First time Cornish meat birds-advice

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2006powerstroke90

Chirping
Aug 30, 2020
49
89
71
Been a while since I’ve posted on here, my little flock turned into 30 hens, followed by getting goats, and a pig. Anyways, we wanted to expand our horizon so we decided this year we will get meat chickens.

We went to tractor supply yesterday and bought 17. They had some that were a week old and some were a couple days old. I’d like to process them all at the same time.

What I’m looking for is advice from people who have done this before. I read anywhere from 45 days to 10 weeks for processing. I’m wondering what would be the BEST time to do it. Does the meat taste different from a 45 day old bird to a 10 week old bird? Or is the only difference how much the bird will weigh?
 
Poultrybonkers

Poultrybonkers

Free Ranging
11 Years
Mar 22, 2011
5,929
6,672
566
My Coop
My Coop
You grow them to the size you want, 2 weeks is cornish game hen 8 weeks is cornish rock size I could never get them past 4lbs processed but 8-10 isnt much of a difference in taste
 
Acre4Me

Acre4Me

Crossing the Road
Nov 12, 2017
7,444
27,114
927
Western Ohio
Any size you want.

In reality, it does depend on a few things. How and what you feed them. Access to feed. Should be 24/7 for first 3 weeks, then….well, that is up to you! Access all day (remove at night), or 2 feedings per day - all they can eat in a 15 min span 2x per day… you get the idea. But, irregardless, water 24/7 - they drink A LOT! Some allow the Cornish lots of room, more movement, might take a bit longer. Don’t free range bc they cannot really run very fast.

In general, you will get a nice carcass by 6 weeks. A very large carcass by 8 weeks.

If you have straight run, you can process boys one time, the girls a week or two later. The girls are meaty, but grow slower/are a bit smaller than the boys.
 
Acre4Me

Acre4Me

Crossing the Road
Nov 12, 2017
7,444
27,114
927
Western Ohio
My Cornish cross last year:

1- day old ( I picked them up from hatchery)
B30E8F29-DD29-4AD2-8EFA-E1E216D748EB.jpeg


5 (yes, five) WEEKS old.
2C3D86A9-D1F6-4E9F-9728-65214E57A782.jpeg
 
2

2006powerstroke90

Chirping
Aug 30, 2020
49
89
71
Hello all, chickens are just about 7 weeks old and they’re getting big! I do have a question though. A few chickens in the breast area have a bump out that feels almost spongy. I don’t know if it’s normal or the bird is sick. I will attach a picture although it’s kind of hard to tell in the picture. Also they have zero feathers under them but all they do it sit down and most of the time they sit down when they eat and drink.
B246F60C-DDB8-4DFB-A036-F0559DECA655.jpeg
 
B

Bags

In the Brooder
Apr 3, 2022
14
28
46
2006powerstroke90 said:
Been a while since I’ve posted on here, my little flock turned into 30 hens, followed by getting goats, and a pig. Anyways, we wanted to expand our horizon so we decided this year we will get meat chickens.

We went to tractor supply yesterday and bought 17. They had some that were a week old and some were a couple days old. I’d like to process them all at the same time.

What I’m looking for is advice from people who have done this before. I read anywhere from 45 days to 10 weeks for processing. I’m wondering what would be the BEST time to do it. Does the meat taste different from a 45 day old bird to a 10 week old bird? Or is the only difference how much the bird will weigh?
Click to expand...
If your doing Cornish rock broilers, I can say that I free ranged mine and used a medium protein feed to keep them foraging. I did the full time access to feed method and found it to be better than the 12 hour cycle. At 8 weeks they dressed at 5-7 lbs using the kosher kill method will have alot to do with the quality of meat. Getting them in the pink water quickly is key. Good luck to you
 

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