My Dark Cornish project

[archeryrob]

Week 19 – 10/09
They are still growing, but slower. 1786 and a couple other roosters looked like they had a golf ball in their crop again.

 

[Compost King]

The week they start growing slower than previous weeks is the week I prefer to dress them out. With the birds I have been making (Heritage x Hybrid) I found that happens usually at 5 pounds regardless of what week that happens. I like this chart because I myself never tracked a slow growing heritage breed to know when the peak time is to put them on the table. Thanks for doing sharing this.

 

[archeryrob]

Week 21 and a half. I've gotten sick with a young teacher in the house and cutting back on how often they get weighed. I like my roosters, but the dark cornish hens seem small for over 20 weeks. My daughters half brahma.RIR second smallest hen weighs as much as my largest cornish hen. I guess this is why its a project. You find things you did not know and were not expecting. The big rooster 1786 was a fight and a half trying to get him still in the bowl to weigh. He's coming into his own as a flock leader and trying to keep the other chickens from his hens and signaling them he found food. Not sure I want him fighting with my daughters hens though. Its small and quick and I figure they will work it out, or someone might be dinner.

They are slowing down now, but the wife is getting attached to some of them as they come over and forage near the house.

 

[archeryrob]

Ok, lets say I grow meat birds. Is it easy to tell the roosters from the hens at hatching? Cull the hens and just grow roosters? Maybe keep some as adding to the breeders flock only. Then cull the worst ones for food later.

 

[Mosey2003]

I don't think it's easy to tell, no...

 

[Sara L]

Ok, lets say I grow meat birds. Is it easy to tell the roosters from the hens at hatching? Cull the hens and just grow roosters? Maybe keep some as adding to the breeders flock only. Then cull the worst ones for food later.

I think the only way to tell gender at or just after hatching is if your birds have the gender-related genes, like fast feathering or barring, or I think the melanistic gene too. Depending on who the mom or dad is, the male and female chicks would look different. I don't think your birds have these since I think they are all dark Cornish? They would need to be crosses for those genes to show the genders. I need to reread your first posts.

You should be able to tell gender as they start getting their adult feathers, or by their actions/reaction to other birds. If they are a meat breed, the pullets should be good eating too, just smaller than the cockerels.

 

[Phunktacular]

Once a Cornish Cross reaches 3-5 weeks old their sex becomes apparent. I had some roosters that began to crow. It was kind of funny to hear it. If you're hell bent on just raising the roosters, process the hens at that age and eat as a game hen. They've just got to be under 2 pounds to be considered so.

 

[archeryrob]

These are not the fast growing X's but the the dark version of regular cornish. At 8 weeks, when I started weighing them, none had reached 2# and they were way too small to bother eating, unless you were starving.

 

[Mosey2003]

We thought you meant you were going to get the Cornish X when you said suppose you raise meat birds.

 

[archeryrob]

No, I am only interested in self sustaining flocks. I went with Standard Cornish figuring more breast. Maybe I got small birds from a hatchery? But the roosters look good and the hens are a bit small at 20 weeks from what I was expecting. Maybe I should have bought a few from a heritage breeder? But I don't know of any near me.

The Brahma/RIR crosses my daughter raised are every bit as heavy as my largest Cornish Hen. I was considering starting over with something else and was hoping someone else was on here with heritage meat birds.

My wife is getting attached to anything we raise now. I have to lock up "eaters" somewhere she can't see them, or she can't eat them. I made chicken soup from an Azzhat rooster she wanted dead and she wouldn't touch it. Because it was "Bigman". I said "Stop naming your food and it wouldn't be a problem."