Cornish Cross - 7 weeks old - how much weight will they put on in two weeks?

[PlentifulPrairie]

Hi! This is my 2nd time raising cornish cross chickens for meat, years prior i've raised heritage chickens.
My question is how much weight will a cornish cross chicken typically put on in two weeks at the age of 7 weeks old?
I have an appointment to get them processed on June 13th (they will be 2 days shy of 10 weeks at that date), they seem a little small this go around. Just curious to see what you guys think they can gain in 2 weeks.

thanks
heidi

 

[FunClucks]

It all depends on your management style. How you keep them really has an impact on how much weight they gain over what time period.

That being said, if they seem small at 7 wks, processing at 10 weeks sounds about right to me.

I processed during weeks 5 through week 9, and the wk 9 birds seemed double the size of the 5 week birds. I processed my 5-7 wk birds to be roasted whole in the oven, but the 8-9 wk birds I parted out - The wings, breasts, and legs were such different thicknesses, if I roasted them whole I'd overcook the legs and wings by a lot by the time I finally finished cooking the breast meat.

 

[JeffPr]

IMO you have to be flexible on processing day. By week 7 my birds waddled not walked and mostly just laid by the feeder.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

What are their weights right now?

I've used the estimated growth rate chart in this article to gauge how fast my birds will grow, but it does vary depending on management. The chart only goes up to 8 weeks though so you may have to do some guestimation past that point. The point they are at they are typically growing ~1 pound per week.

 

[PlentifulPrairie]

IMO you have to be flexible on processing day. By week 7 my birds waddled not walked and mostly just laid by the feeder.

yeah i agree, i'm just not processing them myself this go around. I'm in grad school, working full-time, managing my chickens/meat birds, and also homemaking responsibilities... so my time is eaten up. .. my processor unfortunately didn't have many openings..