Hi everybody,
Here is the long and short of it: I got 52 birds on 10/12, 1 DOA and 1 died within 24 hours. I expected to harvest within 3 months, but these are a different breed from the CornishXRocks I bought from Meyers before. You would think they would have put that in their ad or Email, but they didn't !!! It has been almost 3 months and they are finally feathered out, except for their butts. They are still too small to harvest for a decent fryer, about Cornish hen size. Out of the 50 I put into the barn, I count 36 to 38 that made it. The ones that made it are the strongest, most robust, meat chickens I have ever raised. I only lost a few due to the weather, maybe 4 or 5, which comes to 10%. The others had to have been taken by hawks, because they are so fast and forage so far from the barn during the day, they actually outrun the turkeys! They have had NO leg or Heart problems and are definitely a much hardier bird after they FINALLY FEATHER OUT! The consume much less feed and by adding ACV to their water, do not have the customary SQUIRTS. I have tried to raise red broilers and black boilers, without much success. They just flip, and out of 25 , I might be lucky enough to harvest 5, after they invite the hawks to "take me, take me"! These Cornish have another month, at least, to go, so I will never try raising them in the fall again, but they would probably make a great Spring meat bird for the South! I figure they will feather quicker as daylight hours and temps are on the rise. They definitely are better foragers and more robust than the red or black boilers I have raised in the past. They have very large well formed legs and bones. I have stopped using heat lamps for them at night, but they get closed up in the barn with the ducks, geese, turkeys and other chickens. They blend right in with my laying flocks and hold their own. I plan to try them again, only if there is a special in the spring, say around March, but NEVER again in the fall. I hope now that the 3 months have gone by, the rest of the participants, in the Meyers Grow-a-long, will let us know how they fared, too!
How about it Folks,????????
Here is the long and short of it: I got 52 birds on 10/12, 1 DOA and 1 died within 24 hours. I expected to harvest within 3 months, but these are a different breed from the CornishXRocks I bought from Meyers before. You would think they would have put that in their ad or Email, but they didn't !!! It has been almost 3 months and they are finally feathered out, except for their butts. They are still too small to harvest for a decent fryer, about Cornish hen size. Out of the 50 I put into the barn, I count 36 to 38 that made it. The ones that made it are the strongest, most robust, meat chickens I have ever raised. I only lost a few due to the weather, maybe 4 or 5, which comes to 10%. The others had to have been taken by hawks, because they are so fast and forage so far from the barn during the day, they actually outrun the turkeys! They have had NO leg or Heart problems and are definitely a much hardier bird after they FINALLY FEATHER OUT! The consume much less feed and by adding ACV to their water, do not have the customary SQUIRTS. I have tried to raise red broilers and black boilers, without much success. They just flip, and out of 25 , I might be lucky enough to harvest 5, after they invite the hawks to "take me, take me"! These Cornish have another month, at least, to go, so I will never try raising them in the fall again, but they would probably make a great Spring meat bird for the South! I figure they will feather quicker as daylight hours and temps are on the rise. They definitely are better foragers and more robust than the red or black boilers I have raised in the past. They have very large well formed legs and bones. I have stopped using heat lamps for them at night, but they get closed up in the barn with the ducks, geese, turkeys and other chickens. They blend right in with my laying flocks and hold their own. I plan to try them again, only if there is a special in the spring, say around March, but NEVER again in the fall. I hope now that the 3 months have gone by, the rest of the participants, in the Meyers Grow-a-long, will let us know how they fared, too!
How about it Folks,????????
