My first batch of meaties just arrived! 26 Cornish x

[Tre3hugger]

Yes cornish cross. I have never seen them that cheap. The ones from the pictures cost $1.50.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Yeah. They were like 2 weeks though and not sold yet

Wow that’s cheap. What breed? Cornish Cross? I got some for $1 at TSC.

 

[Tre3hugger]

I just went out and weighed a few of my Birds. At 32 days old I have an average weight of right around 3.25 lbs!! This is very exciting because the welp chart says for 35 days old male/female avg is 4.2! To me this means my birds are right on schedule, as I am not trying to push them to the max. They do run around the grass and have limited feed after all. Everyone is healthy and happy and starting to look delicious, The average weight has tripled in the last 10ish days. I have been feeding twice a day all they can eat for closer to 45 minutes than 20.

What a learning experience this has been. I am halfway there! If I really wanted, I could cornish game hen rn... Maybe after my company leaves this weekend.

 

[iwltfum]

If I really wanted, I could cornish game hen rn... Maybe after my company leaves this weekend.

One time I very unfortunately crushed a chick with a chicken tractor while moving them (maybe 4 weeks old) - I guess when moving 130 birds every day between May and September, I had to expect that it would happen sometime. He obviously had a broken back and so we put him out of his misery and dressed him and he weighed somewhere in the low 1's pounds. Definitely tender, but not very much meat. I don't think I would do it on purpose because of its potential of continuing to efficiently convert feed into meat, but it was a novelty for sure. We also like to keep any runts we get for ourselves instead of selling them. They are usually somewhere in the 2# range and since they finish with the others, they usually fill out well, even though it's all on a really small frame.

 

[Tre3hugger]

One time I very unfortunately crushed a chick with a chicken tractor while moving them (maybe 4 weeks old) - I guess when moving 130 birds every day between May and September, I had to expect that it would happen sometime. He obviously had a broken back and so we put him out of his misery and dressed him and he weighed somewhere in the low 1's pounds. Definitely tender, but not very much meat. I don't think I would do it on purpose because of its potential of continuing to efficiently convert feed into meat, but it was a novelty for sure. We also like to keep any runts we get for ourselves instead of selling them. They are usually somewhere in the 2# range and since they finish with the others, they usually fill out well, even though it's all on a really small frame.

Yeah I will probably let them keep going. I love having them around honestly.

 

[karenerwin]

Does anyone on this thread know what I should charge my friends that want ground chicken meat? Or thigh quarters? These will be from my Cornish Cross meat chickens. I really have no idea how much to charge or what is a reasonable amount for free range home grown Cornish Cross. Plus I will be doing all the butchering and packaging.
Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[Tre3hugger]

I would say calculate your costs. and then add whatever you think is fair to the price per lb. It depends on availability in your area, local economy, and how much money you want to make for your time or if you just want to keep the birds or help people out. I don't think there is a "correct" answer for this. that being said, i'm noob, so maybe someone else will be along with a more direct answer. @karenerwin

 

[karenerwin]

I don’t really expect to recoup my costs especially since I let my Cornish Cross birds live a lot longer than the 8 weeks suggested. The oldest one I butchered was 13 months old! She had even been laying eggs for a while!

 

[karenerwin]

They are pretty muddy because it has been raining a lot here the past few days.

I had 22 of them but am down to 13. I’ve already butchered the rest. My back can only handle butchering about 2 a day.

 

[Molpet]

My back can only handle butchering about 2 a day

That's where I am too. ...or 1 turkey