First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[JRNash]

If you wish to process the birds,feeding 12 on and 12 off as the SUPPLIERS recommend. You will get what you get.Extremely large tasty birds that will start having health problems. That's not an opinion its a fact. Even with feed restrictions some of the birds will STILL gain weight. Your recommendations would be adequate for someone who plans to process their birds. Something SidChik said they WERE NOT DOING. As for as the posts go TUFF.

 

[JRNash]

And if you read the post,I did notsay birdinhand was an idiot or lazy. That was YOUR interpretation of a comment.

 

[JRNash]

And I happen to agree with your opinion about the rescue part. It is a tall difficult task. It can be done though.
I tried to point out the difficulties involved.

 

[moomoodiddy]

The people who still claim these birds are ONLY good for a 6 to 8 week run are in my opinion IDIOTS! Throughout this thread we have demonstrated over and over that with sound management practices these birds can have an extended happy productive life. Yes they were intended to process at anywhere from 4 To 8 weeks but that doesn't HAVE TO HAPPEN. These birds can and will lay eggs. In the end whether your birds make it to this point is solely up to you. As I keep repeating, it's not easy. If you can't make yourself stick to the feeding schedule then your birds will grow at an exponential rate. This is not cruel. Get THAT out of your mind!! Anyone with an ounce of experience knows that the weight of breeding stock must be managed to obtain optimum performance. The problem, IMO is that PEOPLE are lazy. Its easier to just give them what they want and continue with their day.

Completely agree, I have had several CX birds I kept from slaughter and go on to live happy lives. Right now I have two hens around 6 months that run around in my yard wherever I go and lay an egg every day. Although because they were raised in factory setting, have problems like bumble foot and irritated chests.

 

[JRNash]

 

[Kusanar]

Quote:
At the risk of getting my head chopped off for sticking my nose where it doesn't belong... I'm not really sure how feeding 1-2 times a day and only giving them what they can clean up in 10 minutes at a time, putting the feed and water at separate ends of the pen, and giving them low roosts is time consuming or coddling. If you are doing 12 hours on, 12 hours off on feed, that means you're going out there and feeding in the morning and taking it up in the evening, it would be just as difficult and time consuming to feed in the morning, leave the empty dish, then feed in the evening and leave the empty dish... Actually, only feeding small amounts a day seems like LESS work to me...

 

[JRNash]

my last comment. People have already made up their minds. No amount of evidence will change their minds. Now I got WORK to do.

 

[lpatelski]

I fed my CX by hand, I used a scale.
Fed by chick weight and feed weight using the scale below. I could not do the skip a day feeding. They are just too cute.
If you are going to free feed them 12 hours on/12 hours off after they reach 4 weeks, you can hang up the life expectancy. They can get fatty liver disease, ascites, pulmonary hypertension leading to heart attack, etc...

I have since gone to Deer feeders. They throw out 2-3 seconds of feed. You can program as many as 16 feedings in a day, and from 1 second to 30 seconds of feed. I let it run in a bucket then weighed the feed to see how much 3 seconds runs.

$30.00 plus a $12.00 battery

Chicken feeding goes digital!
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
• Adjustable feed rate of 1 to 30 seconds
• Can be programmed to feed 1 to 16 times a day
• Simple bucket design makes moving it to a different location hassle free
• 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

 

[JRNash]

I really like the way you keep the feed where you need it!!

 

[GreatBreeder]

I'm not comfortable with saying my age JRNash, but I will say that I'm 19 under.