2024 Meat Birds - 7 Weeks Old

This week was an eventful week for the Cornish Cross birds.  A bad storm was coming through, promising hail and high winds.  After the weather scare when the birds were very young when we tried to hold the chicken tractor down in 80 mph winds, we had different plans this time.  We were getting weather reports of 75 mph winds an hour away from us.  I staked down the chicken tractor, but then had an epiphany.

The birds are older now and not as susceptible toy hypothermia.  I decided to remove the tarp from the top of the tractor.  This takes the wind resistance away and allows the wind (and rain) to blow right through.  Yes, the birds would get wet, but we could get the tarp back on as soon as the weather settled down, turn on the heat lamps, and all would be good.  Good, that is, unless we got hail that could kill the birds.  I made up my mind that we would butcher any birds that got killed by the weather.

Well, no hail killed any birds.  The strong winds blew and we got almost 2 inches of rain, but the birds made it.  All of them.  We turned the heat lamps on and the shaking birds quickly recovered.  What a blessing!  Well, today is weigh day.  I grabbed an average rooster and marched him in to the kitchen scale I have set up on a table in the garage.

He's a nice looking bird, I think.  He feels solid as I held him.  Let's see what the scale says.

At week 7 we are at 6 pounds and 2 ounces.  Remember a 6 pound bird yields a 4 pound carcass and that is what we are shooting for.  We've hit that for the average bird and still have a few days to go (and grow)!

The day we got them, they weighed 3 ounces

• Week 1, they weighed 6.5 ounces
• Week 2, they weighed 18 ounces
• Week 3, they weighed 29 ounces
• Week 4, they weighed 44 ounces
• Week 5, they weighed 64 ounces
• Week 6, they weighed 84 ounces
• Week 7, they weighed 98 ounces

That's a weight gain of 14 ounces or just shy of a pound over the last week.  As discussed above, we've hit our goal.  I've compared to prior years and this one is right in line with where he needs to be.  Weather permitting, we've tentatively scheduled the butcher date to be this Saturday morning.  So far, we haven't lost a single bird.  Let's see if we can get all 32 birds to cross the finish line on Saturday.  Stay posted.  We'll keep you abreast (pardon the pun) of the poultry butchering extravaganza.