My Cornish X experiment

[dealfinder500]

My first batch of Cornish Rocks is outside, and they free range like all the others. I started with 31 and I'm down to 6, but chalk that up to inexperience. I didn't loose a one of them until I put them outside, and they were too small for the fencing and kept squeezing out, and the cat kept getting some and some kept wandering off. But that problem has been fixed. The 6 guys I have left wander all over the yard and do quite a bit of scratching.

I've got 8 more that are about 3 weeks old, and in another week or two I'll put them outside. I've also got 32 black broilers, only a few days old.

But it sure seems to me that these guys will do nicely free-ranged.

 

[chickenhound]

Eggcellent! good luck with them.

 

[duluthralphie]

My first batch of Cornish Rocks is outside, and they free range like all the others. I started with 31 and I'm down to 6, but chalk that up to inexperience. I didn't loose a one of them until I put them outside, and they were too small for the fencing and kept squeezing out, and the cat kept getting some and some kept wandering off. But that problem has been fixed. The 6 guys I have left wander all over the yard and do quite a bit of scratching.

I've got 8 more that are about 3 weeks old, and in another week or two I'll put them outside. I've also got 32 black broilers, only a few days old.

But it sure seems to me that these guys will do nicely free-ranged.

Thanks.. How old were they when you put them out?

You have pictures? Also tell us how old they were when the pictures were taken..

glad it is working

 

[dealfinder500]

Here's two of them. They are 47 days old today. I put them out a while ago, but my next batch I will wait until they are big enough not to fit through the fencing. These guys are big enough to be outside the pen.

 

[duluthralphie]

Here's two of them. They are 47 days old today. I put them out a while ago, but my next batch I will wait until they are big enough not to fit through the fencing. These guys are big enough to be outside the pen.

How long to you plan to keep them alive?

My first bunch never even made 47 days.

 

[dealfinder500]

Not sure... this is my first time.

 

[gopintos]

I had my first ones this year also. They were almost exactly 8 weeks old when we had them butchered. 20 of them.

Plump little things but we did not lose even one. They were butchered July 2, so not too terribly hot yet while growing. (central Missouri)

I had these visions of free range, but that vision did not include the barn cats that my sister brought out to us..... and I did not see how these guys could waddle away fast enough so I never did let them out of their pen. They had a nice huge pen though - one side of my horse barn, so just wire/cattle panels on west and east ends for ventilation. I picked clovers/grasses each morning, and kids picked at various times also. I fed an 18% meat bird feed. They did not seem to have any legs issues or heart problems, except one that got a bummed up leg very early on, but even that one made it to the butcher with the others.

I was happy and want to do it again, but thinking this time maybe I should extend their pen to include some outside. Just more cattle panels/wire, with a wire top too. I still have visions of free range birds but I just don't know how I can accomplish it with the cats. There is a family of foxes across the road, and coons around, and possums but I haven't lost any to those critters once I had my coops/pens figured out. I lock my layers up at night and so far no issues during the day, but these little fat guys I am afraid would be "sitting ducks"

 

[Bukbuk Betty]

Hi there, Nice to read your progress with the cornish X's!

The birds definitely do stay cleaner if they're on pasture, if they're in moving pens or free-range, on clean ground every day, and have to get up to move between feed and water. I also hang my feeders so that they have to stand to eat. Less leg problems that way, as I understand. Use em or lose em? When I took our birds in for processing last fall, the lads who were taking my birds commented several times that they were the cleanest birds they had seen in a really long time. One said they'd make nice feather pillows! lol. I told him to help himself to the feathers. ha ha!
I'm not set up at this time to process birds at home. The plant is close enough and inexpensive so I go that route for now. Still learning this meat bird thing.
Cheers!

 

[gopintos]

OH that is good info to know. I did have water at one end, and feed hanging at the other, purely by accident but glad to know that may have been what helped them to do so well That barn is probably hmm about 30 feet long maybe? So they probably got plenty of exercise

I asked my butcher how I did, since those were my first ones, and they said I had the best birds of the day! lol I could see when I dropped them off, that mine were way cleaner and just looked better... imho

 

[duluthralphie]

I had to get feed today for all my birds. I almost fell for the Tyson/goldenPlump trap and bought 28% protein for them. THEN I came to my senses and said to myself "Self, you want to slow the growth down not speed it up". So I bought some 18% for them.

I did get some 28% but that was for my pheasants and turkeys.

I have been taking the feed out in the evening and they seem healthy, but at 4 days I would hope so.

I have a pen for them to use when I transition them to Free range. I just cross my fingers and hope nothing gets the birds. I think the dogs do a good job of keeping the predators away. I worry most about hawks and eagles here. Other things I can shoot. BUT the local game warden gets upset when I have oven fried eagle.