should I get meaties?

[Shifty Joe]

Raise'em and process them. I figure if you are going to raise chickens, you'll also have to be able to send them to freezer camp. Old stump + hatchet = fried chicken dinner.

 

[alabamachick]

I have two cornish X hens I bought from TSC because at the time I had NO idea what they were.

But here is my experience:

1) They WILL eat ALL day long if you let them!

2) They grow 10x faster than my other chickens

3) They are the friendliest birds I have. Both of them have no problems being held. I've also had no problems with aggression. One actually adopted my new EE chicks when I got them!

4) They DO perch, mine perch at night with the rest of my hens.

Other than being MONSTER sized chickens who want nothing more than to eat ALL day, I notice no difference in behavior.

 

[Peep_Show]

My experience with meat birds:

1) They will fall asleep with their heads in the feeder if food is out 24/7.

2) Raising them on deep litter straw makes for a cleaner bird because they have a tendency to have soiled fronts because they lay down a lot.

3) They will poop more than the biggest turkey you could own.

4) Adding a flake of leafy alfalfa to the pen, a handful daily of cottonseed meal to the feeder and pigeon grit (to help digest the alfalfa) to their diet produces INCREDIBLE flavor....clean and pure even if you're feeding medicated meatbird feeds (make sure you read your feedbag labels to have the right protein amount and see what you're REALLY feeding them). Plus the added benefit of the added protein with the right Calciumhosphorus ratio means bigger birds and diminished leg/tendon problems.

5) If you have enough of them and they all look the same, processing them is easy and guilt-free. It's not like "Yahh! Fried chicken! Hey, has anyone seen Cluckie?"

6) Carcass-wise, they are very pretty nekkid... nice and voluptuously plump. At eight weeks they will fill a gallon food storage bag nicely.

 

[prncssprplfrog]

Quote:
Ohh....there's an idea- I am surrounded by the Amish- I'm sure if I ask around, I'd find someone who would do it all for a fee.

Now to figure out where to keep the buggers & when to get them......and how to break it to me mum....who usually does a lot of eye rolling.....

****Edited to ask****

Looking @ McMurray---Straight run or pick a sex.....if they grow that fast- it shouldn't matter right? Or does it?
I went to our local hardware store & was going to order through them, but that's who they order from anyway! Called 2 TSC & they didn't have any either.

 

[prncssprplfrog]

Okay- 15 (oops- it's 25!!) order minimum straight from McMurray. At the most I'd want 10....Grrr.

 

[SamG347]

Check local feedstores...you put and add locally asking to split an order with you. Checkout Mt.Healthy or Meyer hatchery. Both have great prices and great birds. Straight run gives you a good mix size wise...BIG roos and SEMI BIG hens. Or go the whole roo route as they will grow bigger quicker.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

I just got my Cornish x and payed .95 each, from Sunnyside in WI. I will have them in a calf hutch in 7 days or less. I feed them a ground feed mix i get from my local co-op. i do not have to remove feed at 12 hours and they don't smell. when they are old enough I place the water outside and the food inside, makes them move. I had 0 deaths last year except for one who put himself in a plastic box then couldn't get out and cooked himself

 

[prncssprplfrog]

Morbid- but I have to say it...... A meat bird that cooks itself!

 

[jaku]

Definitely get some- they're great. Just start reading the meat bird section for general info. They are a bit different than layers. Take the negative things posted with a grain of salt.

 

[heather576]

Quote:
A grain of salt - and maybe a little bbq sauce?

Sorry, couldn't resist!