Meat birds - best breed next to Cornish Cross?

[Mommysongbird]

I always put out oyster shell for my girls. It is there and if they want it they eat it. It should last you a long time. I also feed my egg shells back to my flock. I dry them in the oven and crush them. If TSC already carries the brand you like and they make an all flock have you asked your store if they can get it in? The worst they can say is no.

Our oyster shell just sits in the feeder, gets wet and clumpy and they ignore it. Now let me put egg shells in the feeder, it's gone in seconds. LOL

I am trying to get them to carry it. I have a hard time getting my regular feed. They got in feed finally today and they were putting it out after my son asked if there was any. Well he only had 7 bags on the dolly, I asked if that is all they have, he said yes, that is all they ever get. We took 3 bags today. They get like 7 bags of layer crumble, 7 of layer pellets and 9 bags of chick feed. This is becoming a popular feed there but I was told by 2 different TSC stores near us that they order it but corparate is the ones that decides how much they get. I am going to start having them order some for just us so it does not get put out on the floor.

I have called the company that makes they food and have told them about the issue, they are referring it to where ever it is that helps companies order to contact TSC to see why they will not make room for more feeds. I am also trying to get goat feed and rabbit feed from them too through TSC.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Feeding CornishX laying feed isn't going to cause any trouble. Good gosh your butchering them in 10 to 12 weeks. There is sure a lot of parroting goes on around here. One person tells something and everybody else tells it but dosent have enough experience on the issue to even give an opinion.

Yeah I don't think what they are eating had anything to do with the one dying. I am new to CornishX and will raise them pretty much the same way that I raise my other birds.

Heck I lost more quails on quail food than I ever have chicken or ducks on laying mash. But again, I don't think it is was the food really. I just think that they were still too close to our other birds. We we'll try quails again later this year or next.

 

[lazy gardener]

We have had one leghorn (rooster) and he was HUGE. Didn't use him as a meat bird though. Gave him to a friend. He was fairly large at 2 months old, probably not large enough to process, but by about 4 months, he would have made a nice freezer bird, but we spared his life and 3 other "barnyard mutts". LOL

I think the guy at TSC was just guessing??? But your right, they should know.

Our TSC didn't have the Dixie Rainbows today, but they did have the Red Rangers, so I got 4 of those (they still owe me one) and then I got 2 pullets for eggs.

Just out of curiosity, what color ear lobes did that Leghorn Roo have??? Enjoy your chicks.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Just out of curiosity, what color ear lobes did that Leghorn Roo have??? Enjoy your chicks.

I can only find one pic of him and that was when he was little

I know I have another one somewhere of him at about 6 or 7 months old. But here is the younger version 9 weeks old

 

[vsmenagerie]

I have never found the cornish x to be any harder to raise than layers. I treat mine like I would layers, get them out on grass as early as I can, get them foraging *mine go into a tractor* and only have food out during the day. And I do not always get everyone processed by 8-10 weeks either, Ive had some easily go to 13+. Granted, they look like mini turkeys when processed but they are all always active and healthy I have some in the brooder right now, growing like little weeds haha

Good luck in finding the right fit!! I did some Red Rangers once and just preferred the growth and final product of the cornish.

 

[Featherplucker]

I raise anywhere between 50 and 100 Cornish or Rangers at a time, a few times throughout the year.

In your case, it is not unusual to purchase day old chicks from such places and lose one or two. They may have an isolated illness before you even get your hands on them or they somehow experienced an unseen physical trauma. If you order from hatcheries, they usually give one or two extra chicks in their shipment in the case one or two die in transit. This is not the case with stores like Agway or Tractor Supply.

When applying a heat lamp, make sure the chicks have enough room to get away from underneath the lamp, should they become overheated. Otherwise, it could be the heat lamp that does them in.

Red Rangers are a very good breed for meat but they usually take about 12 weeks to gain the size you might look for. Even at 12 weeks, they do not match the look of the little butterballs known as Cornish Cross Rocks. With the Ranger breed, you can save money during growing season as these are very adept at foraging for themselves while you supplement with the feed you give them. I also realize you said you have limited space, soooo...It turns into a trade-off... Rangers, with room to range, in 12 weeks at a dressed weight of 4.5 to 5.5 pounds. Or raise the Cornish sitting at the food trough, ready in 8 weeks at a dressed weight of 5.5 to 6.5 pounds.

Cornish can be more prone to illness, especially with conventional feeds. I always maintain a clean coop and make sure they have fresh, clean water. If you feed them the recommended industry standards of high protein percentage feed (20 to 24%), you will want to eventually remove that feed from them for 12 hours at a time... once they are at a point where they do not need a heat lamp and can spent the night without light. Otherwise, you may experience mortality due to fluid buildup around the heart. We lost a few this way. They became even more lethargic than usual, accompanied by rapid breathing. One even presented with discoloration of the wattle and comb. Not knowing what happened, we performed autopsies and found them all to have fluid buildup around the heart. This led me to do more research on feeds and I discovered the "12 on, 12 off" recommendation for conventional feeds. But I found more information...

It is not so much the protein amount that is important in raising the bird. A healthier approach is trying to find a local feed mill that might produce a natural (not organic) broiler blend of 18 to 19% protein with an equally important amount of amino acids, biotin, and the other minerals necessary to healthy growth for these breeds. Remember, these birds are bred to grow abnormally quick and therefore should have a diet specific to their breed. I also believe in staying away from any feed that contains "animal byproduct". Chickens will eat worms and bugs but I leave it to them to find that... I do not trust the label of "animal byproducts" because you can't verify what that is... but that's just my opinion.

For anyone living in the country, I would also recommend you take a look at "maggot feeders for chickens"... it's not as bad as it sounds.

What I feed my birds in three phases is Starter for 3 weeks, Grower for 3 weeks, and Finisher for 2 weeks. I have not had to introduce medications at all and not experienced any mortality since I began this approach. I am lucky enough to have Keystone Mills, in central New York, to provide these feeds. I get the feed through Round House Mills in Cortland. Another surprise I found in this journey is that the feed I now use is substantially cheaper than anything I can get at Agway, TSC, or Tractor Supply. Unfortunately, they are limited to central New York. You will have to do some research to find what is near you if you choose this approach.

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Mommysongbird]

I raise anywhere between 50 and 100 Cornish or Rangers at a time, a few times throughout the year.

In your case, it is not unusual to purchase day old chicks from such places and lose one or two. They may have an isolated illness before you even get your hands on them or they somehow experienced an unseen physical trauma. If you order from hatcheries, they usually give one or two extra chicks in their shipment in the case one or two die in transit. This is not the case with stores like Agway or Tractor Supply.

When applying a heat lamp, make sure the chicks have enough room to get away from underneath the lamp, should they become overheated. Otherwise, it could be the heat lamp that does them in.

Red Rangers are a very good breed for meat but they usually take about 12 weeks to gain the size you might look for. Even at 12 weeks, they do not match the look of the little butterballs known as Cornish Cross Rocks. With the Ranger breed, you can save money during growing season as these are very adept at foraging for themselves while you supplement with the feed you give them. I also realize you said you have limited space, soooo...It turns into a trade-off... Rangers, with room to range, in 12 weeks at a dressed weight of 4.5 to 5.5 pounds. Or raise the Cornish sitting at the food trough, ready in 8 weeks at a dressed weight of 5.5 to 6.5 pounds.

Cornish can be more prone to illness, especially with conventional feeds. I always maintain a clean coop and make sure they have fresh, clean water. If you feed them the recommended industry standards of high protein percentage feed (20 to 24%), you will want to eventually remove that feed from them for 12 hours at a time... once they are at a point where they do not need a heat lamp and can spent the night without light. Otherwise, you may experience mortality due to fluid buildup around the heart. We lost a few this way. They became even more lethargic than usual, accompanied by rapid breathing. One even presented with discoloration of the wattle and comb. Not knowing what happened, we performed autopsies and found them all to have fluid buildup around the heart. This led me to do more research on feeds and I discovered the "12 on, 12 off" recommendation for conventional feeds. But I found more information...

It is not so much the protein amount that is important in raising the bird. A healthier approach is trying to find a local feed mill that might produce a natural (not organic) broiler blend of 18 to 19% protein with an equally important amount of amino acids, biotin, and the other minerals necessary to healthy growth for these breeds. Remember, these birds are bred to grow abnormally quick and therefore should have a diet specific to their breed. I also believe in staying away from any feed that contains "animal byproduct". Chickens will eat worms and bugs but I leave it to them to find that... I do not trust the label of "animal byproducts" because you can't verify what that is... but that's just my opinion.

For anyone living in the country, I would also recommend you take a look at "maggot feeders for chickens"... it's not as bad as it sounds.

What I feed my birds in three phases is Starter for 3 weeks, Grower for 3 weeks, and Finisher for 2 weeks. I have not had to introduce medications at all and not experienced any mortality since I began this approach. I am lucky enough to have Keystone Mills, in central New York, to provide these feeds. I get the feed through Round House Mills in Cortland. Another surprise I found in this journey is that the feed I now use is substantially cheaper than anything I can get at Agway, TSC, or Tractor Supply. Unfortunately, they are limited to central New York. You will have to do some research to find what is near you if you choose this approach.

Good luck and best wishes.

Featherplucker, this is some great information. Thank you.

As far as heatlamp goes we have reduced their heat (the 3 we have left) and they seem a little more happy.

I think if we do Cornish X again, I will order them and they will be the ONLY birds we raise. Still can't get many at one time though because of the lack of room. We are building a small tractor from an old dog crate, about medium sized. So probably wont' be able to put more than 3 in there at a time. And by next year, they might be able to free range a bit.

The 12 weeks for the rangers is good, I am okay with that. And a 4.5 to a 5.5 pound bird is good for the 3 of use plus 2 dogs and 2 cats.

Now the feed deal. I looked at the ONLY 2 places we can get feed at (besides the private mill where you DON'T use the words GMO or ORGANIC) because they have been doing things their way for so long they are not going to change. I asked about their corn one day and you would have thought that I had grown 2 heads with the looks I got. Another man asked another day if he could bring them some corn he grows and have them ground it up for him, they asked why he didn't want theirs, he told them that his is GMO Free. Again, the looks and then they told him that they could not do that.

So back to the question. When I got the original 4 I asked about the 20 to 24% protein and they told me that they had nothing like that. Even the grower finisher they had was not even 19%. My layer feed is 19% and there is no animal by products (which I like).

What age do you start removing the feed for 12 hours? I hope to get them out in the tractor sometime this week if the weather holds.

 

[Featherplucker]

Thank you. The information I am sharing is based on the help of other growers, our network of friends in the agriculture community, looking at the contents of the different feeds, and learning through the trial and error of our own practices.

I usually do not place my chicks outside until they have grown feathers on their wings. This was passed on to me by my mother as she was responsible for the many chickens we raised on our old farm. I am not sure if there is an actual point to do so that is adopted by other growers, so I monitor their wings. You may see feathers begin to crop up on other places but the wings will be covered. Think of them as blankets that they can use to cover themselves on either side of their bodies. It's a little hard to explain and takes your eye and time to get the hang of. I see you live in Virginia. If nights are still chilled down there, you can hang a heat lamp in their shelter. Just make sure it is secure and cannot fall into hay, straw, or anything that might ignite. Friends of ours lost a barn this winter to heat lamps they hung up for baby goats.

To answer your question, I start removing the feed for 12 hours when they have almost all their feathers and can spend the night without the lamp. Otherwise, as it starts to get dark, they'll move to the feeder and peck at it through the night. Please keep in mind, this is my practice. Others will not remove feed at all and say they have no problems but it has worked for me.

I am not sure about the GMO feeds. I try to avoid the debate but I am against them, personally. I'm not big on any corporation having a patent on "life" and I do not like the studies that show negative GMO impacts on the environment. Organic? Google "harmful organic pesticides". One is called Rotenone, which is known to be toxic to fish so I'm not sure how it is good on our plants. It takes a few applications to make Rotenone as effective as conventional pesticides so I'm not sure how that can be good for humans. How about not using pesticides at all? All natural? I prefer all natural... meaning no pesticides or fertilizers are used. My wife and I grow vegetables using only composted manure from our barn and we do not use pesticides. We have not been over run by insects and we have a really good harvest each year which we sell at farmer markets. The name of the college escapes me at this point but a study was done over a 30 year period where one large plot of land was gardened to organic standards and another large plot was gardened to "all natural" standards. Consistently, the all natural plot produced better and more crop. However, this is all my opinion based on my experience and everybody has their own. The son of a farmer, I have the benefit of a wife who is immersed in agricultural education and who works for our Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Edited by Staff

 

[cavemanrich]

Thank you. The information I am sharing is based on the help of other growers, our network of friends in the agriculture community, looking at the contents of the different feeds, and learning through the trial and error of our own practices.


I

I left you an ovation, but I almost FORGOT TO DO THE FOLLOWING....

 

[keesmom]

I can only find one pic of him and that was when he was little

I know I have another one somewhere of him at about 6 or 7 months old. But here is the younger version 9 weeks old

Egad! Check out that head gear! With those white legs and that crest he is a mix. Definitely one good looking bird!