What You Need to Know About Raising Cornish Cross Chickens for Meat Production
So you want to raise your own chickens for meat?
First of all, I will tell you…DO IT! Raising your own meat chickens is truly one of my favorite things about homesteading and farming. (But don’t I say that about everything?)
There is a slight learning curve when you get your first order of meat birds. We have raised Cornish Cross chicks for nearly eight years running…so we have learned a thing or two.
What Breed of Chicken is Best for Meat?
If you are new to the idea of raising your own chickens for meat, first we need to explain the difference in breeds.
Everyone is familiar with the old laying hen. There are countless breeds of egg layers. And they all produce eggs. Obviously, they all produce meat too…but for meat production, you will want to raise a specific breed to get the most bang for your buck.
We choose to raise Cornish Cross meat chickens. Also called Jumbo Cornish X Rock. This means they are specifically crossed with a Cornish and a White Rock chicken. They are a hybrid breed.
Hybrid does not mean some funky genetically modified creature…rather they are just selectively bred for desired qualities.
The desired qualities in Cornish Cross is the quick growing, broad breasted, thick-thighed chicken you would want to eat!
We order these in a straight run…and it is the only time we hope that the majority of the batch are roosters. Because they get bigger than the hens.
(If you are shopping online or through the chick catalog, you may see a few other chickens that are under the meat category. I can’t speak to any other breed…because we are so loyal to the Cornish Cross. If you love a different breed, I’d love to hear which one you like!)
Cornish Cross Chickens Are For One Specific Purpose
That purpose is to harvest and eat. That’s the end game of raising meat chickens.
We have kept them long enough though, that they have actually laid eggs before. That was a surprise! We usually do not keep them that long, because this breed of chicken is quite different than laying hens, and they will become so large that it’s almost inhumane to keep them.
Pros and Cons of Cornish Cross
The pros of keeping Cornish Cross chickens:
-delicious meat.
-They grow fast. You can begin butchering them as early as 6 weeks. We generally choose to wait longer than that, because they will be bigger, and the meat yield will also be greater.
One half of a mature breast will make enough chicken to feed us all for one meal. This is about a 2-3 lb chunk of meat. In ONE HALF of the breast!
One of the thighs will feed one person, maybe with leftovers. We have some big eaters in our house…so if I’m preparing chicken thighs as the main course, we will have at least four, and that will usually be enough for a growing family of five, with little guys.
-They are pretty simple to butcher. If you compare a chicken to a hog…they are fairly simple for beginners to understand how to harvest. They are a great start to your home meat operation.
The Cons:
-They grow fast. Yes, I know that was a pro as well. But if you aren’t prepared…these little chicks will eat you out of house and home, and you will have monster chickens before you know it. I’m not exaggerating!
The chicks are specifically bred to eat. Constantly.
If you provide the feed for them, they will sit and stay at the feeder, and eat and eat and eat. Like Winnie the Pooh and honey. No joke.
They will eat…then they will poop. A whole bunch.
-They are messy. They smell worse than normal chickens. Really…they just do!
So you will have to stay on top of the cleaning duties.
-They are honestly nasty looking when they grow so fast. They mature faster than their feathers can grow. I know that’s so weird, but it’s the truth. Don’t be disturbed by their strange appearance.
-Cornish Cross can have trouble walking since they grow so quickly. This is another thing I feel that you must know. They grow so large…especially their breasts, that they look a little…unbalanced.
They waddle around from feeder to waterer…and if you notice their feathers on their belly coming out…it’s because they’ve rubbed them off waddling back and forth.
The Best Change We Ever Made
The best thing we ever did in raising meat chickens is to put them in the chicken tractor. I hate to say this, but for years, we just kept them up in the chicken coop. Feeding and watering, changing the bedding…and they just laid around…eating and pooping. Then they were butchered.
BUT!
We were gifted two chicken tractors. We put the chicks in the yard so they could reap the benefits of eating bugs and grass. The difference was night and day.
The Cornish Cross, that usually just sat around looking kinda sad…came alive! They actually walked around more and seemed more happy than their poor caged counterparts.
Needless to say, we have adopted the chicken tractor practice and absolutely love it.
While the birds are happier…so is our yard. They produce so much poop…that is super duper powerful, free fertilize!
I would assume that the diet of bugs and grass helps the quality of the meat as well. And I’m all about that.
How Can I Get Started Raising Meat Chickens?
Now that you know the pros and cons, and what type of meat bird we recommend, you may be wondering how to get started.
We have ordered chicks from several different hatcheries over the years.
If you frequent your neighborhood farm store, like Tractor Supply, Rural King, or Co-Op, they will also sell chicks seasonally. If you can find Cornish chicks at these places, that’s a good option too.
Just to be transparent…we tend to have better luck with getting chicks from the hatcheries than from the store. I’m not sure the reason for this…but this has just been our observation.
Ordering and Receiving Chicks
Once you order your chicks, you will get an email or phone call when they arrive at the post office. It’s important that you keep a close eye on their arrival time, and go pick them up ASAP!
In our experience, the quicker you can pick them up and get them home to the brooder, the better the survival rate of the chicks. This may be obvious. And it should be.
We’re talking about living animals here, so you must take extra care to get your chicks home as quick as you can!
If Something Bad Does Happen…
As with every aspect of the farm life…bad things happen, and you could potentially lose a chick…or two.
I hate to be a downer, but you need to go into this venture expecting some loss. Chicks are so fragile. After the long trek in the mail from their hatchery, some of them may be barely alive when you open the little chick box.
Just do what you can, and as soon as possible show the chicks their water, and place them under their heat source. Sometimes a pitiful looking chick will perk up once you bring it home and get it settled.
I have a whole post dedicated to how to care for your chicks. Read it here, for more info on what to do once you receive the chicks!
But like I said, it may happen that you lose a chick. It’s sad, but it’s part of farming, as my husband always says. You win some, you lose some. Such is the nature of this lifestyle.
Growing Chicks
Once your chicks have grown enough feathers…around three to four weeks, we move them from the brooder to the coop.
Especially in the springtime, when the temps are warmer, they will not need the heat lamp anymore.
We place them in the coop/chicken tractor (preferably chicken tractor) and they happily live out their humble existence on the homestead.
They must be fed and watered once a day. My boys usually take care of them during evening chores.
When Are They Ready to Harvest?
The chicks are ready to butcher around 9 weeks. We know farmers who always butcher around this time, but we will always wait a little longer.
Some farmers will take a day or two and have a big butchering day, sometimes processing around 30 chickens in one fell swoop.
We have done this, of course, but nowadays our lives are so stinkin’ busy, we will take a weekend, or even an evening, and process two or four chickens, then wait a week in between and do it again.
There are no rules to when you MUST harvest your chicken.
Butchering The Chicks
I hate to keep you in such suspense, but the post on how we butcher our chickens has not been written yet. 😉 When I document the process, I will post it for sure!
I have a whole category dedicated to CHICKENS. Check it out for more homestead how-to’s!
Questions about meat chickens? Drop me a line, and ask away! We will always try to help as best as we can. We are veteran chicken farmers, and through the years we have definitely messed up and found better ways to do things. No one is a pro after their first time or two…you have to learn as you go!
