Oh my, yes. Raising Cornish Cross is different than raising 'normal' chicks in some ways, and other ways it's the same. Some tips:
* Cornish Cross *must* be fed a high-protein feed because their growth rate is so phenomenal. They need the concentrated feed to get enough nutrition; regular chick feed doesn't have it. Many people use a game bird grower/finisher feed because it's 22-24% protein.
* They will absolutely convince you they are starving to death if you don't keep their feeders full. But DON'T DO THAT. These hefty babies are eating and pooping machines. They will literally eat themselves to death due to heart attacks. There are different versions of feeding schedules available, but whichever you use, stick to it religiously and don't let the birds convince you they need more. They DO need to be fed free-choice for the first week or two, but after that - ration it. I found this one that originally came from Welp, I think:
I had another nice chart for you with the conversions to ounces, but lost it. Anyway, you'd just take the "daily intake (lb)" value above and multiply it by 16 (ounces) to get how many ounces of feed, per bird, per day.
So by the end of the first week, daily intake is 0.079 lbs. X 16 ounces = 1.264 ounces to feed (each).
I followed a similar schedule, twice a day, with half of the daily ration at each feeding. I also made sure their second feeding was in late afternoon, so most of their pooping was done before I shoo'ed them into the coop at roosting time. Some people use a 12-on 12-off schedule that works, too. But I'll warn you, if you put all of their daily ration out at one feeding, they'll have it all gone in a few hours and then they'll *SKONK!* LOUDLY at you for the rest of the day begging to be fed.
(With my first batch of chicks, I didn't trust the ration schedule. The poor things acted so hungry! So I fudged. Soon enough, I had chicks with split skin over their backsides, and chicks with splayed legs who couldn't walk. Didn't lose any to heart attacks, though. My neighbors DID.)
* Overall, you'll need about 12-15 pounds of feed per bird to take them from hatchlings to butcher weight. That chart above shows about 20 pounds by 10 weeks of age.
* Keep plenty of water out at all times. They drink a whole lot of water.
* Place feeders and waterers far apart from each other. This forces the birds to get some exercise that they need for growing muscles. You see, CornishX are not foragers. They much prefer you to bring dinner to them, and will sit in that same spot all day long if they can reach the food and water without moving much.
* As I said, they are eating and pooping machines, so stock up on the bedding and newspapers. And because their feed is so high in protein, their poop STINKS worse than you can imagine. You won't want them anywhere inside the house or garage. Don't use hay or straw for bedding; it will mat together and is very hard to clean out. Wood chips are best.
* They'll use a regular coop or shed for 'roosting' at night, but actually they won't roost at all. They prefer to sleep on the floor, so you don't need to bother with roosting bars. Make sure there's plenty of floor space and bedding. I had to shoo my birds into the coop at night, as they were too dumb to go in on their own. I used a large unfolded cardboard box as a barrier and funnel, and 'walked' them into the coop. They can navigate a ramp, but would prefer level ground if possible. Rounding them up is easy-peasy if you show them a feed bucket. They'll follow you anywhere.
* A portable chicken tractor will work wonders for these birds (after they're fully feathered), as you can move them off the poopy area each day and into a new clean grassy area. Makes your clean up job oh so much easier. Just make sure they're protected from weather and predators, because they're too stupid to get out of the rain, and too slow and heavy to escape a predator.
Please DO enjoy raising these birds. They are so adorable, funny and entertaining to spend time with. If their poop is managed well, you won't mind the extra attention they'll need.
