Hi all, I am new to here, but I am in my second year of raising cornish x. Last year I used a chicken tractor and raise 25 birds, by the time I butchered I had 19, neighbors dogs got 4, lost 3 to crushing. it was alot more work then moving the pen every day etc.
this year, I got 50, actually 52, so far no fatalities, I built a permanent run for them, it is quite large. This years birds didn't grow as fast, not sure why, they do forage better, I think it is because I am not feeding as much, I only feed once a day. I buthchered 12 over the last few weeks a few each day and 16 today so I have 24 left. I am going to keep the food the same to see if I can get the rest to put on a little more wieght. mostly all hens left. Last year I butchered at week 10 or 11, this year I tried to butcher at week 8, to small, week 10 still smaller but ok, now at week 12 they seem to be just right, the hens i will butcher in a week or 2, this is longer but I have only been feeding once a day at about 12 to 15 lbs of food each day. Currently I am using 20% layer crumb, I wish I could use something else that was cheaper to feed twice a day. but this year I have no leg issues and all are healthy. Do you all have any ideas or what do you all use for feed, and what kind of price are you paying per 50 lb. currently I pay 14.50 per 50 lb bag.
