how to finish meaties. . . I think I did something wrong

[chicks4fun]

Hummm, well I am not positive they are crx but what else? They grew much faster than my layer birds, they really look like pics I've seen of crx and . . . . I wish I knew.

Someone suggested that they could have something else in the cross that made them grow slower. I didn't have any leg issues or heart attacks---so far.


This is another picture of the birds:


The 10 I had processed last week were much smaller than I had expected. They were my biggest birds and there was very little breast meat. They were tasty

so that was good.

 

[chicks4fun]

I love reading about this! We are new to this, have 2 plymouth hens and 1 roo. Incubated eggs and have 4 chicks about 1 month old. Looking @the them I cant imagine butchering them in another month. They are the same size as our other breeds. What are the ratios for grinding your own feed?

I don't grind my own feed. I do buy whole grains and ferment them. I know there are a few other threads where they discuss feed. I think that what you want for your layers will be different than what I'd need for my meaties.
Good luck.

 

[Buster52]

This batch came from Mt Healthy, via Southern States.

Well, there's part of your answer. I grew three batches, the two outside batches are from Mt Healthy, and did not do as well as the middle batch from a different source. None of them did great, because my feed mix was wrong, but still, they should have done better.

I don't know if this has had any effect. but Mt Healthy has had a recent salmonella outbreak they have had to deal with.

 

[what did I do]

They look a lot like my CX that are growing slower than the CX we had last year. You can see pictures on my page of this years CX - I don't know how to get them from there to here.

We grind our own feed. We are farmers and grow grains so we feed what we grow - yesterday we ground : wheat, yellow field peas, oats. It all depends on what we have on hand. We try to keep a balance but we aren't very scientific about it. Somehow we ended up with a small truck of peas and wheat mixed together so we use that and mix oats into it. Last time we had corn and barley with our mix. The peas make the best meat.

My suggestion for grinding feed for your chickens is to use what you can get in your area the cheepest. Use less of the more expensive grains but make a mix of different grains. Find out what the protein is of the grain and aim for 14 to 19 protein or something like that. - my chickens free range all day so I don't worry about making their diet exact.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I am not sure what they are, but they sure don't look like my Cornish Cross at 9 weeks. They don't even look like my Cornish Cross at 3 weeks. Cornish Cross should look really heavy in the shoulders, have massive wide-set legs, even when just a few weeks old. Even when they are quite young, they have a pronounced breast.

Some of the hatcheries offer "colored broilers" or "slow broilers" and some of those are white. Those are normally butchered at 12 weeks and are still smaller than Cornish Cross. I wonder if that is what you got?

Cornish Cross do require a massive amount of high protein feed, so feeding is definitely going to play a part in how well they grow.

 

[chicks4fun]

Well, there's part of your answer. I grew three batches, the two outside batches are from Mt Healthy, and did not do as well as the middle batch from a different source. None of them did great, because my feed mix was wrong, but still, they should have done better.

I don't know if this has had any effect. but Mt Healthy has had a recent salmonella outbreak they have had to deal with.

Yikes---I didn't know that. I already decided to try again with chicks from another hatchery. I have had some suggestions sent to me on this thread. I just love BYC. Thanks for your input.

 

[chicks4fun]

They look a lot like my CX that are growing slower than the CX we had last year. You can see pictures on my page of this years CX - I don't know how to get them from there to here.
We grind our own feed. We are farmers and grow grains so we feed what we grow - yesterday we ground : wheat, yellow field peas, oats. It all depends on what we have on hand. We try to keep a balance but we aren't very scientific about it. Somehow we ended up with a small truck of peas and wheat mixed together so we use that and mix oats into it. Last time we had corn and barley with our mix. The peas make the best meat.
My suggestion for grinding feed for your chickens is to use what you can get in your area the cheepest. Use less of the more expensive grains but make a mix of different grains. Find out what the protein is of the grain and aim for 14 to 19 protein or something like that. - my chickens free range all day so I don't worry about making their diet exact.

Happy to hear from a "real" farmer. I have a hobby size farmette (sp?). I have a garden that I share with my critters but not enough room or knowledge for grains.
Thanks for the information. I will keep all this together & review when i get my next batch of meaties. I am thinking about this fall but right now it's too hot & I'm too busy.
I got some organic feed that had dried peas but they were hard and the chickens left them. I wonder if I just gave them some fresh peas if that would help them? Right now I've added cracked corn to their diet hoping for some weight gain before I take the next batch in to be processed. Mine free range about an hour in the morning & then 1-2 in the late afternoon before I put everyone away for the night. Not sure how much they catch but they eat some of the weeds around the yard edges.

 

[chicks4fun]

I am not sure what they are, but they sure don't look like my Cornish Cross at 9 weeks. They don't even look like my Cornish Cross at 3 weeks. Cornish Cross should look really heavy in the shoulders, have massive wide-set legs, even when just a few weeks old. Even when they are quite young, they have a pronounced breast.

Some of the hatcheries offer "colored broilers" or "slow broilers" and some of those are white. Those are normally butchered at 12 weeks and are still smaller than Cornish Cross. I wonder if that is what you got?

Cornish Cross do require a massive amount of high protein feed, so feeding is definitely going to play a part in how well they grow.

I have wondered about what breed I really have since I started looking into this. When I got them I assumed I got what I ordered. When six weeks came & went at about 2 1/2-3 pounds I knew there was something amiss. They do have heavy legs but their breasts are small. The 10 I got processed at 9 weeks were not what you would expect. I may have a slow-growth broiler in error. This would mean it was nothing I did---which is good news because this fall I am going to a different hatchery for sure.

 

[DanIndiana]

Here's some pics of my 11 week old White Rocks to throw into the debate. Some 3 week old Cornish X nearby also.

 

[chicks4fun]

The white rocks sure do look like my flock. Yikes. I feel cheated.