How many of you FULLY Free Range your Cornish X Meaties? Tractors do not count.

[aoxa]

aoxa,
Are you planning to hatch out any of big Bertha's eggs?

Bertha was one of your smaller pullets during the grow out, is that right?

Thanks Mike

She is a very submissive girl with food, so she was one of the two smaller ones when I butchered them out at 12 weeks. Since they were gone, she really grew.


Here she is at 16 weeks. She has actually evened out some. Not so big in the breast area lol

If I thought she was suffering in any way, I would process her. I am not doing this out of attachment. I really want to see what I will get out of her being bred to this guy:


who is a week younger.

 

[Beekissed]

So cool! I currently have a Cochin cockerel that resembles your roo there....

 

[aoxa]

So cool! I currently have a Cochin cockerel that resembles your roo there....

Yours is Silver Laced, my boy is Silver Pencilled They do have similar patterns everywhere but the chest.


The Silver Pencilled Plymouth Rock girls are eye catching. This pullet is 22 weeks.

 

[Beekissed]

Very pretty bird!!!!

I got this rooster for free with another 12 roosters of various breeds that I've brought home to finish out on FF and process for canning. He is young and looks very fat but it's all feathers...his keel bone is very prominent. I'm processing the larger, heavier breeds first and leaving this boy and the leghorn mixes an additional week to give them more opportunity at the feed.

 

[aoxa]

Very pretty bird!!!!

I got this rooster for free with another 12 roosters of various breeds that I've brought home to finish out on FF and process for canning. He is young and looks very fat but it's all feathers...his keel bone is very prominent. I'm processing the larger, heavier breeds first and leaving this boy and the leghorn mixes an additional week to give them more opportunity at the feed.

That's the cochin for you. Mostly feathers until they are older.

He almost looks bantam in the photo.

When I processed my cochin x rock crosses (not cornish x), they had giant bones. There was enough meat for a 4 person meal, but they were a lot of legs and bones. They looked huge!

 

[Beekissed]

Yes! This boy is very tall for his age...taller than my old PR roo and just as tall as the other heavy breeds in the pen, with long legs...but a very short back. He's very docile and so gets picked on a good bit by the other roosters...not to bring blood or do any damage but he gets his head pecked a good bit. I hate to even process him and would like to keep him around awhile to put on some weight but for some reason Toby has taken a dislike to him also...I think with his gimpy leg he is a target for aggression. I don't want him to live longer only to live more miserably, so he will get processed right along side of the others as I have no use for a Cochin roo in the flock.

 

[aoxa]

Yes! This boy is very tall for his age...taller than my old PR roo and just as tall as the other heavy breeds in the pen, with long legs...but a very short back. He's very docile and so gets picked on a good bit by the other roosters...not to bring blood or do any damage but he gets his head pecked a good bit. I hate to even process him and would like to keep him around awhile to put on some weight but for some reason Toby has taken a dislike to him also...I think with his gimpy leg he is a target for aggression. I don't want him to live longer only to live more miserably, so he will get processed right along side of the others as I have no use for a Cochin roo in the flock.

That is a characteristic of cochins.. they are very low on the pecking order. My turkeys killed my only cochin rooster last winter. They had attacked him and he lost too much blood.

I wouldn't raise cochins with any other large fowl again just because of that. They just don't click. They are even worse than silkies for that.

They are very tame and great mothers. My hens had no issues in the pecking order.. My roosters always favoured the cochin hens. Probably because they were so submissive.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't know why more folks don't get these birds for their pet flocks, if that is the case. He seems very moochy and likes attention, doesn't fight at all when picked up and is easy to catch. I've read they don't have good laying efficacy but then neither do the silkies and such and they are certainly prettier than the silkies. If I were going to have chickens just for pets and the occasional eggs and chicks, Cochins would probably be the breed I'd go for...even bantam cochins are cute little things.

 

[aoxa]

I don't know why more folks don't get these birds for their pet flocks, if that is the case. He seems very moochy and likes attention, doesn't fight at all when picked up and is easy to catch. I've read they don't have good laying efficacy but then neither do the silkies and such and they are certainly prettier than the silkies. If I were going to have chickens just for pets and the occasional eggs and chicks, Cochins would probably be the breed I'd go for...even bantam cochins are cute little things.

Lots of people do. Cochins are extremely popular. People enjoy showing them too.

They have lots of curves, and I like a fat looking chicken. I like fat looking animals. I'm weird like that.

My geese look obese, but it really is just their breed. They aren't nearly as heavy as they look.


Every time I look at them I smile. Makes me feel skinny lol

Okay so to keep this on topic.. I did process my last batch of CX (the ones I mentioned were growing way slower than the first) at 14 weeks old. We had issues with getting the supplies ready to process. We bought a plucker, it didn't work.. we borrowed one and did it.

I have a helluva time getting the scalding water just right. Either too cold or too hot. We ended up skinning two. The weights ranged from 10 pounds (largest) to 6 pounds. Not too bad. I hope the meat is still tender as if they were 12 weeks. When does the meat on a bird start to become affected by puberty? Our 18 week old males (DP) were tough if baked at that age. I like the CX for baking and using in the rotisserie. I should still be okay to do so yes?

 

[Beekissed]

I usually process DP roos at 3-5 mo. depending upon their development, so I think you'll be just fine on tenderness and flavor. Those are excellent wts!

I like the fat-looking girls that aren't really fat too!

That's one of the reasons I really love Plymouth White Rocks....they look big, really are heavy, but not much of it is usually fat as opposed to just really dense muscling. They just look more...matronly...to me. I think this is also because I'm a sturdy gal with lots of muscle overlaid with a goodly portion of fat.