Cornish Cross Broilers 2015 Part 1

So I thought I would talk a little about Broiler chicken again, if you read my previous post about our attempt with the black broiler you might remember that we still don't have any fresh chicken for the freezer. So I thought I'd start a series about the batch of broilers we are raising now. 

Last year we bought all our meat chickens from the local tractor supply 'Chick Day's', since that isn't going on now I had to search out somewhere new to get some chicks! We found a pretty good deal over at Purely Poultry on their house Cornish Cross day old chicks. I am very pleased so far with the results. We made it over 2 weeks without loosing the first bird! Then when we had single digit temps we had a mini dooms day, even with a second light we still lost 6 birds over the course of 3 days. 

When we first got into chickens the last thought that went through my mind is, 'boy, I'd sure love to kill all these chickens and eat them for dinner'. No- I wasn't about to eat that, it was my pet! It didn't take long to become over run with roosters though, and I think most chicken people can relate to that problem. Although some find better options than eating them, we where fairly used to eating wild game, like dove, ducks, and deer, and luck me, my husband doesn't mind killing and cleaning them. Yes, he is the best! I only get the chicken after its completely gutted, and feathered. The only thing that looks different than a whole chicken from the grocery store is those bright yellow feet! After a few rooster population control meetings, we realized it just not worth the cost and work, what you get from layer roosters. We still really liked the idea of raising our own chickens, knowing what they where eating and the condition that they lived would be far better than anything we could ever buy at the grocery store. No hormones, no antibiotics, non-GMO feed, plenty of room, and real sun light! Following in the foot steps of a friend who had just finished their first batch of Cornish Broilers, we attempted it last spring. You can read more about that here, as well as the failed attempted with the black broilers.

We received 30 chicks on December 18th, all in good health. We start them on a none medicated 18% chick starter. They are kept in a brooder box, with heat light, off the ground. I have never had any issues feeding them all they will eat. Some say they can over eat and die and I could see that being totally possible, but personally we haven't seem to have any problems, especially at a young age. This past week I switch them over to a Non-GMO 22% Broiler feed, they seem to be doing well with that, not quite finishing off the 7lb feeder as fast as the other feed but I'm sure in a few days that will change. These birds progress so fast a few days and everything about them can change. 

We are moving them to a larger brooder box today, because I'm expecting the second round of birds to come in this week. The plan is to process somewhere between 25-30 birds every 4 weeks or so, we let them grow to about 8 weeks normally. Depending on what other big farm projects we have going. It takes a full days work to clean and process them. Last spring the most we did in one day was 15. We have some awesome friends that normally come over and help my husband butcher and clean, but *sigh* I watch from the kitchen window, alone. Ok- sob story over, the hub's messed up and helped me do the last couple last time, and now I can't do it without his help!! It just goes so much faster with some one else, although normally he's like 'would you just be quite and work'.
Joking.

I'll be back to report on this in a few weeks- 

Past Broilers... Future Chicken and Dumplings

This past spring we took on something new here on the farm. 

The broiler chicken. 

We have raised chickens for several years, and sometimes we have too many roosters, so we have eaten them. Finally, I came to the conclusion that they just were not worth my time at all for the amount of meat that came off them and the pain it was to butcher them.

Then we ended up home to two accidental broilers. A friend purchased them as chicks, but she knew she wouldn't have the heart to butcher them. This was my first experience with broilers, and we didn't really treat them any different than any other chicken. We didn't give them any extra feed, we just let them free range with all the others.
I think when we finally decided to butcher them they where well beyond the 6 week growth peak, but because they were easy to butcher and they gave enough meet, we decided to try again.

We just bought the Cornish X that were in stock at the local Tractor Supply. The plan was to get several smaller batches before we had to butcher the first batch. I knew once the butchering process began I wouldn't want to buy anymore to grow out. We ended up with 2 batches of 15 about 3 weeks apart. We fed them a 20% feed (which we paid entirely too much for per bag) at Tractor Supply, and it was the only non-medicated fed we knew of at the time. I did eventually start buying it for a lot less at my local Co-op.

We free ranged the chickens, and I think they got about 7 lbs. of feed a day and then they were on their own. By the time we made it to butchering day I think we had 12 the first time and 11 the second. Normally we lost one or two in the first two weeks. Then sometimes we would lose them after they got bigger. One ended up in a pot of chicken spaghetti because we had a minor accident while moving their pen, don't let your four year old be the watch guard..."back up! back up!" doesn't fix things. 

We had a community butchering day, our friend brought over his broilers that they raised off the ground their whole life. These stark white beauties outweighed our free rangers just a little. They all had clean white feathers too, and our poor free range birds looked like we gave them mud baths!

Going through all this past history, I wish I had pictures, but I don't, it leads me to say... the new broilers are here! 

 This fall we are going to try something different! I've ordered 25 black broilers, they are supposed to be bred to be a better pasture raised bird, with less chance of heart attacks, leg issues, or Ascite (fluid in the body cavity). 

Before I had time to fully finish this post, my broilers are 10 weeks old. (A great place for a shout out to those ladies that Blog... I can't seem to get a grip on it!)

So, here is my thoughts. 

I don't like em. 
I'm sure that everyone has a different experience and I'm sure that coming from different facilities may have a difference in stock, but I don't like em. I ordered two Brahma rooster with the 25 black broilers and until about the 3rd week I couldn't tell a single difference in size. I moved them to the grow out pin at 4 weeks, which is on the ground, and several days later they started dying like no bodies business. Our friends also got 25 to raise and around this same time they started loosing them for unknown reason, but theirs where off the ground. I put them back up, I switched to medicated food for a time (something I never did with the Cornish X), I just don't know. I didn't do anything any different. So at 10 weeks, they are the same size as the Brahma rooster, look just like Black Australorps, and I think I have 8 surviving. 

Tell me about your experience and favorite broilers to raise!