Processing Cornish X at 6 weeks?

I kind of did mine in reverse in terms of protein. They got chick starter for the first 2 or 3 weeks, which is at 18% protein. There were a few heritage chicks in the brooder with them, so I wanted to give a more conventional feed. After they were with the main flock they got purina flock raiser which is 20% protein. I also toss out spouted wheat/barley/boss to my flock every day and they did have a keen interest in that, which got them moving around a bit more to go get it, but did dilute the protein a bit more.

I had no health problems, or losses with my CX on this regime, save that they were getting pretty heavy and sluggish by butcher day.

Given you are butchering them so early, I wouldn't worry as much about all the food withholding/protein balance issues. Longevity is not a concern here. Give them access to the outdoors -- and some incentive to get up and move in it -- plenty and fresh water and unlimited grower/flock raiser type feed during the daylight hours and you should be just fine.
 
If I were raising the meat to be judged competitively, I might do differently. 🤷🏼‍♀️
Didn't even know there was such a thing! We just like good eats. :) Seriously though, I like knowing that I'm raising these to be as healthy as possible, for their own sakes and for ours, but yeah I'm not raising show birds. Much thanks for your help!
 
I hope is all goes well for you! If you think about it, please report back and let us know what the final weights were and whether you were satisfied with the process. A lot of people have similar questions and it's really helpful if they can hear how things turned out.
 
Processed all 14 on Saturday in about 2 hours. The weights varied widely. The largest ended up about 5-6 lbs but I had two pullets that only weighed about 2.5 lbs each. Avg weight ended up at about 4.5 lbs each for a total cost of about $3.50 per lb.

I would have liked to have processed in two batches, the big ones now and the smaller ones in a couple of weeks, but I've had something come up and need to be away from home for a couple of weeks. Doing all 14 in one fell swoop was the only good option.

Upon arrival, I fed a 22% protein then had to switch to a 20% because TS was out of the other. The last week or two, I was able to switch back to the 22%. I fed day and night with unlimited free range during the day, but most times they would empty the feeder sometime in the night (and sometimes during the day), so they didn't have feed 24/7. But most of the time.

Although the big cockerels started slowing down their activity toward the end, they were still amazingly active and loved to free range. They fussed to be let out each morning. I noticed that they didn't scratch as much as my layers, but they kept the grass mowed in their area lol which likely affected overall protein intake.

Overall, it was a really great experience. We're planning to do double the amount next year, and I'll likely do much the same but there are a few things that I'm going to change.

One, I'm getting the biggest waterer that I can find. They easily drank more than a gallon a day and kept me hopping.

Also, I'm going to add another feeder and possibly look into separating any that aren't growing as quickly. Although my feeder was long enough for all, the two smaller, more tentative chicks got crowded out at the feeder regardless. The cockerels started getting a little feisty with each other also. I didn't realize how much pecking order might affect growth rates, so I'll watch that more closely next year.

Lastly, although I'm really happy with the health and well being of these birds at 6 weeks (actually they were a few days under), I may wait a week or two longer until we process next year. I have a feeling that each flock and year will be different, so we'll see!
 

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Thank you for your report. A question: did you let the dressed birds rest in the refrigerator for a few days before freezing, and if so, for how long?
No, we've never done that. I'm not fitting 14 birds into my fridge unless I empty it, and that's not happening. :lol:

The minute we finish processing each one, they go straight onto ice. Depending on their order in processing, they continue to rest in ice at least 3-4 hours while we finish processing, cleaning up, taking a lunch and/or cocktail break lol, heating the water for bagging, etc.

While we're bagging, they go back onto clean ice until all bagging is finished, although that doesn't take long. Then they go straight into the freezer except for 2 that go into the fridge for cooking sometime within a day or two after processing. I'm not a finicky eater, but personally I've never been able to tell the difference between the fresh ones and the frozen.

We usually smoke our birds over low heat, so tenderness may depend on cooking styles, but it's my opinion that the hours on ice are sufficient resting times. They've always been very supple and easy to handle by the time we bag and taste amazing!
 
Thank you for your report. A question: did you let the dressed birds rest in the refrigerator for a few days before freezing, and if so, for how long?
When I butcher I like to pack mine in ice for a couple of days, I have stored them in the fridge for a couple of days when I don’t have a bunch, but we do have 3 refrigerators, so I can put about 10 in one of them.
 

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