So do some of you raise chickens for meat?
We're contemplating doing it this year and I was wondering how much feed 30 cornish-cross birds would go through in the 6 weeks it takes to mature?
Anyone have a guess? I'm just trying to do a little bit of math and see what the cost should come out to per pound.
we don't but we was thinking about getting x rocks to do this year too. we was thinking about getting turkeys to butcher for winter also. this would be our first year doing that but i don't know how many to get or what breed of turkeys to use since there is 7 of us. u have a very good question cuz i was wondering that also. my question too is where to order them from. love to hear ur thoughts.
thanks,
silkie
We raise ours on a combination of feed and pasture and it cost about 75 cents a pound, including the cost of the chick. Ours go a bit longer than most people, we don't butcher till 10 to 14 weeks and the birds average about 5 pounds dressed.
I stat them out with high protein crumbles and by the time we move them outside we start throwing some aditional corn on the ground a couple of times a day (it helps keep them entertained too). By the time they are 8 weeks, they get regular crumbles. I put all my ducks, turkies and chickens in the same area and they get all the garden stuff and left overs along with their food.
It is well worth it in my opinion, to get the quality of chicken that you can't get anywhere else (unless you want to pay 4 bucks a pound at the specialty stores). It only takes half a chicken for the two of us and I package much of it that way. I also brine a certain ammount of whole birds before freezing for roasted chicken.
When you butcher, one of the most improtant things to remember is the chill period. The have to chill at LEAST 24 HOURS before freezing or it will take longer to chew them than to cook them.
We are getting 6 BB White turkeys in about 2 weeks. I'll keep track of their feed and let you know, silkie.
Jylgaskin, can you expound on your brining before freezing whole chickens? Thanks.
After butchering , I put a giant zipper bag (like the freezer bags, only bigger) in a cooler and fill it with clean chickens and add the brine (one cup sugar, one cup kosher salt, and a couple of gallons water) till the chickens are covered. Pack ice around the bag and let it sit overnight or about 12 hours. Then I take them out, dry them off and freeze them in foodsaver bags. You can skip the bag and just use the cooler, but make sure there is ice in the brine, you can adjust for the saltiness/sweetness with less water to make up for the melting ice.
You can add all kinds of herbs and pepper and wine to the brine, but I just use the basic for chickens I freeze. When you cook them rotiserie, they taste like the supermarket ones only better. The measurments are aproximate. I never really measure.
You can also brine cut up chicken, but don't leave it in the brine as long.
Thank you so much for that information, I really appreciate it. Hopefully I can put all that good information to use, Im hoping to get some cornish x chicks this spring.
Thanks again!
I watched a program on RFDtv a couple of weeks ago. A farmer raised the cornish X chickens but he did it on the ground. He kept them in the barn until they feathered and then he would let them outside. In order to eat, they would have to walk outside to their feeders(feed was avail only from 5 am to 1 pm). He stated they rarely had leg trouble or 'flip'.
You know I wonder about that too. Mine run around a lot from the time they are chicks and I didn't have a single leg problem . The first time we did it, we kept them in a smaller enclosure and had several who could hardly walk. Annother friend uses an all indoor barn to raise them and his drop to their chests in about 5 weeks. The all run like little fat kids though no matter what you do.
I definately think that the moving around and grass and stuff is what makes a better flavored bird. The French don't think a bird is fit to eat till it is at least 6 months old and many of the classic dishes call for a year old chicken.
All very interesting information - keep it coming!.
We are going to section of a back portion of my inlaws double lot for the chickens. I'm going to have to go there and start scoping things out to see how much land I can steal and how many chickens I want on that. Since they raise in 6 -10 weeks I could probably even do them in two batches...
