Please tutor me to raise Cornish X for my freezer

[kathyinmo]

OK, I did it. I ordered them. I ordered 50 from Hoovers. They should be here in one week, or next Thursday. Now, I am all nervous and anxious about these things!

I do plan to have them processed, because I don't think I can do that many. It's not that it bothers me to butcher, it is that I don't think I know how to do it very fast. Since it will be so hot out, probably, I think a processor would be the best.

Thank you all for your help! I hope to have a freezer full in a few weeks!

 

[karl E lutz]

my rocks are in an open pen and once in a while one acts like a chicken. But mostly they just lay around and eat and grow and poop lots and lots. Last year I butchered 20 in one day this year it will be 25.

 

[SteveH]

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Best wishes for a great experience . CX are friendly birds ; don't let yourself get emotionally connected to them

 

[aggieterpkatie]

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One option is to process the large birds at 7 or 8 weeks and then wait a week or two later for the smaller birds. That would spread it out a bit so you didn't have to rush to do all of them in one day.

 

[kathyinmo]

Now for another dumb question ....
If I butcher the younger ones (like before 6 weeks??) they are fryers? Does it matter if they are male or female, to be a fryer? Later they are broilers? When do they start getting tough, and need to be slow cooked?

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

when they're little they're cornish game hens, then fryers(6 weeksish), then roasters(8-10 weeksish). Then stew birds, but it's hard to get these guys to live long enough to be stew birds. Most consider after 6 mo a stew bird.
this is just how I learned it, there could be some official numbers out there that I don't know about

 

[kathyinmo]

Thank you Katy, that makes sense.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

de nada

BTW I checked out your BYC page, adorable.

 

[vatterpa]

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I second that!

 

[kathyinmo]

You say the feed should be 21% or so. Starter feed is less than that. Which feed would be 21% or so? Or do you just add something else to the starter feed?