There are a ton of Meat Bird articles out there on the web. How to butcher, raise and so on. This one has a few tidbits I never saw in those. Hopefully, they will help you– the things that others may have missed or I learned the hard way. winks
It’s been quite a while since I last posted. I apologize for that. It was a busy time for my Salon, small Farm and then, of course, I had to have some serious surgery, which could have all been avoided if I wasn’t misdiagnosed several years ago. (Long, long story). I don’t want to talk about that, though. I want to talk about some of the major things I had going on in the “Farm” department. And when I say “Farm”, ya’ll know I only have an acre or so, that’s backed up to National Forest, but that’s enough to raise chickens, turkeys, rabbits and even some hogs.
This past year, we decided to try our hand at Meat Birds. The Cornish breed. The kind that raise up and get nice and plump within’ 8-10 weeks. I know there are a million articles on these suckers out there but I think I have a few things to add that those articles missed or didn’t realize like we did. Here’s hoping something here helps you….
We had been considering these birds for some time and after stumbling into Tractor Supply and finding them marked down to a buck one day, we went ahead and took the plunge. I decided to roll with them instead of the other meat variety like, Red Rangers, for quite a few reasons. I wanted them raised up fast for the freezer. Rangers, and others, take longer. The cost of Feed and what you would be getting didn’t pan out to me compared to the Cornish Crosses. For example, A Ranger might free range, but it still lives anywhere from 4-6 months. It wouldn’t be as easy to pluck, perhaps not as plump (I found by research) and not as tender. Everyone has to weight the pro’s and con’s and decide for themselves, though.
But at a buck, who could pass that up? Thanks, Tractor Supply! That day, we brought home 17 Cornish Crosses and then after finding them a few more times, we ended up with about 40. After getting a taste of it, that led us down the road of ordering 100 more from a Meat Bird Hatchery. One experience was completely different from the other– which I will explain.
The first 40 were actually divided up because the first batch had about 2 weeks or so on the second half we bought. This actually taught us a huge lesson – one we wouldn’t realize until our 100 arrived. Again, more on that a few paragraphs down.
Two weeks may seem like nothing when you’re raising regular chickens but 2 weeks between these birds defines a bold line between toddler and teenager. That is a drastic statement, I know, but that’s what it seems like between the size difference. This is why we didn’t mix one batch with the other. We didn’t want the two week ones snuffing out the younger birds’ chance at food.
A food is what they want and need most of all. They want food and water. They need heat, as well, like other birds, and get ready to do some cleaning because they go to the bathroom ALOT.
Feeding time is like dealing with a bunch of raptors. You need more than one bowl or feeder. Usually the first feeder gets them detracted long enough so you have a chance to fill the others before they just completely swarm and overwhelm you.
Feeding goes like this…
For the first 2 weeks (some say 10 days, others, a month) you will give them food 12 hours with and 12 hours without. Water all the time. We did 2 weeks. They say this lessens the chance of heart attacks, etc. While you want to feed the birds enough, you don’t want to overfeed. While I didn’t have any die of heart attacks, some family members did. You start off with a Starter Feed, either non-medicated or medicated. That’s up to you. I chose, with these, to actually use a medicated with the first and second batch. With my egg-birds, I never used that but with these, I did because I wanted them to get a healthy start and since they weren’t going to live long, I didn’t have the same concerns – them becoming immune to meds, etc— that I had with my lifers– the egg ladies. I didn’t use medicated with my 100, and I think that led into some problems– which, again, I’ll explain in a bit. I kept them on the Starter Feed for two-three weeks.
After that, we fed a Grower Feed, early in the morning and in the evening. Some family members also fed during the day. But again, a few of theirs fell over from heart attacks.
My first two batches were BIG birds when it came time to butcher. My husband, who usually eats about four thighs from the store, was more than satisfied with just one thigh and a slice of breast from our home-grown. That’s one of the differences that I noticed, that you may not find in another article. What we raised ourselves, took less to feed us than what we bought. Not only in weight, but as far as when we felt full. We also felt full without feeling uncomfortably bloated and miserable. Now, I can’t argue the science of that. I can only tell you how we feel. We went from eating about two whole birds from the store, to one home raised one.
Size wise, the first and second batch of birds ranged from 6-10 pounds. We bought a chicken plucker – a Yardbird, to be exact– so when time came to butcher, it took us about 3 minutes per bird. That’s carrying the bird to the “Cull section”, carrying it to me to “Scald”, me taking it to the Plucker – which took all of 15-20 seconds– and then handing it to my husband to clean out and toss in a cooler of ice. To be honest, it took us longer to wrap the birds for the freezer than it did to do the rest.
Our experience with the first two batches were absolutely great! That set us off in a whole nother direction. We ended up ordering 100 more. At first, we kept the babies in totes or swimming pools with heat lamps until they were too big. We took dog kennels with roof tarps and kept them inside those. We hung a heat lamp in case they still needed it. These birds do not handle heat and cold the way other birds do. They do not feather out as quick and they do not have all the layers of feathers that regular birds have. They were designed this way to make butchering a bit more easy. These birds are also more fragile than others. I had some break their wing over nothing and I mean, bone- right- through- the- skin—broke! I had a couple with hernias out their bottoms– the other chickens pecked them nearly to death, so I had to Cull them. And, they ended up getting worms – which could have been a freak thing or the fact that my husband messed up and didn’t get medicated Starter. This affected the growth of many birds as well as the competition for food. The lesson learned there, next Spring, we are going to divide them up into groups of 20. Seriously, no matter how many Feeders we had, the big ones still ate faster and over-ate compared to the littler ones that just couldn’t get a foothold. With all the problems, we still ended up with some good sized birds. There weren’t as many 10 pounders as we had in the first two batches but the others did reach 6 pounds or for some great sized meals. And I am still only cooking one Roaster at a time.
Cleaning the pin of the 100 was also a chore. If we got busy with work, or the kid’s after school activities, we played hell catching up. Because of this reason, I’ve got a better system designed and in mind for next Spring. We are definitely doing it again next Spring and not only that, I have more family members who are wanting to do it now, too. That’s something else to consider, the more you order, the cheaper the bird. We ended up, with shipping, paying about 1.50 or so per bird. Without shipping, they were around 1.24 a piece.
Other differences between what I raised and store bought?
Call me crazy, but not only is the taste cleaner, but the texture is different– for the better– and it cooks, way faster. Yes, cooks faster. I’m not sure why that is? Maybe because they don’t have all that stuff stores or commercial farms inject into them?
The skin is different. It doesn’t have all those fat clumps of gel-like fat clustered up underneath it. The skin seems a bit thicker to me, in general, but this is wonderful when it comes to roasting. It turns out crispier– if that’s your intention– and seals in the juices of the meat more.
And this little tidbit is not just in my head– yesterday I made chicken and dumplings. I pulled an entire roaster from the Freezer and stuck it in a pot full of water. I boiled until it was all falling off the bone. The ONLY thing I added to the water was a bit of celery salt. When I tasted the broth, it was absolutely amazing. I didn’t have to add any chicken bouillon !!! NONE !!!! I repeat, NONE! When I cooked a store-bought chicken this way, I would always have to add a ton of stuff including chicken bouillon. The broth was never flavorful enough on it’s own. I couldn’t believe the difference between what I had raised and what I had purchased before.
So I am absolutely sold. I have a different system in mind for next year…. we will separate our birds into groups of 20 and I am most certainly, worming and giving medicated food early on. I also have an idea in mind of how to keep their areas clean for the days we can’t get out there to do it. I’m still plotting that one, though.
But for those who are considering meat birds, I highly recommend it. And buy or make a chicken plucker. While their feathers are not hard to deal with, it does make the whole process easier and faster.
And coming soon, Meat Turkeys. At some point, I will be writing about the different breeds I have tried since last year, how those cooked up and if they were easy to pluck and so on. I’ll also give my evaluation on the taste difference between the quick growing two meat varieties–Broad-Breasted– and the Heritage Breeds. I’ll also be posting recipes and pictures of my delicious Meat Birds soon, too. So look for that!
Until then, I hope you found this useful. Any questions, just shout.
Feeding chart I found at this link:
Feeding program for meat chickens
The following table provides an estimate of peak rates of feed consumption and weight gain. The data were obtained from White Cornish Crosses under conventional management (without additional forage).
|
Age (weeks) |
Type of feed |
Feed consumption (weekly per bird) |
Live body weight |
||
|
kg |
lb. |
kg |
lb. |
||
|
1 |
Chicken starter |
0.13 |
0.29 |
0.15 |
0.33 |
|
2 |
Chicken starter |
0.28 |
0.62 |
0.36 |
0.79 |
|
3 |
Chicken starter |
0.47 |
1.02 |
0.65 |
1.43 |
|
4 |
Chicken grower |
0.67 |
1.48 |
1.03 |
2.26 |
|
5 |
Chicken grower |
0.85 |
1.87 |
1.46 |
3.21 |
|
6 |
Chicken grower |
1.07 |
2.36 |
1.91 |
4.21 |
|
7 |
Chicken finisher |
1.18 |
2.60 |
2.36 |
5.20 |
|
8 |
Chicken finisher |
1.30 |
2.86 |
2.79 |
6.14 |
|
9 |
Chicken finisher |
1.41 |
3.11 |
3.20 |
7.03 |
|
Total |
7.36 |
16.20 |
|||
Based on data from Nutrient Requirements of Poultry. 9th Ed. USA National Academy of Sciences. 1994. Note that free-ranging organically fed birds will have both lower rates of feed consumption and slower rates of growth
Please Note: I am not affiliated with Tractor Supply, Yardbird, or any other I have mentioned. That’s just where I shop for my Farm needs, along at the Augusta Coop.
The Crowin' Hen 