How soon is too soon ?

[Nuke1855]

Hi All,

I have a situation. I have 10 birds.
4 cornish cross - Age - 5 weeks
2 Rhode Island Reds - 8 weeks
4 Buff's 8 weeks.

I live in the city and have a small back yard, they are in a coop and get to run about once or twice a day. SO , they are getting huge !! I cant believe the stink from the Cornish x's and I am concerned that my neighbor behind me ( The rest are super cool ) will rat us out to the HOA !

How soon is too soon to off these birds and send them to freezer camp. We are oving to more acreage in less than a year where I will pick this back up again.

Any and all feedback would be appreciated... Should I off them by size until I get down to the smalles then wait longer ? Or do I just raise these as some really big cornish hens

?

Heelllpppp..

 

[smokeykk]

The time when cornishes are the best to butcher is ideally 8 weeks

 

[GAchick]

But there is no law that says you can't butcher them at 5 weeks.

 

[Nuke1855]

I sure hate to do it to them, but I may just start with the biggest one first.... She a big girl... I really dont want to do one at a time, but LORD, the stench !!!!

It isnt from the buff or the Rhode Islands either, those Cornish X's just eat and poop ( Smelly poop , too much poop for my snobby subdivision ! LOL )

 

[Bossroo]

I now process my Cornish X as 30 - 37 day wonders

as game hens. In an out before anyone is the wiser.

If any of those RIR and Buffs are of the rooster persuasion, they will very soon be doing the 3 am sing along fest.

 

[Nuke1855]

Bossroo , i need to chat with ya.

Would you mind PM'ing me a way to get intouch with you ?

 

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

When I hit a situation like that I sold all but the ones I could fit in a 10x20 pen which is located at the barn where I board my horse thanks to the kindness of the barn manager. I put an ad on Craigslist for $1/bird and they were gone the next day.

Somebody ratted me out to animal control, which I am taking as a SIGN that I need to relocate. Once I get moved, I plan to get rolling again.

 

[Nuke1855]

Bossroo, Thank you very much for a great conversation and your excellent knowledge !! @ TiffnKidz, thank you, I plan on eating them though..I have not been ratted out quite yet !

Bossroo, I did a little research and found this bit of info; ( Just like you said, my wife loves em this way anyway

)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_game_hen

 

[Bossroo]

Nuke, Thank you for our great conversation !

When one faces an environemental and / or economic change, one adapts or faces extinction. When the Cornish X was developed with it's best feed covertion to meat rate in all of chickendom, one is now able to process them at 30-37 days of age and harvest 1 1/2-2 1/2 or even 3lbs of meat for a suptuous meal of a Cornish Game Hen for very little work and $$$ still in one's pocket. I BBQ or Grill as half a bird, or Roast them whole.

Managed right there is virtually very little odor and only low volume peeps. As the old Scottish saying goes... " The eye of the master fattens the cattle". You are one of 1% with an open mind

and will survive the great changes in our environment of home association and city state fiascos also known as dictators.

As everyone knows they have your best interest in their heart.

Have fun !

 

[jaj121159]

If you are using shavings as part of a deep litter system in your coop. Mix up what's in there with a rake or hoe and then add another layer of three to four inches of shavings. It will amaze you how fast those shavings will take the ammonia (that's what you are smelling from the super poopers) out of the air.