Awesome video Danny! We really like Cornish here. So glad they worked out for you guys. You will love the broad breasted as well for the same reasons. God Bless! Kevin
My wife and I have been watching your channel for a couple years now. We raised our first batch of 50 Cornish Cross chickens, this past summer. They were in a chicken tractor that was moved every day and also went through 50# of feed/ week. They were great tasting and averaged 7-9# ea. @ 9 weeks old. Thank you for putting this info. out. God bless you and your wife.
The last year I have been watching so many different channels trying to learn..... Danny, I LOVE your vids..... My wife and I are putting our home in the subdivision for sale and have been looking for a small farm... I was worried about my age and health, though Im completely recovered from heart issues. Im 52 and in good shape and health... You have been a inspiration to me.....
Watching this 5 years after you posted it, the day after processing our first batch of 24 Cornish cross. Our birds ranged 7 to 8.5 lbs., averaging 7.3lbs. Our birds ate about 18 lbs each in feed, but were 9-1/2 weeks, and on grass in a chicken tractor. From our standpoint, definitely worth the work and initial investment. The diy cones from 5 gallon buckets were perfect even for the large birds we ended up with.
Thanks for the tip about the cone. We are considering cornish crosses for the spring. I'll definitely pick up a turkey cone before butchering time though!
Living Traditions Homestead did a comparison between Cornish Cross & Freedom Rangers. They did it in the summer & in chicken tractors. They gave all facts & figures each week.
Nice birds, Danny and you can tell in the video you are happy. Would be interesting if you could give a total cost of the birds when you are done processing. Blessings, Jim
HI DANNY THESE CHICKENS GROW SUPER FAST I RAISED 47 AND THEY WERE EATING 50 POUNDS A FEED A DAY AND THAT WAS WITH HOLDING FEED EVERY 12 HOURS. AT 64 DAYS OLD THEY WEIGHTED CLOSE TO 8 POUNDS EACH. THE MEAT IS THE BEST YOU CAN GET TENDER. I AM GOING TO TRY THEM AGAIN THE SPRING BUT DONT WANT THEM TO GET THIS BIG TO BIG TO FRY ALMOST LIKE COOKING A TURKEY HAHA. I THINK I CAN GET THEM TO AROUND 5 POUNDS IN 6 WEEKS MAYBE A FEW DAYS LESS. YOU ARE RIGHT THEY DO EAT ALLOT BUT THEY GROW SO FAST TOO.
We did a broadbreasted turkey last year and ended up with a 40 pound turkey dressed. We got them early in the spring and butchered them the week before Thanksgiving. The meat was outstanding, but in the future I wlll get them early to mid-summer so they are not so big.
Those are picture perfect! We're going a little different direction with 98% free range birds so the Cornish is not an option. We'll be running double the birds and if we can get 3 to 4 lbs a bird I'll be really happy.
This is awesome! I actually have 24 cornish X in 2 5x8 chicken tractors in week 5 right now. WE use the Furtrell nutribalancer and combined with moving them daily it makes the feed stretch a bit.
Great harvest. My wife remembered when her grandpa used an ax to kill the old hen for dinner. I almost did not eat any chicken. I was just a so young kid about 8-9 years old. Grandma was a wonderful cook so our family enjoyed a grand feast. My grandfather was a short man, but he was a good farmer and grandma had a kitchen garden. Loved visiting during the summer. You remind me of him.
I found that processing early works best for Cornish X unless you have a need for a large bird. The sooner you process the less feed you buy. I do Cornish Game Hen week 4 processing. Some I let go another week and its the size of a normal sized bird with more meat on the bone. I have 18 (2 died early, a neighbor bought 5 and I gave her the 2 extra) that are a week and a half old. I will start processing one a day from Cornish Game Hen sized to where ever I finish up. Did you skin yours? I do no see the skin if its on them. I skin mine because the work it takes to preserve the skin is not worth the value of the skin. I realize others have a different preference so to each his own. Plucking is not fun, I do not raise enough chickens to justify the price of mechanical plucker. I do not like heating up water to the boiling point just to dunk them... and the smell is kinda bad from doing that.
Yes. I did these last year. The amount of manure they produced was epic. The flies and the stink were an added bonus! Urban homesteaders be careful with these in chicken tractors..... neighbors may not be thrilled with the smells if your not careful. Otherwise, what a wonderful protein source mostly anyone can do!!
Thanks for all the tips that you shared. Will for sure not have my face near the top area. LOL Never heard of that but knowing me I will have that happen to me. LOLOL God Bless.
Beautiful chickens! I haven't even seen 8-lbs. + Chickens in the store since the early 90s late 80s! These are amazingly beautiful. I think no matter what you did to raise them up, they are your own home grown deliciousness. And I know homegrown, nothing's better, nothing's fresher than homegrown. So happy for y'all! Love it! Thanks for sharing.
We did three batches of 24 in the warmer weather this year and had them in a 12x5 Suscovitch-style chicken tractor that we moved at least once a day. The cornish cross chickens are LAZY! They might eat a little grass, but usually they just lie around and eat the feed. With chicken tractors mortality is a problem. Even on the flattest ground, predators reach under and kill the birds, especially when they are less than 4-5 weeks old. That is something that is not talked about a whole lot. Our chickens after nine weeks were in the 5 lb range. Some a few ounces more, some a few ounces less. We kept the feed in the tractor 12 hours a day, and 24 hours a day the last two weeks. We always kept fresh water available to them as well.
We have our first flock of meat chickens coming in a month, and we decided on Cornish Cross. We have only had layers, so this will be a new experience :) Glad you were happy with your meat chickens. Good looking finished product!
We have 10 we are fixing to process and it's Summer the feed cost is less but we did not have a chicken tractor and the clean up was a mess we are currently building one so we do not have to clean up the chicken poop move them every morning fresh grass no poop.
What size freezer bags did you need for those size chickens? Where can I find them? Thank you so much because of this video we just raised our first batch of Cornish also we are at wk 7 almost 8lbs a bird. Thank you so much for your videos.
We are thinking about getting the Cornish cross hens, especially after watching your video and Living Traditions video. Thanks for the information on the cone. Someone comment that they would use a turkey cone. Thanks. Rhonda
(1st) The Cornish X Rocks Are The "ONLY" Meat Birds I Raise Here On The Homestead...I Buy 50 Birds Every Year, Let Them "Free-Range" Up To 16-18 Weeks, Process Up To 25-35, I End Up With 10-12 Lbs Of Plump Meat Per Bird (AWESOME!!!!) But This Year I Got Busy With Garden, Haying, Etc...The Last 15 Birds I Noticed That At 6 Months Of Age, "ALL" Actually Laid Large White Eggs, 4 Birds Surpriseingly Went "Broody" On Me??!!! (Unheard Of I Am Told) But They Did!!! You Are Correct What They Do In The Killing Cone (LOL) I Have To Use Either Goose or Turkey Cone...The Broad Breasted White Holland Turkey Is The Best Way To Go Danny, I Raise Up 6 White Holland Toms (No Hens Yet) At 6-8 Months They All Go Straight Into Their Own "Freezer Camp"....It Is Worth My Time To Let Them Get To Their Full Weight Potential For Maximum Meat In My Opinion....Was Hoping You Would Show Us Your Chicken Harvest...So Proud Of You Guys For What Y'all Do At "Deep South Homestead".
Awesome video. I've done mine both pen & free range (chx tractor) .. The tractor way was less messy, but amount of feed didn't change much. Huge both ways. 10-12# was butcher weight. Turkey's were 38-47#. Its worth it..
Thanks Danny. If I had the room for meat birds and egg birds I would give the CC's a shot. Those are some huge chickens! Unfortunately I don't, so I guess I''ll be eating the roosters and the hens that don't produce well for my son and me. I will say that game fowl is some of the best tasting chicken I've ever had but they are small sized. Can't wait to see how the CC's do for you in the hotter months. Much Love
I'm sure glad you warned me about the chicken poop squirt lol. I'm going to be processing mine in about five weeks for the first time. If you butcher them younger are they like the little cornish hens you buy at the store?
I loved the last minutes! The hazards of processing! On a serious note, there are roasted birds on sale in stores that are cheaper. These are “loss leaders”. They get people into the store so they will buy something else at high prices. So be careful you don’t buy other items at a higher price, because that is the stores intent. If you can raise your own, there are ways to lessen the cost of feed. Research it, and you will benefit from home good home raised food without chemicals. Also, learn from Danny and Wanda how to use every bit of the bird. So much can be done with the entire bird to feed you. You WILL save money.
For sustainability, would it be better to raise a breed you don't have to depend on a hatchery to get? What is the best heritage breed you have raised. I'm not as experienced as you. Thanks for your and Wanda's insight.
Thanks for the great info. I have 24 Cornish Cross chicks out in the barn and they are just chicks and I need to clean up regularly. I am wondering what is in a Cornish Cross chick that makes them want to just eat so much? I hope I do as well with my birds as you have done with yours.
I never raised this chicken breed before , but 8 pounds is around 3 and half kilo or so, witch it does not sound super big, I just took two of my Brahma roosters that wore between 8 and 9 months old and one of them was close to 10 kg , and the other around 9kg , after removing everything that I don`t eat , it came close to 8 and half kilo meat per bird. and I found that to be low .
Wonder if summer chickens would be small due to the heat? We use more feed in the winter cause it’s cold vs summer. I want to do this so bad I hate the chickens at the stores they are so stringy and tuff.
I tried raising some in a chicken tractor during summer...they don’t like hot weather; even with plenty of water, moving the chicken tractor through pasture grass is good idea I thought; but they stress in the Deep South heat....
Been raising and butchering cornish cross chickens and broad breasted turkeys for 9 years we butchered 100 plus turkeys and about 2000 chickens a summer for around the area. Seen alot different chickens and turkeys cornish cross the way to go for chickens if your raising them for meat only. The ratio we figured is about 3lbs feed for 1lb meat dressed pull feed away at night and give to them in the morning or theyll eat them selves to dealth. Broad breasted bronze or the broad breasted whites are the best turkeys probably but very delicate first 3 weeks once pasy that they are very hardy but they are very dumb. Joel salatin has alot of good videos out there on pasture poultry on ideas but everyone has their own way dont think theres a right and wrong way as long as your happy with the finished product been watching your videos for a while now love the canning vidoes helped me out a bunch. Cant wait to see more canning vidoes
Thank you for the breakdown! Because I am one of those people who developed adult onset allergies, I also react to what the livestock eats. My chicken Organic, GMO-free, Soy-free, corn-free feed is $37 per 25 lbs. I've been wanting to raise Cornish Cross for several years because I can't eat any kind of store-bought or standard ranch-raised chicken. Because of your breakdown and Danny stating that his grown out chickens eat a bag every other day, raising our own chickens to eat would be cost preventative. Thank you, again, for posting this! Much love from Texas! ♡♡♡
If you let some of the pullets go a few weeks longer, they will dress out at 10-12 pounds. They are so big, they won't fit in a 9x12 pan. Thanks for the advice about the killing cone.
Wow these are some fantastic big chickens.Great way to can the meat in thier own broth.Good luck doing the rest of them.And I will remember not to put my head over one in a cone.Thanks for the heads up Danny.Ha ha I made a FUNNY.I call it pulling a Lucy.Have you heard of squeezing the neck and pinching and disconnecting the head from the spine thus bleeding a quail out in a bucket? A Homesteader said it's less stressful,and the most humane way to dispatch thier quail.Less stressful than using the cone method.I know I would get an honest answer from you.It took the man a few minutes to pinch and squeeze the quail's neck while it was shaking and I didn't think it was very humane myself.Just wondering.They had been doing this method for awhile now.So I guess this is another method of dispatching,and this is one for quails.Thanks.Be well you two.♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡.....
Did you have straight run, males only to get to that 8# dressed weight at 8wks? Also did you feed continuously or withhold feed on a 12/12 cycle. Did you withhold food from late after noon on the day before processing? I've not really experienced those issues at processing that you did, but I raise female Cornish X and do keep them in a pen. It's just me so I start processing 25 birds in three batches - 6wks for small rotisserie birds, at 7wks for fryers and at 8wks sometimes 9 wks and carve into separate breasts/legs/thighs. All bones and trimming of course go into stock pot.
Danny the chickens we have in our backyard we've got a little Coop for them and then a little run area and I have wired them in as best I can but I still have a terrible problem of the birds they come as soon as I feed the chickens sometimes it's 25 birds in the coop I've tried filling in every hole every crack those little buggers get in there underneath the wire and any tiny little place that they possibly can squeeze so I'm feeding the neighborhood sparrows this nice expensive chicken feed and my other problem is my chickens are eating their eggs I have tried everything they just started it I put the fake eggs in there and they know they're not the real ones they take their feet and shove them out of the way do you have any suggestions
Deep South Homestead thank you I have crammed so much on my half acre so 25 at a time is all I can do I feel bad I can’t use a chicken tractor but clean the 10x20 run and lay down a lot of hay to keep things clean and use the dirty hay in my compost bins
Chicken tractor is the best way to raise them (my opinion). I couldn't imagine the mess to deal with keeping them in a pen. Also with 24 birds if they're going through 25# of feed a day you're wasting feed. I raise 30 birds in a batch and at 7 weeks they eat 15 # of feed a day. I don't let them have feed 24 hours a day, and still end up moving my tractors twice a day over the last 2 weeks to cut down on the build up of poop. Those birds will eat everything you put in front of them and more. It just runs right through them. My birds average 6-8# at 8 weeks. John Suscovich has the best break down on raising them, in my opinion. I've tried multiple chicken tractors including Joel Salatin's tractor. I finally ended up staying with the type John Suscovich uses. Easy to move and easy to get the birds in and out. With your skills in building you could build it easily. Enjoy your videos! Always very informative.
Awesome video Danny! We really like Cornish here. So glad they worked out for you guys. You will love the broad breasted as well for the same reasons. God Bless! Kevin
My wife and I have been watching your channel for a couple years now. We raised our first batch of 50 Cornish Cross chickens, this past summer. They were in a chicken tractor that was moved every day and also went through 50# of feed/ week. They were great tasting and averaged 7-9# ea. @ 9 weeks old. Thank you for putting this info. out. God bless you and your wife.
The last year I have been watching so many different channels trying to learn..... Danny, I LOVE your vids..... My wife and I are putting our home in the subdivision for sale and have been looking for a small farm... I was worried about my age and health, though Im completely recovered from heart issues. Im 52 and in good shape and health... You have been a inspiration to me.....
Watching this 5 years after you posted it, the day after processing our first batch of 24 Cornish cross. Our birds ranged 7 to 8.5 lbs., averaging 7.3lbs. Our birds ate about 18 lbs each in feed, but were 9-1/2 weeks, and on grass in a chicken tractor. From our standpoint, definitely worth the work and initial investment. The diy cones from 5 gallon buckets were perfect even for the large birds we ended up with.
Danny ask Wanda to do a video on how to can a chicken they look so good please thanks
Thanks for the tip about the cone. We are considering cornish crosses for the spring. I'll definitely pick up a turkey cone before butchering time though!
Just starting out our little homestead, and stumbled across your channel! Doing some research! Thank you for sharing !
Living Traditions Homestead
did a comparison between Cornish Cross & Freedom Rangers. They did it in the summer & in chicken tractors. They gave all facts & figures each week.
Thanks for the video Danny, also you can ferment the feed and make it last longer so it won't cost so much on feed.
Please explain I have 34 at 4 weeks and feed cost is crazy
Yep. Bones make good broth. Thanks for update.
Nice birds, Danny and you can tell in the video you are happy. Would be interesting if you could give a total cost of the birds when you are done processing.
Blessings,
Jim
HI DANNY THESE CHICKENS GROW SUPER FAST I RAISED 47 AND THEY WERE EATING 50 POUNDS A FEED A DAY AND THAT WAS WITH HOLDING FEED EVERY 12 HOURS. AT 64 DAYS OLD THEY WEIGHTED CLOSE TO 8 POUNDS EACH. THE MEAT IS THE BEST YOU CAN GET TENDER. I AM GOING TO TRY THEM AGAIN THE SPRING BUT DONT WANT THEM TO GET THIS BIG TO BIG TO FRY ALMOST LIKE COOKING A TURKEY HAHA. I THINK I CAN GET THEM TO AROUND 5 POUNDS IN 6 WEEKS MAYBE A FEW DAYS LESS. YOU ARE RIGHT THEY DO EAT ALLOT BUT THEY GROW SO FAST TOO.
Wow. That is fantastic Danny !
Beautiful outcome! They are perfect ! Larger than free range but what a great first harvest!
We did a broadbreasted turkey last year and ended up with a 40 pound turkey dressed. We got them early in the spring and butchered them the week before Thanksgiving. The meat was outstanding, but in the future I wlll get them early to mid-summer so they are not so big.
How do you cook a bird so big?
I love that you are getting such a good return on your investment and effort. The finished product looks great.
We've been wanting to get meat birds. Thanks Danny! I can't believe you caved and went to patreon.
This is the way to go! We gave family members them as there Christmas gift. They taste so yummy 😋, and so short of time raising awesome meat.
Them sure are big birds !! Thanks for sharing 👨🌾🐔🎥👌🛐
I have always heard that they do not free range well, but I did see where Justin Rhodes raised them with a movable shelter and had success.
Those are picture perfect! We're going a little different direction with 98% free range birds so the Cornish is not an option. We'll be running double the birds and if we can get 3 to 4 lbs a bird I'll be really happy.
Thank you for the information will apply this in my homestead in Chihuahua Mexico.
This is awesome! I actually have 24 cornish X in 2 5x8 chicken tractors in week 5 right now. WE use the Furtrell nutribalancer and combined with moving them daily it makes the feed stretch a bit.
Thanks for the information, Danny! I appreciate all the advice. Especially the part about avoiding chicken manure on my face.😆👍
Great harvest. My wife remembered when her grandpa used an ax to kill the old hen for dinner. I almost did not eat any chicken. I was just a so young kid about 8-9 years old. Grandma was a wonderful cook so our family enjoyed a grand feast. My grandfather was a short man, but he was a good farmer and grandma had a kitchen garden. Loved visiting during the summer. You remind me of him.
Good Morning. Those are some big chicken dinners! Hope you all had a lovely Christmas Day!
Fabulous! We just bought 8 cornish chicks and plan to try our hand at raising and harvesting good meat for our homestead!
Good looking birds. I think I have the wife talked into getting some meat chickens next year. Great video.
Thank you Danny!
man these sure grow fast, they look really good.
Super information. Thank you!
Thanks just bought some today
Love the warning at the end. 🤣
I found that processing early works best for Cornish X unless you have a need for a large bird. The sooner you process the less feed you buy. I do Cornish Game Hen week 4 processing. Some I let go another week and its the size of a normal sized bird with more meat on the bone. I have 18 (2 died early, a neighbor bought 5 and I gave her the 2 extra) that are a week and a half old. I will start processing one a day from Cornish Game Hen sized to where ever I finish up.
Did you skin yours? I do no see the skin if its on them. I skin mine because the work it takes to preserve the skin is not worth the value of the skin. I realize others have a different preference so to each his own. Plucking is not fun, I do not raise enough chickens to justify the price of mechanical plucker. I do not like heating up water to the boiling point just to dunk them... and the smell is kinda bad from doing that.
Yes. I did these last year. The amount of manure they produced was epic. The flies and the stink were an added bonus! Urban homesteaders be careful with these in chicken tractors..... neighbors may not be thrilled with the smells if your not careful. Otherwise, what a wonderful protein source mostly anyone can do!!
Great video! I hope the wife does a video with the canning of the chicken and broth. Thanks.
Thanks for all the tips that you shared. Will for sure not have my face near the top area. LOL Never heard of that but knowing me I will have that happen to me. LOLOL God Bless.
You can't beat homegrown!
My friend has done the white Turkey and there massive and protective. Great birds to harvest.
Beautiful chickens! I haven't even seen 8-lbs. + Chickens in the store since the early 90s late 80s! These are amazingly beautiful. I think no matter what you did to raise them up, they are your own home grown deliciousness. And I know homegrown, nothing's better, nothing's fresher than homegrown. So happy for y'all! Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Go to the store and look for Perdue Oven stuffer but eat at your own risk!
We did three batches of 24 in the warmer weather this year and had them in a 12x5 Suscovitch-style chicken tractor that we moved at least once a day. The cornish cross chickens are LAZY! They might eat a little grass, but usually they just lie around and eat the feed. With chicken tractors mortality is a problem. Even on the flattest ground, predators reach under and kill the birds, especially when they are less than 4-5 weeks old. That is something that is not talked about a whole lot. Our chickens after nine weeks were in the 5 lb range. Some a few ounces more, some a few ounces less. We kept the feed in the tractor 12 hours a day, and 24 hours a day the last two weeks. We always kept fresh water available to them as well.
We have our first flock of meat chickens coming in a month, and we decided on Cornish Cross. We have only had layers, so this will be a new experience :) Glad you were happy with your meat chickens. Good looking finished product!
We have 10 we are fixing to process and it's Summer the feed cost is less but we did not have a chicken tractor and the clean up was a mess we are currently building one so we do not have to clean up the chicken poop move them every morning fresh grass no poop.
Danny what do you feed your Cornish Cross chickens?
That's awesome!! I'll bet that's some good eating!!
Wow all that chicken.
Great job.
I'm totally sold.
Ha, had to laugh at the visual you gave us, will make a note for future reference!! lol..
Thanks for sharing ♡
Thanks for the info
I totally agree with the cone issue. My CC were way to big for the cones I had. Haha.
That looks really good
What size freezer bags did you need for those size chickens? Where can I find them? Thank you so much because of this video we just raised our first batch of Cornish also we are at wk 7 almost 8lbs a bird. Thank you so much for your videos.
Thank you so much for the ending information about the size of the chicken to the cone and the 2 foot geyser of poop possible thank you
Thank you brother, good video 👍
Those chickens are amazing.
I feed our Cornish Cross chickens once a day and they do great! But this is during warmer conditions.
We are thinking about getting the Cornish cross hens, especially after watching your video and Living Traditions video. Thanks for the information on the cone. Someone comment that they would use a turkey cone. Thanks. Rhonda
We did use our turkey cone on the last ones. It worked
Lol I got 20 my first time going to raise them for more of the chickens to cross and make them this coming year but I'm amazed at how they grow
Amazing. Convinced I’m gonna raise a few at least
(1st) The Cornish X Rocks Are The "ONLY" Meat Birds I Raise Here On The Homestead...I Buy 50 Birds Every Year, Let Them "Free-Range" Up To 16-18 Weeks, Process Up To 25-35, I End Up With 10-12 Lbs Of Plump Meat Per Bird (AWESOME!!!!) But This Year I Got Busy With Garden, Haying, Etc...The Last 15 Birds I Noticed That At 6 Months Of Age, "ALL" Actually Laid Large White Eggs, 4 Birds Surpriseingly Went "Broody" On Me??!!! (Unheard Of I Am Told) But They Did!!! You Are Correct What They Do In The Killing Cone (LOL) I Have To Use Either Goose or Turkey Cone...The Broad Breasted White Holland Turkey Is The Best Way To Go Danny, I Raise Up 6 White Holland Toms (No Hens Yet) At 6-8 Months They All Go Straight Into Their Own "Freezer Camp"....It Is Worth My Time To Let Them Get To Their Full Weight Potential For Maximum Meat In My Opinion....Was Hoping You Would Show Us Your Chicken Harvest...So Proud Of You Guys For What Y'all Do At "Deep South Homestead".
We are going to show the chicken harvest on Patreon. TH-cam won't let me without demonotizeing the video.
@james crowe These were raised in a confined area with good fencing.
Nice chickens . Happy New Year .
Awesome video. I've done mine both pen & free range (chx tractor) .. The tractor way was less messy, but amount of feed didn't change much. Huge both ways. 10-12# was butcher weight. Turkey's were 38-47#. Its worth it..
Thanks Danny. If I had the room for meat birds and egg birds I would give the CC's a shot. Those are some huge chickens! Unfortunately I don't, so I guess I''ll be eating the roosters and the hens that don't produce well for my son and me. I will say that game fowl is some of the best tasting chicken I've ever had but they are small sized. Can't wait to see how the CC's do for you in the hotter months. Much Love
Nice harvest.
Thanks for the heads up on the 🐥💩!! 😅
I used to raise these also. 👍🏻
I absolutely love cornish hens they are so delicious
I'm sure glad you warned me about the chicken poop squirt lol. I'm going to be processing mine in about five weeks for the first time. If you butcher them younger are they like the little cornish hens you buy at the store?
I loved the last minutes! The hazards of processing! On a serious note, there are roasted birds on sale in stores that are cheaper. These are “loss leaders”. They get people into the store so they will buy something else at high prices. So be careful you don’t buy other items at a higher price, because that is the stores intent. If you can raise your own, there are ways to lessen the cost of feed. Research it, and you will benefit from home good home raised food without chemicals. Also, learn from Danny and Wanda how to use every bit of the bird. So much can be done with the entire bird to feed you. You WILL save money.
Can you eat turn earlier than 8 weeks? Did all 8 eat 50lbs in 2 days? (I guess the meat is expensive)
For sustainability, would it be better to raise a breed you don't have to depend on a hatchery to get? What is the best heritage breed you have raised. I'm not as experienced as you. Thanks for your and Wanda's insight.
Those are some BIG birds, the camera must really add weight! lol! good video
8 weeks seems a bit too long to butcher them. How was the meat texture? my first time I let them go 8-9 weeks and meat came out chewy and rubbery
Thanks for the great info. I have 24 Cornish Cross chicks out in the barn and they are just chicks and I need to clean up regularly. I am wondering what is in a Cornish Cross chick that makes them want to just eat so much? I hope I do as well with my birds as you have done with yours.
Great job, I have plans on raising meat birds here in the near future.
How much freezer space do you need for 25 meat birds?
I never raised this chicken breed before , but 8 pounds is around 3 and half kilo or so, witch it does not sound super big, I just took two of my Brahma roosters that wore between 8 and 9 months old and one of them was close to 10 kg , and the other around 9kg , after removing everything that I don`t eat , it came close to 8 and half kilo meat per bird. and I found that to be low .
Wonder if summer chickens would be small due to the heat? We use more feed in the winter cause it’s cold vs summer. I want to do this so bad I hate the chickens at the stores they are so stringy and tuff.
I tried raising some in a chicken tractor during summer...they don’t like hot weather; even with plenty of water, moving the chicken tractor through pasture grass is good idea I thought; but they stress in the Deep South heat....
Did you try doing turkeys yet? We just dressed 6 of them, but haven't eaten any yet. Curious how you made out
Been raising and butchering cornish cross chickens and broad breasted turkeys for 9 years we butchered 100 plus turkeys and about 2000 chickens a summer for around the area. Seen alot different chickens and turkeys cornish cross the way to go for chickens if your raising them for meat only. The ratio we figured is about 3lbs feed for 1lb meat dressed pull feed away at night and give to them in the morning or theyll eat them selves to dealth. Broad breasted bronze or the broad breasted whites are the best turkeys probably but very delicate first 3 weeks once pasy that they are very hardy but they are very dumb. Joel salatin has alot of good videos out there on pasture poultry on ideas but everyone has their own way dont think theres a right and wrong way as long as your happy with the finished product been watching your videos for a while now love the canning vidoes helped me out a bunch. Cant wait to see more canning vidoes
Thank you for the breakdown!
Because I am one of those people who developed adult onset allergies, I also react to what the livestock eats.
My chicken Organic, GMO-free, Soy-free, corn-free feed is $37 per 25 lbs. I've been wanting to raise Cornish Cross for several years because I can't eat any kind of store-bought or standard ranch-raised chicken.
Because of your breakdown and Danny stating that his grown out chickens eat a bag every other day, raising our own chickens to eat would be cost preventative. Thank you, again, for posting this!
Much love from Texas! ♡♡♡
Good Video.
If you let some of the pullets go a few weeks longer, they will dress out at 10-12 pounds. They are so big, they won't fit in a 9x12 pan. Thanks for the advice about the killing cone.
Is the chicken meat in the jars cooked or raw? Thanks
Cornish Cross are great, really big chicken and taste great.
Wow these are some fantastic big chickens.Great way to can the meat in thier own broth.Good luck doing the rest of them.And I will remember not to put my head over one in a cone.Thanks for the heads up Danny.Ha ha I made a FUNNY.I call it pulling a Lucy.Have you heard of squeezing the neck and pinching and disconnecting the head from the spine thus bleeding a quail out in a bucket? A Homesteader said it's less stressful,and the most humane way to dispatch thier quail.Less stressful than using the cone method.I know I would get an honest answer from you.It took the man a few minutes to pinch and squeeze the quail's neck while it was shaking and I didn't think it was very humane myself.Just wondering.They had been doing this method for awhile now.So I guess this is another method of dispatching,and this is one for quails.Thanks.Be well you two.♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡.....
Man!! that's worse than having egg on your face. Thank you for the good advice. Sounds like spring or summer would be cheaper.
Love Cornish cross! Getting American gennie hogs this weekend.
I tried them once and we did not have the time due to work. But I think we may try them agian but with a chciken tractor.
Did you have straight run, males only to get to that 8# dressed weight at 8wks? Also did you feed continuously or withhold feed on a 12/12 cycle. Did you withhold food from late after noon on the day before processing? I've not really experienced those issues at processing that you did, but I raise female Cornish X and do keep them in a pen. It's just me so I start processing 25 birds in three batches - 6wks for small rotisserie birds, at 7wks for fryers and at 8wks sometimes 9 wks and carve into separate breasts/legs/thighs. All bones and trimming of course go into stock pot.
Danny the chickens we have in our backyard we've got a little Coop for them and then a little run area and I have wired them in as best I can but I still have a terrible problem of the birds they come as soon as I feed the chickens sometimes it's 25 birds in the coop I've tried filling in every hole every crack those little buggers get in there underneath the wire and any tiny little place that they possibly can squeeze so I'm feeding the neighborhood sparrows this nice expensive chicken feed and my other problem is my chickens are eating their eggs I have tried everything they just started it I put the fake eggs in there and they know they're not the real ones they take their feet and shove them out of the way do you have any suggestions
How do you feed the Cornish Cross. Have feed for them all the time or just 12 hours a day? Cause you have some large birds which is good!
What did you feed your chickens? I will be doing my first meat chickens this year loved the size of your processed chicken wow just awesome thank you
22 percent chicken feed
Deep South Homestead thank you I have crammed so much on my half acre so 25 at a time is all I can do I feel bad I can’t use a chicken tractor but clean the 10x20 run and lay down a lot of hay to keep things clean and use the dirty hay in my compost bins
That is some nice sized birds.
I had to make a new killi funnel out of aluminum flashing and pop rivets because mine wouldnt fit either
So I raised 40 of these birds.They grew tall but no meat.I fed layer crumbles and cracked corn.What did I do wrong???
Wow those are some big chickens!
You can can the chciken completely raw and it will produce its juice.
Hey speecking of chicken and rise could u do one with the can chicken ? Please and thank u
Those chickens are huge!
Chicken tractor is the best way to raise them (my opinion). I couldn't imagine the mess to deal with keeping them in a pen. Also with 24 birds if they're going through 25# of feed a day you're wasting feed. I raise 30 birds in a batch and at 7 weeks they eat 15
# of feed a day. I don't let them have feed 24 hours a day, and still end up moving my tractors twice a day over the last 2 weeks to cut down on the build up of poop. Those birds will eat everything you put in front of them and more. It just runs right through them. My birds average 6-8# at 8 weeks. John Suscovich has the best break down on raising them, in my opinion. I've tried multiple chicken tractors including Joel Salatin's tractor. I finally ended up staying with the type John Suscovich uses. Easy to move and easy to get the birds in and out. With your skills in building you could build it easily. Enjoy your videos! Always very informative.