Processing Cornish X at 6 weeks?

MapleLaurelFarms

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Feb 11, 2025
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NW NC
In the past, our neighbor has raised their and our meat birds together and then we processed with them. This year, I finally got around to putting together a meat bird coop/tractor and am so happy to be raising my own.

When we've processed before at 8 weeks, the CX were beyond ready - bumblefoot and burns on footpads along with leg issues, barely able to walk, and just plain pitiful. Because of that, I booked our county's processing unit for when ours will be 6 weeks old.

We've just finished up week 2, and so far mine seem so healthy compared to what I've seen before. They love to forage, are very calm, and I'm enjoying raising them much more than I thought that I would. They're growing rapidly, but they're still so small. I'm finding it hard to believe they'll be ready in 4 more weeks, but I'm scared to push it too far. Would love any and all input!

Mine are protective free ranging during the day, no artifical light, and free feeding Nutrena NatureWise Meatbird crumbles (22% protein).
 

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If you look up a weekly weight gain chart/graph for Cornish x, you'd be able to weigh a few of yours and see what type of trajectory you're on. Cornish x growth rate can really vary based on situational differences. Alot has to do with the first two or three weeks. Just saying that, at 6 weeks, you could easily end up with 2.5 pound birds or 5.5 pound birds depending on how it all plays out.
 
I think you will be fine. They do grow fast near the end.

Caveat: it depends a bit on how they are fed/keep, the strain of CX you have, as well as your goals. Some strains grow faster than others, but in my experience they are breeding for faster and faster growth.

To relate my own experience. After many years off from raising CX, this spring, I raised a few CX. We butchered between 6 and 7 weeks (can't remember the exact day), which is way earlier than I've butchered in the past, but they were ready. Males were 5 1/2 lbs dressed, females were 4+. I raised them in an outside brooder, with a heat plate, rather than a light. I didn't put away the food at night, figuring they were sleeping when it was dark, but these guys were so food-centric, I found that they were eating during the night by the light of the moon. They were integrated with my main flock of hertiage chickens by 3 1/2 weeks, so they had competition to get to the food and free-range opportunity, but they were relatively inactive and always found a way to the feed bowls.
 
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I think you will be fine. They do grow fast near the end.

Caveat: it depends a bit on how they are fed/keep, the strain of CX you have, as well as your goals. Some strains grow faster than others, but in my experience they are breeding for faster and faster growth.

To relate my own experience. After many years off from raising CX, this spring, I raised a few CX. We butchered between 6 and 7 weeks (can't remember the exact day), which is way earlier than I've butchered in the past, but they were ready. Males were 5 1/2 lbs dressed, females were 4+. I raised them in an outside brooder, with a heat plate, rather than a light. I didn't put away the food at night, figuring they were sleeping when it was dark, but these guys were so food-centric, I found that they were eating during the night by the light of the moon. They were integrated with my main flock of hertiage chickens by 3 1/2 weeks, so they had competition to get to the food and free-range opportunity, but they were relatively inactive and always found a way to the feed bowls.
Okay this is very helpful - much thanks! It sounds exactly like what I'm doing except that I'm not integrating them with my current flock. The weights you mention will be just fine, so I guess we'll see. The processing unit gets booked up pretty quickly this time of year, so I doubt I could change it anyway.

I have the waterers and feeder spaced out from each other and also away from the heat plates. Last I checked, they're still sleeping under the heat plates at night. I assumed that they're sleeping and not getting back up to feed, but now I'm curious. Did you continue to feed 24/7?
 
Did you continue to feed 24/7?
Starting at around 3 weeks, they only had access to feed during the daylight hours (they had to leave the coop for it). Days were long in May when I was raising them, so basically they had access to the outside and the feeders from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.
 
We also only fed ours during the day. I also would go out in the afternoon and give them a little scratch and mealworms. They'd all be huddled in a corner of the pen so I'd call them and make them "come and get it," forcing them to use their legs. As a result, this batch had bigger and stouter legs and bigger drumsticks than our previous batch. We started having them processed, IIRC, at 4 weeks and did 3 a week. I can only fit 3 at a time in my fridge and I want them to age 3 to 4 days before moving them into the freezer. So there was a difference in size and weight between the first batch processed and the last. But the smallest were about 3.5 lbs and the largest, at about 6 weeks, a little over 5 lbs., and looked huge to me. Even the small ones were plenty meaty for our family.
 
This is all so helpful, thank you! And @BigBlueHen53 I love your idea of a late afternoon treat to boost movement and provide a bit of high protein snack! Since I posted this, I feel like they've already shot up in size. These are Cobb 500 Cornish Cross, if that matters.

The hatchery I got them from recommends:
- Days 1-20: Start with a high protein feed (around 23%) to support rapid early growth.
- Days 21-30: Gradually reduce to 19% protein.
- Day 31 to Processing: Finish with a 17% protein feed as they near processing age.
Limit feed intake overnight starting around 2 weeks old. This practice slows their growth just enough to allow their bones and muscles to develop in harmony with their rapidly expanding bodies, preventing issues like leg strain or Ascites.

@Morrigan we're in longer daylight also but the best I could do is a 12 on/off feeding, maybe 7/8 am-pm. I'm a woman who likes my sleep lol! I'll start doing that this week though.

Regarding the protein content, they've been on 22% since I got them. I doubt I'd switch feed until this bag is gone, but any thoughts on reducing the protein?
 

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