duluthralphie]

I have read about it, the green muscle. But I have never seen it.

Mine flop all the time. I think JR is correct on this, it is not just a result of the wings flapping, it is the muscle growing too fast.

I know I say this over and over and some of you think you are restricting protein. DO IT MORE.

If you are fermenting feed, Stop it on the CX's. You are raising the protein level too high. They really need junk feed.

They are so efficient at utilizing feed (converting to muscle mass) and gaining weight even a slight increase is too much.

Roughage and low protein low carb feed is what they need.


I have Bert and his girls breeding, I am getting good eggs that are hatching. Bert is looking slimmer.

You know how I did it?

I feed him and his two girls about a pound and a half of feed every two to three days! I am nearly starving them. They are still healthy and active. I let Bert free range every other day. I have seen him 100 yards or so from his pen. He forages and eats grass. Water is all he gets all he wants of.

At first I felt bad, but he is looking so much better and the eggs are hatching. It is working. I know you are all thinking you are starving your chicks! Do not worry about it. They cannot use all the feed you give them. If you are worried about nutrients, give them vitamins.

Restrict calories and protein. They will be better tasting live longer and be happier. The only thing they will not be is cheaper than in the store.

If you want cheap chickens, forget raising them and go to Walmart.





(Stepping off my soap box again).

 

[Dave C]

Some pics of my Slow Grow Sasso's at 3.5 weeks
And outside enjoying the sunshine.

 

[cyborg]

Recent posting demonstrate the wisdom behind the age old  SSS....

OK, so what is SSS?

 

[duluthralphie]

OK, so what is SSS?

Shoot...

Shovel...

Shut up...

 

[cyborg]

This green muscle thing, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Never seen it. If it is from overfeeding or growing too fast, how come Wallyworld chicken doesn't have it? I can't imagine the meatfarm chicken is freeranged or exercised in any way, and I'm also fairly sure they feed them as much as possible. They are the ones that developed those "feeding guideline" charts after all.

Batch #1 could be butchered next week, but I had planned on running them a wee bit longer. Will select out a couple for mad science breeding projects, but the main focus is still stocking the freezer.

 

[duluthralphie]

The wallyworld chicks are not allowed hardly any room to move let alone work their wings.

They are fed high protein feed and grown as fast as possible they only get to 6-7 weeks of age when they are processed.

If when they process they find one with green muscle it most likely becomes tacos, Chicken McNuggets or some other processed meat. Maybe high quality chicken dog food..

These are my guesses....

 

[cyborg]

The wallyworld chicks are not allowed hardly any room to move let alone work their wings.

They are fed high protein feed and grown as fast as possible they only get to 6-7 weeks of age when they are processed.

If when they process they find one with green muscle it most likely becomes tacos,  Chicken McNuggets or some other processed meat. Maybe high quality chicken dog food..

These are my guesses....

.....or high protein chicken feed...

 

[Molpet]

This green muscle thing, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Never seen it. If it is from overfeeding or growing too fast, how come Wallyworld chicken doesn't have it? I can't imagine the meatfarm chicken is freeranged or exercised in any way, and I'm also fairly sure they feed them as much as possible. They are the ones that developed those "feeding guideline" charts after all.

Batch #1 could be butchered next week, but I had planned on running them a wee bit longer. Will select out a couple for mad science breeding projects, but the main focus is still stocking the freezer.

I want to know how they find it finding during processing, unless they are talking about parts? http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/3142/deep-pectoral-myopathy-green-muscle-disease-in-broilers/
Currently, the condition is a major challenge to the poultry industry, in part because it does not appear to have an impact on bird health in the broiler house and, therefore, usually goes undetected until processing. In addition, it may randomly affect part or all of one or both tenders. It has proven difficult to predict if, or how many, green tenders will occur in a flock at processing.
However, green tenders have no appeal to the consuming public and are, therefore, removed from the food supply when the birds are processed. This creates an economic loss to the industry because it affects the most valuable part of the carcass (the breast) (Bianchi et al., 2006). While the number of birds displaying Green Muscle Disease is currently small compared to the overall number of birds processed, that number is increasing, and indications are that incidence of the disease may continue to increase as breast meat yield continues to be a primary focus of the industry and broilers are taken to heavier market weights.