Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Chickin Fairy]

Meat bird question for y'all. How much room do you need for cornish crosses? Do they free range? Is it worth it for two people who eat a lot of chicken?

It's something I have wanted to do for awhile now, I just would like more info.

 

[Folly's place]

Cornishx birds are fragile, so it's best to do them spring or fall, not in summer's heat. They grow insanely fast, and after about three weeks of age, should have food maybe eight hours a day, not all the time. No roosts, good air flow, we've raised them in a hoop house on grass, moving the hoop house often enough that they have fresh ground.
If you are going to use a local processor, make that appointment BEFORE getting the chicks, so you can time things, because eight or maybe ten weeks is as late as you want to go with them. Two years ago we didn't do that, and managed to keep our little group alive to fourteen weeks. They were BIG, and we were very lucky to not loose any.
The Freedom Rangers from Pennsylvania are more like normal chickens, can free range, and generally act as though they feel well. They take longer to get to size, more like twelve weeks or so, and because they are slightly older, have more flavor when cooked. It costs more to raise them; the Cornishx birds are the most economical, poor things.
Mary

 

[PhantomSlayer]

Finally answered my question about what deer would do near our birds lol

Don't know if you can see but our geese weren't getting to close but the chickens weren't to scared of them lol

 

[CedarLane]

Cornishx birds are fragile, so it's best to do them spring or fall, not in summer's heat. They grow insanely fast, and after about three weeks of age, should have food maybe eight hours a day, not all the time. No roosts, good air flow, we've raised them in a hoop house on grass, moving the hoop house often enough that they have fresh ground.
If you are going to use a local processor, make that appointment BEFORE getting the chicks, so you can time things, because eight or maybe ten weeks is as late as you want to go with them. Two years ago we didn't do that, and managed to keep our little group alive to fourteen weeks. They were BIG, and we were very lucky to not loose any.
The Freedom Rangers from Pennsylvania are more like normal chickens, can free range, and generally act as though they feel well. They take longer to get to size, more like twelve weeks or so, and because they are slightly older, have more flavor when cooked. It costs more to raise them; the Cornishx birds are the most economical, poor things.
Mary

I agree with Mary that it is best to raise CornishX in the spring or fall. They do not do well in extreme heat. We did lose one in September during an unusual heat wave. That one may have had another issue because the others were all fine. We had gotten them in August so he was only 1/2 grow. (I remember my brother from Florida was up here visiting. He hadn't been in Michigan for dad's birthday since he was in high school. He was looking forward to a cool Michigan fall. The extreme heat did not lift until the day he flew back to Florida.)

We raise ours with the "Mother Heating Pad" method. With no heat lamp they sleep through the night. We top off their feeder in the evening so it is available to them to eat first thing in the morning when they wake up. (This keeps them from "stampeding" to the feeder when we go out in the morning to top off the feeders again.) I think not eating 24 hours a day is one thing that helps keep them from growing too fast and developing the heart and leg issues CornishX can be prone to developing.

Another thing that I think has helped ours from developing heart and leg issues is keeping them in at hoop coop (or other type of tractor) and moving them daily. Since we started raising them in the hoop coop out on grass, I have not observed the chickens that just sit in front of the feeder and eating all day as our first couple of batches did. The feeder is a hanging feeder so this probably discourages just sitting in front of it and eating all day too.

Mary mentions no roosts needed, but I've observed CornishX roosting (especially when raised with pullets for the first few weeks) at least until they started getting too big.

14 weeks! That's impressive, Mary!

 

[Folly's place]

Having the waterer and feeders apart, by maybe ten or fifteen feet (not further!) will help keep these birds moving a bit more than they might otherwise. Their joints hurt!
Any roosts need to be very low, and consider removing them early. We had birds with failed leg joints the year they had roosts, a little over twelve inches high!
Also, they eat a lot, and poop a lot, and need clean bedding often, either added on top, or moving the hoop coop at least every other day. Carefully! They don't move fast and can be squished.
Another vote for Freedom Rangers!!!
Mary
Years ago I read a study, where a group of Cornishx was split into two groups, one fed as usual, and one had a choice of normal feed, or feed with aspirin added. The birds preferred the aspirin choice, and were more active. Sad.
Mary

 

[saysfaa]

Very sad. All aspects of it. My son in law has a very rare genetic anomaly that results in constant hunger - even just after finishing big meals. It is very unpleasant. I think something like that is part of the cornishx genetic make up.

 

[Chickin Fairy]

Ugh. That's heartbreaking. I know, I've seen the Cornish that get so big and just lie around. I have not heard of Freedom Rangers. Gosh, that sounds so much better than Cornish. 12 weeks is no problem and if the meat has more flavor, then that's a good thing, too.

@Mary @CedarLane how many do you raise at a time and how many do you have in your family? Trying to determine how many I would need for 2 people. We usually buy 40# of breast every 6 months.

 

[Chickin Fairy]

Also, I'm so sorry to anyone who is squeemish about this subject. I definitely love my hens and even my rooster, and I just know that raising my own meat (for me) would be a huge benefit to my health. I still feel for meat birds and would never be able to process them on my own.

 

[Sammster]

Also, I'm so sorry to anyone who is squeemish about this subject. I definitely love my hens and even my rooster, and I just know that raising my own meat (for me) would be a huge benefit to my health. I still feel for meat birds and would never be able to process them on my own.

It's perfectly acceptable to discuss meat birds, here

 

[Folly's place]

We've done ten to twenty-five at once, we do have a freezer! How much chicken do you eat? Remember, these will be whole birds, not only breasts and thighs! We do soup too, using everything. And home grown tastes best, and can be managed more humanely.
It will not save money! Like your home grown eggs, more expensive than cheap grocery store stuff.
Home processing is possible but messy, long ago DH did ours, but not now, we use a local processor, which is inspected and does fine.
Mary
And we don't eat our old hens either...