Please tutor me to raise Cornish X for my freezer

[Beekissed]

I've been reading this thread and found out an interesting thing in comparison to my own meaty experience. They all seem to finish out at the same weights at the same time no matter your feeding schedule, whether they are penned or free ranged, whether they have a light on or not. Weird!

Mine reached 8 wks and seemed to plateau on their eating and growth and didn't seem to grow any further until they were butchered at 11 wks. I didn't hold them over to gain more weight as I was not concerned with reaching big weights...I didn't have a weekend free to process them. They were, more or less depending on the bird, around 10 lbs live weight and 5-6 lbs. finished weights.

I would guess that a person could save a lot of money, work and worry by not feeding 24/7 nor feeding high protein broiler rations and just feeding them like you would a regular chicken. At least, this worked for me. And my chickens did forage effectively clear up until they were processed, as I found a lot of greens in their gizzards.

I had no health problems, though the temps were in the 90s and 100s here.

 

[pongoid]

Beekissed, yep sounds like my experience as well.

 

[kathyinmo]

I weighed one last evening. 3.5 pounds at 32 days old. It was one of the larger ones, and it was near the end of the day after eating all day. I will post pictures and a few more weights tomorrow. I find it interesting that they do not hang out at the feeder troughs all day like I thought they would. Most all of them are actively foraging or looking for shade. 100* weather and they are tolerating it better than I am.

 

[kathyinmo]

They are growing, for sure. Here are a few pictures. They really do enjoy ranging and dust baths. This horrible heat is enough to kill humans, I am so surprised these guys are surviving it.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

well you must be doing it right!

 

[kathyinmo]

I'm about half way "there!" I can hardly wait to send them off to freezer camp!

Thanks for all your help, all of you! Now, just help me get to the end of this journey!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

are you going to butcher your own or pay someone? I pay, germain did her own until last month when I talked her into paying . . . pretty good idea she will be sticking with that now . . . how about you are you a real mountain woman?

 

[kathyinmo]

I am having them processed. I could do it, but it is just too darn hot this time of year. If all goes well, and I do this again, I will plan the timing better and maybe do it myself. I am just so darn busy. It is hard to find enough time in the day now!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I know from now on one batch in early spring and one in the fall for me.

 

[sonew123]

wow very cool thread thank you Kathy and everyone else for posting -(Katy

) I so excited to do this but now scared to death at the grossness of these birds. I have been looking at all your tractors-they do not look predator proof-No problems with that? I have them here and worried about that-that and I am NOT building another coop-I am ordering 15 tomorrow-so Im hoping that I can have them caged for the first week n a small coop with a huge waterer and feeder and then let them free range with the rest of the gang? or pen them for 2 weeks to eat like pigs with plenty of bedding for poop stench absorption?? I think I could easily make a 6 x 6 movable tractor with chicken wiring and pray no predetors get into it ???