Coop remodel...again... pic heavy...no chick pics Steve ;) UPDATED

[MontyJ]

Monty, has anyone warned you yet about chicks dust bathing??? And the 'chicken bliss'?

Never heard of either cane. Please enlighten me.

 

[vfem]

The CX weigh 4 pounds already Cane! I can't believe how huge they are. I'll get some pics tomorrow.

Thanks vfem. I hope you're not mad at me about the antibiotic thing. If the weather is nice tomorrow, I am adding a temporary run to the side of the coop to give the layers a place to go outside. We had the outer door open today and all of the layers crowded to the inner door to hang out. I could just see in their faces how bad they wanted to go outside! I have started spreading more grit in the bedding since they love to scratch so much. We are also starting them on grit, free choice, tomorrow in preparation for them going outside.

I am not one bit! Don't say such a thing. I'm sorry if I came off pushy. I want you to have an awesome experience.

 

[MontyJ]

Bj, I'll be processing myself. I have never processed chickens before, but i have done turkey, deer, rabbit, pigs, etc. It shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[MontyJ]

Looking GREAT!
And, OMG!!! Picture #8!!! Look how BIG the CX's gotten!! Wow.

Here's the chubby CX:

 

[MontyJ]

I cut a hole in the side of the coop today to give the little layers a chance to go outside. They were hesitant at first, but once one took the leap, the rest followed. It didn't take long to discover they need shade. As soon as the sun came from behind a cloud, they all ran back inside. So I propped a couple of pieces of OSB against the run for them as a temporary shade structure. I threw some grit, feed, and meal worms into the run to give them something to scratch for. So far, so good.

Of course, they immediately started pecking at the bottom of the coop wall. I'm going to reside it this summer.

 

[lesa]

OMG! I can't believe how huge those birds are! I think next year I will give them a try...

 

[MontyJ]

Lesa, if you do try the CX, let a beginner give you a piece of advice. Don't do what I did and get them at different ages. Get what you want all at the same time. Also, don't start small with a brooder and work your way up. They grow way too fast for that. Just give them a big area right from the start, with some heat lamps, and they will hang out where they are comfortable. I ran myself in circles trying to keep up with those birds.

Here is something else: Those birds STINK! I mean they really, really STINK! I have mine on ACV and their poops are solid, but P.U. It's no wonder all of the layers went outside as soon as I cut the door in the side of the coop.

They eat a lot too. Mine are going through 50 lbs every 5 days. On the bright side, they're not around long. Also, they are much more docile than the layers. You can reach right down and pet them and they don't care. They don't like to be picked up, but they calm right down as soon as I set them on the scale. I'm going to raise them again next year, but I'm going to change a lot of things.

Believe me, I am no expert at raising these birds. I'm playing it one day at a time and learning as I go. But I did want to point out some of the things I have learned so far to make it easier and better.

 

[vfem]

Oh my goodness!!!

How old are they again to be getting that big???

 

[MontyJ]

The bigger ones were hatched on March 10 according to the health papers. So they were 4 weeks old on Sunday. The smaller ones were born a week later. They weighed 2lbs 2oz on Sunday, which is about where the bigger ones were at 3 weeks. So I expect the smaller ones to really get going this week. I'm figuring that in another week or two we'll start harvesting for fryers. The rest will go a few more weeks to become broilers.

I read a lot about removing the food at night to slow the growth some. I actually tried it, but quickly abandoned the idea. What I discovered is that if I take the food away at 8:00pm and give it back at 6:30am, there is a mad dash to the feeder and they gorge heavily. By just leaving it free choice, they eat when they want too. It just seemed better to me to avoid that binge feeding in the morning. I'm going to harvest as soon as they hit their target weights anyway. If any start having leg or heart problems, I'll harvest all of them. I really doubt any will see 8 weeks of age though, much less 10 or 12 weeks that some people keep them to.

 

[bobm]

I raise 25 Cornish X at a time and 4 times a year. I harvest some at 35 days of age for what the grocery stores refer to as " Cornish Game Hens" for about a 2 lb carcass. The rest at 8 weeks for a 5 lb frier. Yes, the Cornish X chicks eat like there is no tomorrow, but in reality they are the most efficient converter of feed to meat in all of chickendom. They will eat less feed in 8 weeks of their effective life span than the so called dual purpose chickens in 3-4 times the time frame and way LESS labor to boot and may or may not yield the same amount of meat . Try to use a little Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother or yeast added to water over the feed in a plastic bucket to start a fermenting process for a day or two , drain most of the liquid off and reuse it for the next batch, and then feed the moist feed, this will decrease the feed amount as well as the odors. Regarding the outdoor run for the layer chicks... that chicken wire for the run will keep the chickens in, however it will deter N O predator to help themselves to a chicken dinner. Have fun.