2016 Meat Birds at Twelve Weeks Old

Yes, it is once again time for the weekly weigh in of our Red Ranger Meat Birds. The Cornish Cross birds are all frozen solid in the freezer, but the Red Rangers take 4-6 more weeks to mature.  Our goal is a 6 pound live bird.  Let's see how we're coming along.

I walked out to the chicken tractor in the pasture with a big bucket to find our bird that has a zip tie around his leg to bring him in to weigh him in the garage where I have the kitchen scale set up on my work bench.  The Red Ranger is tall and lanky and wild.  He jumped out of my bucket on the way in and I had to chase him down in the pasture.  Finally got him and put him on the scale.

I'm tired of weighing every week too, bud.

And here we go: the scale says, 5 pounds and 6 ounces.

5 lbs. 6 oz.

So, let's take a look at our table.  Last week he weighed 4 pounds 13 ounces and this week at 5 pounds 6 ounces tells us that he gained 8 ounces (or half a pound).  Will he weigh 6 pounds next week and be ready for butchering?  It's going to be real close.

Here's something else to think about.  If you look at the bird we've been weighing, it is easy to see that he's a rooster.  Roosters grower bigger and faster than hens.  For that reason I also pulled out a hen from the tractor when I walked out to the pasture. I want to weigh her to see how far behind she is.

Red Ranger hen - first time on the scale

It was the first time she's been brought in the garage, but she wasn't as wild and crazy as the rooster was.  She sat on the scale like a champ.  Drum roll...

4 pounds 7 ounces

She's about a pound behind the rooster.  Will she reach 6 pounds by next weekend? No, absolutely not.  BUT, I want to butcher all the twenty-something birds at one time and get this done.  If we can get the roosters to six pounds by next weekend, I'll butcher the hens at five or so pounds.  It's a little less than our desired finished weight, but it is time to be done with the meat birds for the year.

We will know for sure next Thursday night when the butcher date will be.  Grow birds, grow!!  I'm ready to get the 2016 meat bird crop processed and in the freezer.