Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[aoxa]

Do you weigh the bird with the gizzard, neck, liver and heart wrapped up inside? I remove all of this. It's just the actual carcass. No neck, legs, innards.

 

[BCMaraniac]

No criticism taken. I don't think our genetics are the same here in Canada. My birds are not much smaller than those raised here conventionally.. at least not that I've ever seen.. Every bird at the farmer's market tends to be under 5 pounds dressed.

Remember I feed 1/3 of what is stated in charts I have found online.

I am good with my 5 pound average. That's just enough for us.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/531016/when-to-butcher-cornish-x-meaties
So many different weights given at butcher time here. 6-9 weeks was stated averaging 4-6 pounds dressed.

I feel like my live weight was almost double processed... I've heard 75% of live weight is dressed weight, and I highly doubt that with mine!

Murray McMurray has two Cornish crosses that they sell, and one grows out more slowly. Could it be that your cross might actually be the slower growing one?

 

[Beekissed]

I know my second batch were definitely the slower growing ones...they didn't start to put on good weight until after 10 wks and my others peaked out at 8 wks and didn't gain any appreciable wt after that, though we kept them 3 wks longer. The second batch also had a different body style...short carcass, short legs, etc. The first batch had the nice long breast filets and long, large thighs one finds on a White Rock and the second batch had the short, squattier chests and body that one finds on a Cornish.

Genetics has a lot to do with it and many can't seem to understand that. If your brother was born to be a tall guy and you had genetics for being short, would feeding you more protein yield a taller guy and feeding him less produce a shorter guy? Nope. If that was the case, we'd all have linebackers in our family and all us gals would be runway models.

So, when someone who feeds their CX like pigs and claims the high pro, continuous feeds will yield a bigger carcass, they are fooling themselves..it won't yield a bigger carcass, nor bigger meat portions, but it will put on way more fat and also yield muscle tissue that is less toned because the birds move less, which makes it look like they have more muscle, but it's like the difference between a guy who lifts wts for years and has a toned body and then suddenly stops lifting...he looks bigger when he stops lifting because his muscles go lax and soft, but in reality he weighed more when he was lifting because his muscles were more dense and compact. Muscle weighs more than fat.

Thus the difference between penned, fat and mushy CX compared to lean, well-muscled free ranged CX...one is paying for fat and mush, the other is paying for actual muscle fiber that is toned and compact. There is more actual MEAT on a free range of 5 lbs than there is of a penned, overfed CX of 5 lbs of the same genetic body style. The only true variance of body size at that point are the genetics that dictate body carcass style and how much that carcass is designed to hold.

 

[aoxa]

I know my second batch were definitely the slower growing ones...they didn't start to put on good weight until after 10 wks and my others peaked out at 8 wks and didn't gain any appreciable wt after that, though we kept them 3 wks longer. The second batch also had a different body style...short carcass, short legs, etc. The first batch had the nice long breast filets and long, large thighs one finds on a White Rock and the second batch had the short, squattier chests and body that one finds on a Cornish.

Genetics has a lot to do with it and many can't seem to understand that. If your brother was born to be a tall guy and you had genetics for being short, would feeding you more protein yield a taller guy and feeding him less produce a shorter guy? Nope. If that was the case, we'd all have linebackers in our family and all us gals would be runway models.

So, when someone who feeds their CX like pigs and claims the high pro, continuous feeds will yield a bigger carcass, they are fooling themselves..it won't yield a bigger carcass, nor bigger meat portions, but it will put on way more fat and also yield muscle tissue that is less toned because the birds move less, which makes it look like they have more muscle, but it's like the difference between a guy who lifts wts for years and has a toned body and then suddenly stops lifting...he looks bigger when he stops lifting because his muscles go lax and soft, but in reality he weighed more when he was lifting because his muscles were more dense and compact. Muscle weighs more than fat.

Thus the difference between penned, fat and mushy CX compared to lean, well-muscled free ranged CX...one is paying for fat and mush, the other is paying for actual muscle fiber that is toned and compact. There is more actual MEAT on a free range of 5 lbs than there is of a penned, overfed CX of 5 lbs of the same genetic body style. The only true variance of body size at that point are the genetics that dictate body carcass style and how much that carcass is designed to hold.

 

[3 NH reds]

You can get instructions and practice on Cockerels that you process. When you are comfortable with the process you can start on live birds.

Yea I thought about that. I need to look more into what tools I need and practice. Right now I only have three cockerel that are not needed, one I just let out to free range because he was small and not Worth the effort. He has made it over one month and is getting bigger. I thought he would be gone by now but I think predators are afraid of the electric fence. The two red lights flashing at night and a low clicking sound could be why as well.

Have you gone to Kaussandra's thread, and asked if there was someone in your area who would be willing to mentor you? I did a lot of research on it, and taught myself, but that isn't for everyone. Now I didn't practice on a dead bird, and I lost my first one to bleeding because I nicked the vena cava. It was a very quick demise, though, and I took advantage of the situation to get a look at all of the anatomy of a bird of they age that needs to be caponized. If you practice on a dead bird first, you will definitely have to keep in mind that a live bird will look very different that a dead one with the presence of blood in the vessels.

PM me and I will send you links to the resources I used for my research.

Thanks I will do that. Still not sure if I would do it all the time but ending all the crowing and fights would be good.

, but it's like the difference between a guy who lifts wts for years and has a toned body and then suddenly stops lifting...he looks bigger when he stops lifting because his muscles go lax and soft, but in reality he weighed more when he was lifting because his muscles were more dense and compact. Muscle weighs more than fat.

I can testify that when I stopped working out I had a weight gain. Darned over 40 spare tire grew like nothing. Going up one size in pants is a kicker , yea I looked bigger but not in a good way lol. So yea I agree we can get birds that are way to fat. I just took a class on manure management and chicken poo is so high in nitrogen because they don't process things efficiently

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Unless, of course, you ferment their feeds so they can get their grains predigested and converted to something they can actually absorb. It sure would be nice if those guys talking about manure management could take a walk through my coop and note the lack of smell or flies because there is little to no undigested grain hanging around in these feces.

 

[ronott1]

Yea I thought about that. I need to look more into what tools I need and practice. Right now I only have three cockerel that are not needed, one I just let out to free range because he was small and not Worth the effort. He has made it over one month and is getting bigger. I thought he would be gone by now but I think predators are afraid of the electric fence. The two red lights flashing at night and a low clicking sound could be why as well.

Caponing kit and instructions:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...=c&geo_id=10232&keyword=caponizing+kit&crdt=0

 

[fisherlady]

Do you weigh the bird with the gizzard, neck, liver and heart wrapped up inside? I remove all of this. It's just the actual carcass. No neck, legs, innards. 

When I weigh the birds it is the bare weight, carcass only, no gizzards or neck. for our own purposes we just liked tracking the meat weight. We understand we end up with 'extra' benefit in the gizzards and neck, but don't figure that into our meat weight for calculation purposes.

 

[RoseMarie1]

I'm putting off a cull for the same reason...pure old sentimentality. I know I will finally get to it and it's not urgent at all, but it's just time for a few of my old girls to get relief from living with old bodies. They aren't sick and they don't seem to be suffering, but I'm wanting to avoid it getting to that point and I can see the handwriting on the wall...the time is soon.

Just putting it off a few days because I know that these birds, in particular, are old companions of mine and we have seen many good years together and I'll miss their faces in the flock.

 

[Elke Beck]

Do you weigh the bird with the gizzard, neck, liver and heart wrapped up inside? I remove all of this. It's just the actual carcass. No neck, legs, innards.

I weigh just the carcass. The rest is put directly into separate bags as I process, so it does not get weighed.

Below is a picture of the 9 week old's carcass. He was healthy and running around my garden up until the end. That is a 2-liter bottle next to him, and a full sized, 11 inch dinner plate is barely visible under him. The next picture shows one of the CX with a couple of the Red Rangers.