Raised 25 Jumbo Rocks. 13 Died While Waiting To Process. WHY WHY WHY??

[Maihlet]

Quote:
None of the Names you have listed are Actual Breeds, they're all Hybrids or Crosses.

Well... To quote Johnny Carson, "I Did Not Know That".

So.

What then is THE BEST MEAT Chicken to raise at home that grows well, lives a life, and tastes good, all without taking months to grow, or big $'s to feed?

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

Tim, you cracked me up!!!

I'm leaning towards holding the processor liable for their death, although like other posters, I have had Cornish crosses drop dead while I was looking at them.

In Dallas, I found that I could only grow them out between October and February; any other months are too hot. I had one crop of birds that were maturing in March (with temps already over 80) that wouldn't get up and walk 3 feet to the water; they would get up, walk to the food when I put it out, and then stay next to the feeders until the next time I brought the food out. I ended up having to bring the water to them! I have stopped raising Cornish birds at all, for the reasons everybody listed: they're almost mutant. They have been bred to grow so big, so fast, that their common sense and natural chicken behavior is gone. Even the times when I restricted feed, their internal organs were much fattier, and some had enlarged hearts, leg bones that weren't straight, and abnormal-looking gizzards. When I want meat birds now, I raise RIRs or Rangers, or get the slow-growing meat birds from Ideal.

If they had died at home and you came upon them within an hour of their death, I probably would have gone ahead and processed them. If they had been sitting in the heat and been dead for the whole two hours, I don't think I would have, even if they had died at home (although I would have fed their meat to the dogs, after cooking it).

I have been hunting and processing the meat since I was a little girl. I also processed my own chickens. I can tell you from experience that it only takes about 20 minutes after death for the quality of meat to decline. If a carcass is not completely bled out and cooled down within those 20 minutes (more emphasis on the bled out), there is a distinctly different taste to the meat.

I'm sure that was traumatic; I'm sorry you had to go through it.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

What then is THE BEST MEAT Chicken to raise at home that grows well, lives a life, and tastes good, all without taking months to grow, or big $'s to feed?

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a bird to take 4-5 months to grow to processing size. I keep the $ down by letting them free-range several hours a day.

With that said, I don't grow my own birds because it's cost-effective. I don't think we CAN grow birds as cheaply as the inhumane slaughterhouses that sell at a loss-leader for $0.49 a lb.

I grow and process my own birds because:
#1 I know they've had a great life
#2 I know they're chemical-free
#3 I know they've been killed humanely and quickly
#4 I know they've been processed sanitarily (I don't pluck them; I skin them, which is a lot faster and easier. My mom misses the skin, but I can process a bird from guillotine to freezer in 12 minutes)​

 

[TimG]

Quote:
None of the Names you have listed are Actual Breeds, they're all Hybrids or Crosses.

Well... To quote Johnny Carson, "I Did Not Know That".

So.

What then is THE BEST MEAT Chicken to raise at home that grows well, lives a life, and tastes good, all without taking months to grow, or big $'s to feed?

Lots of people swear by the Cornish Crosses (which might be marketed as Jumbo Rocks or Cornish Roasters or a few other names). The Freedom Rangers (also called Colored Rangers) are another hybrid that grows fast, though not as quickly as the Cornish Crosses, but is much more chicken like in its habits and take 2-4 extra weeks to get to market weight. Next in line would be a few dual purpose Breeds that are still slower growing, Buckeye, Delaware, Brahma, just to name a few off the top of my head -- others will surely chime in with their favorites. All these dual purpose birds will take months (4-6) to grow to market weight. Whether closer to 4 or 6 depends upon strain within the breed as much as it does upon breed.

I think that's a fair short summary. You could spend hours reading this forum getting more details.

Tim

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
That's what I would do... it's not the breed that is at cause for the deaths. It's a shame the processor doesn't have some sort of shade covering to hold the birds until they are processed.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

This is my meat bird of choice, from Ideal Poultry, and this is their description of them:

Red Broiler
Straight Run

Red Broilers are efficient producers of broiler meat for those who do not wish to have white plumage broilers. When broiler rations are fed, producers can expect to have six pound broilers in seven weeks or less. Since red broilers are more active than Cornish Rocks and grow slightly slower, they rarely experience leg weakness or Ascite, which is fluid in the body cavity. Red Broiler hens are not a good choice for efficient production of brown eggs.

I will say that I have had to process the roos first; just about the time they get to be processing size, they start finding their voice. Since keeping chickens is illegal in my city, I can't have them bustin' out my operation!​

 

[Wolfwoman]

Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay :

Quote:
There's the problem, the birds were too big/old. Plus the cages were probably packed too tight.

The Commercial Broiler is designed to be butchered in the 6 to 8 weeks of age window, 4.5 to 8 lb. From our experience getting older than that makes breasts that are too large and legs that resemble turkey legs with too many tendons for a good eating experience.

Jim

Completely disagree on this one. I've done two batches of CX, none younger than 10 weeks, some as old as 13 weeks... ALL over 10 lbs and I only lost two to heart attacks.

I think it was the change of where they were and the heat.​

 

[SteveH]

I didn't bother to read all of the posts .
I'm reasonably certain your birds died of heat ; can't imagine a processor having birds dropped off to sit in reasonably tight pens in 90 degree weather , not even leghorns let alone CX . I'm truly sorry for your experience ; its a really painful way to learn what can't be done .