Meat bird growth ?

[chiknlady]

My meaties will be six weeks on Friday. They seem a little small to me...I am thinking they look more like cornish hens rather than rotisserie dinner. They have been on Purina Start and Grow and have moved outside this past week. They did not like being cooped up away from the other chickens so I let them out today to free range and they are loving lying in the sun and eating grass--however I think they are still small. I once got a surprize chick from another hatchery and that chick seemed like it doubled in size every week---(he disappeared at about week four from the yard)--Did I miss something? Is the growth spurt yet to come--by the way they are VERY active--they fly around and jump and play a lot...I have read other descriptions where all these birds do is sit and eat and get rid of waste and then gorge some more, what gives???

 

[willheveland]

Can you post a picture? What breed of meatbird Cornish or Free-Ranger? Where did you get them? Will

 

[chiknlady]

Hi Will:

They were Cornish Rock Broilers--regular speed not the slows--and I am going to leave the Hatchery out of this for now...
Here are some pics

Here is one next to my Bantam Barred roch hen who is about 4 months old


And here next to 8-9 week old Black Sex Links

They do not have a lot of bulk to them--as you can see the necks and keels are scrawny....

 

[willheveland]

It's hard to see much in the pictures but if they are 6 weeks they do look alittle behind.They seem like the feathering should be farther ahead than it is also.
Where have they been kept and what are they eating?How long were they under a lamp?
I have a batch of Jumbo's going right now that are 2 1/2 weeks old.I have one standered roo(austrolorpe I think)with them.I took pictures at 3 day old and one today at 2.5 weeks.The growth is so noticable after 2 weeks.The standereds just don't compare.I wonder if your order was wrong. Will

 

[wyliefarms]

From the feathering it looks like they are being fed laying pullet feed instead of broiler feed.

This would cause them to be smaller too. They need the higher protein. I feed my layer chicks what the meat birds need and I have never had a problem.

We have meat chickens that are 6 weeks old and they weigh probably 5-6 pounds, are fully feathered out, and eat like crazy and lay around a lot

Hope this helps.
Sarah

 

[chiknlady]

I have fed them Purina Start and Grow and Flock Raiser as the local Agway does not have "broiler" feed--I located a TS in a neighboring town and bought Broiler Grower/Finisher today. They eat several times a day and have only been put out in the last week. I am wondering if I was shipped Slow Cornish instead of the Regulars...--Will they fill out--or is this all I get???

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Wait, just clarifying... do they have food in front of them, in quantity, at all times (at least during daylight hrs, perhaps at night too) or are you just putting out a certain amount several times a day for them?

Pat

 

[miss_thenorth]

And, not sure if this is what you meant, but at 6 weeks, they should definitely be on a finisher of some sort. Mine were only on start & grow for the first 3-4 weeks.

 

[chiknlady]

I have been feeding them when the trough is empty. I guess I can get a self dispensing feeder to make sure they have 24/7 access. I will also see if I can get 20 percent or higher protein--I think the new grower finisher is only 15%. I think I am looking at week 12 at this point due to the growth delays...

 

[Richard]

Quote:
I am by no means whatsoever an expert but it looks to me like you have the right cornishX chicks judging by the size of there legs. I am raising my 2 nd batch right now.They are 3 weeks and 3 days old and look just as big if not bigger than yours they are consuming 25 to 30 pounds of feed per day right now as well as about 6 to8 gallons of water I have 51 chicks. first thing I see in yours comments they need broiler food and should be feed that same food from start to finish.Start and grow and flock raiser will slow their growth. Also they should have feed Available free choice at least 12 hours per day And fresh water 24 hours a day