Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
come overheated. Be prepared to have electric fans ready for use in the chicken house
if the temperature gets above 85°F. Once the chickens are two to three weeks old, or if
you have cold weather, be prepared to add some supplemental heat at night. The broiler
chickens' ability to adapt to temperature change is inferior to the standard-bred chicken.
The environmental conditions in which you must raise them must be more strictly con-
trolled.
You must be very careful to make sure that you maintain good, clean water in front of
them at all times, particularly during warm and hot spells as they are not as readily able
to adapt their bodies to temperature change as are traditional standard-bred chickens.
Finishing
If you choose to raise Cornish crossbred chickens, you will usually be rewarded at
between six and eight weeks with a reasonably sized bird ranging anywhere from 4 to
7 pounds (2-3 kg) dressed. The butchering is fairly easy as they are not very mobile;
it is easy to catch and kill them, and then remove the feathers by scalding in hot water.
Within a few minutes of removing the entrails, you can have a bird cut up and ready for
the frying pan or oven. Refer to chapter 19 , Home Processing, for a detailed description
of the butchering process.
Take care during butchering: these thin-skinned broiler birds bruise easily. Keep but-
chering (and eating) time in mind when raising Cornish Crosses. Because this type of
chicken does not have many breast feathers, it has nothing to protect its skin from discol-
oration. The skin can become permanently soiled from improperly cleaned litter, making
the butchered carcass an unappetizing color. Change the litter regularly to help maintain
a nice breast skin color.
Growth-Related Health Conditions
Leg problems occur in rapidly growing meat birds that do not get much exercise. Be-
cause of their particular eating and movement habits as young birds, they sometimes
develop splayed legs, a condition where the leg sticks out to one side (see chapter 4 ,
Baby Basics). They are unable to function properly, sliding around on the ground on
their breast. In most cases, splayed legs is not repairable in this type of bird. The bird
has to either be quickly butchered, if large enough, or euthanized, if still small.
Breast blisters also occur in rapidly growing meat crosses because they sit on the
ground most of their lives. Because they have huge appetites, little to no ability to exer-
cise, and a larger breast than standard chickens, they tend to get sores or other malform-
ations on the surface tissue of their breasts. In most cases, this can be easily removed
when the bird is butchered, but with a chunk of flesh removed they present a less than
ideal carcass.
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