I was right! They must not have been Cornish x!

[2pinkmom]

Today was processing day for my first-ever batch of meats, and my what were supposed to be Cornish x dressed out at just two pounds. They were 10 weeks old today! The other farmers processing had birds that were two weeks younger and two to three times the size. I'm pretty sure that I did everything correctly feed wise. I'm wondering if the hatchery fulfilled my order incorrectly. Someone suggested that they may have even been leghorns or white rocks because of how thick their feathers were.

I called the hatchery and they're trying to tell me that i must not have fed them correctly. They were eating 22% broiler food like they were supposed to. Has anyone had this happen to them before? I'm calling the hatchery back in an hour to talk to a supervisor and I could use some ammunition when I do. I stayed helped process chickens, so I got a deal on the processing. But of course I'm out some money from processing and ending up with these tiny birds.

Anyone got any ideas on how to cook these little guys so the whole thing isn't a wash?

 

[chickencrazymamahen]

slow fry in a skillet......ymmmmmm!!!!

 

[SteveH]

They may be great for frying . Where did you order your meaties from ? With the feed you were giving them and with it in front of them at least 12 hours a day they should have been huge at 10 weeks ............... if you even managed to keep them living that long . Something is definately wrong .
I think I remember you having EE with them ; how did they compare in size ?

 

[mike67909]

How much feed did you go through?

 

[2pinkmom]

They were from Mcmurray. The first person I spoke to on the phone over there was a bit standoffish and dismissive. Said that I would have to call back when the supervisors came back from lunch. I called back about an hour later and got a nice woman named Pat. She told me that she didn't know why they would have told me that I needed to talk to a supervisor - there had obviously been an error on their part. She said "I don't know much about chickens, but that couldn't have been jumbo Cornish x they sent.". She refunded my money.

Yeah, i did have some EEs with them, Steve. They were definitely bigger than the EE, but i had my doubts that they were as big as they were supposed to be. Oh well, live and learn. I'm not going to lose money on them between the discount on the processing and the refund from McMurray. And apparently I'm crazy enough to try it again, because I'm splitting an order of chicks from Welp with the farmer that does the processing.

So, do I just coat the whole bird in breading an pan fry?

 

[cassie]

You can cook those chickens any way you want. They will be tasty. Just small.

 

[yotetrapper]

I'd cut the two breast off, then the two quarters, then bread and fry.

LOL about the woman at McMurray you spoke to "not knowing much about chickens"....isnt that her JOB?

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Say's alot for them that they admitted their mistake and are giving you a $ refund . I was wondering if you ordered from a hatchery that offers slow CX ; McMurray does . I hope your next batch will be better ; but this time around you're going to have to buy alot more feed ............ those Jumbos will eat more per bird in 8 weeks than your first batch did in 10

.

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Probably not . Its kind'a like expecting a UAW assembly line worker to be a mechanic or somebody in a meat processing plant to be a butcher . I did work in meat processing plant and do know how to butcher most animals but I didn't learn it there . Most of the time I worked there I drove a forklift or did welding , greased bearings , etc. . The lady paid to answer the phone while everyone else goes to lunch is quite likey being paid minimum wage and only expected to take orders and relay any problems to someone with the knowledge or authority to address them .

 

[becky3086]

Yup, we're called "secretary" or "clerk". I think if you had gotten Cornish X you definitely would have known, sounds like you got something else and glad you got your money back.