meat birds @ 9 weeks

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

feeding 24 cornish x all hens

Well that is why. The hens will take closer to 10 weeks to get that size they grow alot slower then the males do. Just keep feeding them and give them 3 more weeks or so till they get to the size you want.​

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Feed them more.... Don't let them run out of food or water in a days time.

 

[Winsor Woods]

I've got to agree with Brunty Farms and respectfully disagree with Happy Turkey Ranch.

Yes the Pullets will grow slower but I've got a straight run of Cornish Crosses and they are 7 weeks old today and the very LIGHTEST of them all is over 6 pounds. All of mine would dress out over 4 lbs right now. If momofwinsinwi's Cornish Crosses are 9 weeks old and still under 4 pounds, there's something amiss. Arrange another or different feeding station so that there is at least 3" of feeder space per bird and at least 1-2" of water trough space per bird.

My only other thought is that these crosses were made from a hatchery available cornish and white rock and are not the Uber-bird cornish crosses that have the proper genetics.

Her birds should be at the point where they're gaining 1/4 pound a day of mass. I know that my batch of 24 cornish crosses was eating 10 quarts of feed in 12 hours at about week 5 so I think they're being shorted on food.

Dan

 

[momoftwinsinwi]

Well, I've upped their feed to about 12-13 quarts a day and they are over 4 pounds probably about 5 pounds right now, but can't imagine that over the next 3 weeks they are going to be as big as many of the meaties I've seen pic's of here...but we'll see....

 

[bigredfeather]

Quote:
As long as they seem healthy, there is no reason why you can't let them go until they've reached the desired size. It sounds like they were definetly held back for the first 9 weeks, which could be a good thing. You've avoided the problems that go with growing too fast. Just because everyone else gets them to size in 8-12 weeks doesn't mean it applies to your sitiuation. There have been people on her that have had them for over a year without any issues.

Goodluck!

 

[momoftwinsinwi]

You are right Bigredfeather, I've had one that I had for almost 5 months, so as long as they are healthy....and they are, I'll let them go until I feel "they are ready"

thanks for your advice!!

 

[kingmt]

I free ranged mine with the other chickens with only a small amount of feed at night to supplement what they find out side. I use a lot of corn because I like the taste it gives the eggs of my layers & up the corn to feed ratio even more when it starts cooling down mainly because it is cheaper. You can't tell the differences at a quick glance between the Cornish Rock & the other birds because they walk just fine fly a little & even roost with the other birds. I don't spend near as much in feed as others talk about ether. I enjoy the taste of the Cornish Rock & they grow so much faster.

I will keep free rangeing my bird because of the grate luck I have had this way.

 

[Winsor Woods]

Quote:
When mine hit the "spurt" I could see a noticeable difference in their size between morning and evening (12 hours roughly). It was just amazing. When you're hit that spurt, they'll be gaining mass hand over fist....errr....wing over feather? Anyways, you get the point. I think mine took about 8-9 days to gain 2 lbs during the height of the spurt. So in a little bit over a week they added that much! It's tapered off some now, but mine are 8 weeks old tomorrow. I could easily process them all now and have nice sized birds, but I'm greedy and going to let them get to 10 weeks and put some monsters in the freezer.

Dan