Last weekend, we harvested the last of the Cornish Cross broilers, closing this year’s Meat Season. In each of the four harvests, we selected the birds which were the current largest in the flock. The goal of that strategy was to prevent any overgrowth and to give the smallest birds the best opportunity to grow. The strategy worked fairly well, at first.
1st harvest: 5.9 – 7.7 pounds, average of 6.8 pounds
2nd harvest: 6.3 – 7.4 pounds, average of 6.6 pounds
3rd harvest: 7.1 – 8.8 pounds, average of 7.9 pounds
4th harvest: 6.0 – 9.6 pounds, average of 8.4 pounds
In the last group, the weight range was the widest. The smallest birds had, evidently, reached their growth limit and didn’t get any bigger. Meanwhile, the largest birds seemed to accelerate in their growth. Some of the largest birds saw the consequence of their impressive growth rate: they had legs with bad joints that came apart even when handled carefully and one had leg bones that broke while we were cleaning it.
Had we made the first harvest a week sooner and divided them into just three groups, we might have done better at achieving our target for the final weights. In the last group, there were three impressive birds that finished at weights over 9 pounds. We sold two to customers who wanted a Thanksgiving chicken and kept the third for our own use. They still fit in the heat shrink bags, but it was a snug fit.
Our rooster has not been conclusively identified, as yet. The coloration of his plumage looks much like a Golden Campine, but he has more solid color feathers than roosters in the pictures I have found. Also, he has a V-comb, rather than the single comb that seems standard for that breed.
We will probably keep him, but we are not sure he will be able to perform the duties of the job position. He has gotten a little bigger, but is still slightly smaller than the adult Leghorn hens. Who knows? Perhaps he will be a charismatic leader in the coop and compensate for his small stature by sheer force of personality. He will certainly never succeed with the Maran hens without their cooperation and some clever insights on geometry.
You look slightly sunburned. Was this from the market day?
What a relief that you sold the largest birds. Is all of the chicken meat sold that you had for market day? I wondered whether ‘CLOSING THE MEAT SEASON” is just for you or for the market itself.
We have closed the season for raising and harvesting the broilers.
The meat will be sold over time.
Our chicken meat and eggs can be found at the Goldstream Farmers Market and at The Roaming Root, in Fairbanks.