According to the normal plan of butchering after eight weeks, we're more than halfway through. This week we lost a bird. I arrived to feed them in the morning and one was lying breast up dead as the proverbial door nail. Curious about the "dead as a doornail" phrase, I had to look it up. The saying dates back to the 14 century. When craftsmen were building big, solid doors, they wanted them to last. They drove a long nail all the way through so that the end of the nail stuck out the other side. Then they would hammer the protruding end down, making it impossible to pull the nail back through. A nail bent like this couldn't be pulled out and used again, thus it was dead. Just like our chicken. We've never had one die at this stage. If they are going to die, we want them to die in the first couple of weeks before you've fed them. We don't know what killed this bird, but it wasn't a predator.
In the photo below, I wanted to point out that the chicken tractor is on wheels and is pushed daily to fresh grass. They quickly clip all the grass down and eat it, leaving a barren square littered with chicken poop. That poop will grow some green grass come spring. You must be very careful pushing the tractor as the birds aren't smart and are prone to getting run over. Yet another way to kill them. I learned that lesson the hard way over the years. Note the barren squares where the tractor has been.
On Wednesday night weigh in, I open the door and scoop up an average sized bird. They move toward the door thinking it is time to eat, making the task of catching one very easy.
Here is the average sized bird for tonight's trip to the kitchen scale. This bird is a hen. You can tell by its comb. It the photo above you can see some roosters in the mix, identified by their redder, larger combs on their heads. We purchase straight run, meaning they aren't sexed, so you get a mixture of males and females. Roosters grow much faster, so its a good thing to have more roosters as they'll gain more weight in the same period of time.
Up on the scale the bird goes. I watch it closely as I don't want it pooping on our scale. I also don't want it jumping off the scale and work bench and getting hurt.
Let's see what the chicken weights tonight...
4 pounds and 3 ounces (or 67 ounces).
Last week: And at the end of week 4: 49 ounces (3 lbs. 1 oz.)
This week: At the end of week 5: 67 ounces (4 lbs. 3 oz.)
That's a weight gain week over week of 18 ounces or 1 lb. 2 oz. At the end of Week 5 for last year's crop of Cornish Cross birds, they weighed exactly 4 lbs., so we are right on target!
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