Interested in raising chickens or other poultry species for meat? It’s a different game than raising laying hens. Listen in as Nutrena poultry expert Twain Lockhart shares valuable advice on getting started in the meatbird world.
Helpful tips:
- Cornish Crosses are the best bird to raise for meat
- Separate them from other breeds
- Restrict their diet to feed 12 hours on, 12 hours off
- Feed a specialized meat bird diet that is higher in protein
I have raised the Cornish Cross for our annual chicken meat storage two years running. Have used hatchery meat birds which are the large birds for two years prior to making the switch. For two people in our family the Cornish are perfect. Use your feed but different time schedule. Feed in the morning leaving feed down for about an hour then take it away for 12 hours and feed again in the evening as at morning feed. Take away until next morning. Purpose of this is to slow the rate of growth and butcher at around 10 or so weeks. This is following the directions by a raiser of the Cornish who recommended this process. It truly works. No health issues and haven’t lost one bird. I raised 18 birds each year. Butchered weight from 3.8 to 4.8 pounds per bird with females weighing the lesser and males the higher. Great meat! Recommend Cornish over any other type of meat bird.