looking for any helpful hints to raise cornish hens to bigger weights with better feed conversion.?

Question

own a poultry farm--lately struggling to survive. Usually, poor quality chicks are given to us by the company to raise. we've tried everything we can think of----different lighting pattern, better air quality, controlling temperature, lowering pH of water, adding electrolites to water, etc.....

Answer 1

I've never had a problem with raising cornish hens in under five weeks. Usually they are ready for marketing at four weeks and will dress out to about 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 lbs each. If you're trying to raise fryers, they will need about six weeks to reach fryer size when they should dress out to about 3 lbs., frequently more.

Use a 21 percent starter-grower feed throughout the growing period. Keep light on them for about 16 hours a day. Get a bulb which produces light which is a nearly natural as possible. You can leave the light on for twenty-four hours, but I found that they grew better with a few hours of darkness. Maybe it's because of the rest provided by the darkness. Take food away from them each night. They shouldn't have it before them for more than 14 hours daily or they will grow too fast and possibly die of coronary stress additional to possibly breaking leg bones due to their rapid growth.

If your having problems only during hot weather, then heat, or lack of cooling, might be the reason. Chickens usually are pretty hardy. If your water is fit for drinking, I wouldn't be concerned about the ph level. I always put the electrolytes in the food rather than in the water. I don't think it makes any difference how they get the electrolytes, it was just easier for me adding them to the food. If you're rasing chickens on contract and the company you are rasing them for is providing you with poor quality chicks, then there is little you can do except fold your tent and quit. I doubt though that poor chicks is the problem, especially if the company has any market penetration.

If you want more information, or just to talk about the problem more, email me.

Good luck.

Answer 2

If you want bigger birds, I admit to being completely baffled as to why you are raising Cornish Hens. They are a small breed with a known poor feed conversion. This should be offset by the better market price Cornish Hens command as a "specialty" poultry product.

Are you really a farmer? Did you not do your homework? How did you hedge your investment in Cornish Hens?

I don't mean to sound mean, but it doesn't sound as though you are actually a farmer, but just a person who grew some poultry and now can't figure out how to make a profit with it. Who are "the company"? I hope you have not been talked into accepting outsourced poultry growth...

I wish you luck!

Answer 3

Feed the optimum high quality dogs food you will have the money for, no corn or wheat. gets rid of the desire for suppliments. uncooked Bones each and every couple of weeks to bathe tooth. Too many grooming information to show, as i've got been a professional groomer for 30 years! The Nair interior the drain is a huge concept! to bathe a dogs exterior in respectable climate utilising heat water, run a hose in to kitchen sink, unscrew the aerater from the faucet, hose hooks as much because it, wallah, heat water! skinny your shampoo in a gallon jug, makes it much less complicated to unfold over dogs. For dogs hair that gets caught in carpets and fixtures and could no longer vacuum out, a slicker brush works like a charm!

Answer 4

Overcoming genetic anomalies; you said they delivered poor specimens, How do you know this? Then you need more to work with! vitamins from dried fruit diced (and reduced to slivers) and added to up the grade of feed and fight disease/ injury! Now think !how to grow bone structure to increase size of exoskeleton. We know that muscles grow from exercise (useage) so build a trotting slew (with large turn-buckles) inside the coop so that all the birds go through it twice a day! It can be straight-track, circle-track, grandprix-track just get them more exercise to grow bigger muscles.