We just got our first meats chickens this past Saturday. Of course we were ready to get them since my husband built the chicken tractor the other week (see
Chicken Tractor) but I wan't expecting to get them this weekend.
My husband was at the local farm auction and ended buying some meat birds there at such a great deal that he couldn't pass up. He ended up buying 7 Dark Cornish Cross. I really wanted to buy 25 to start out with but this will be good start. I have read that the Dark Cornish are better tasting than regular Cornish Cross. I'm hoping that's the truth. We plan in raising them for 8-10 weeks or maybe 12 I have read that this breed takes a little longer to reach the correct weight.
Since we never raised any meat birds I'm very excited to be embarking on this adventure since it will bring us one more step closer to being more self-sufficient. If all goes well which I'm sure it will I would like to raise another group as soon as these are done.
First, don't get attached to them like you would your layers...:( second, we did regular cornish cross a couple years ago and we fed them a high protein feed...oh my! They were large birds ready to process (much better word...;)) at about 8 weeks. We actually lost one because she got too heavy...they say they have heart attachs and brake legs and such because of their weight. I think our biggest bird was 8 pounds! the cornish cross that we had tasted great! just like store bought only without the hormones and such! Good luck! Let us know how it turns out!
ReplyDeleteI hope it goes well. Please let us know how they do!
ReplyDeleteThanks Monica. I'm hope I can avoid the heart attacks and broken legs but we'll see.
ReplyDeleteJocelyn, don't worry I will. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteSo cute!
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