Cornish game hen feed conversion?

[Puck-Puck]

Hello, there.

I'm quite new to chickens and just have layers at the moment, but I'm scheming to see whether it's feasible for me to try a batch of meat birds in my back yard next year. I thought I'd start small with Cornish game hens, due to space constraints and not wanting the notorious Cornish X poo piles outside the bedroom windows in the middle of summer...

Can anyone here tell me approximately how much feed a Cornish game hen goes through before reaching slaughter weight? My search came up empty. (I also tried looking for a table of feed conversion ratios for different breeds, but didn't find one. Is there no such thing, or am I not looking in the right place?)

Thanks for your help!

 

[al6517]

The Cornish game hen is just a regular Cornish X raised for just a couple of weeks, it really depends on how many birds you start with. I think a 50# bag of feed would finish about 50 game hens to 2 wks. I hope this helps.

AL

 

[jaku]

Yeah, you're still going to get the same poo, just a smaller version for a shorter time if you butcher them early.

 

[Puck-Puck]

Al6517, thanks for the numbers, that gives me something I can work with. But I query that game hens are the same as regular Cornish X, as Miller Hatcheries, who would be my source, sells them as separate products with separate prices, comparing pullets with pullets...oh wait, I'm comparing their Cornish Giant pullets with their Cornish game hens. Not Cornish X?

 

[jaku]

Quote:
McMurray also sells a "Cornish Game Hen," but if you read the fine print, it's the same bird. I'm not sure if Miller Hatchery is doing the same thing or not. I've heard there is (or was, years ago,) an actual "Cornish Game Hen," but I think they are just young Cornish X's for the most part now.

 

[Puck-Puck]

Or maybe they're bantam, if the thought of Bantam Cornish doesn't hurt your head too much? Anyhow, thank you for your insight.

 

[goldnchocolate]

Here is something from Wikipedia. I'm not sure if they are the same bird as the Cornish X, that grows so fast, that I've read about on this forum.

Cornish game hen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Cornish game hen, also sometimes called a Cornish hen, poussin, Rock Cornish hen, or simply Rock Cornish, is a young chicken sold whole. Despite the name, it is not a game bird, but actually a typical chicken that is slaughtered at a young age and therefore is smaller in size. Though the bird is called a "hen," it can be either male or female.
Most sources credit Alphonsine and Jacques Makowsky of Connecticut for developing the small bird in the mid-1950s. A Saturday Evening Post article from July 1955 credited Mrs. Makowsky with coming up with the idea to breed the Cornish game chicken, a small bird with short legs and a plump, round breast that she had discovered in a book. The Makowskys began cross-breeding the Cornish game cocks with various chickens and game birds, including a White Plymouth Rock hen and a Malayn fighting cock, to develop the Rock Cornish game hen -- a succulent bird with all-white meat. Their intent was similar, to breed a small chicken with mostly white meat suitable for a single serving.
In addition to commanding a higher price, the game hens have a shorter growing span, 28 to 30 days as opposed to 42 or more for regular chicken. Two-thirds of Cornish game hens sold in the United States come from Tyson Foods, Inc.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture describes the Rock Cornish game hen or Cornish game hen as a young immature chicken (usually 5 to 6 weeks of age), weighing not more than 2 pounds ready-to-cook weight, which was prepared from a Cornish chicken or the progeny of a Cornish chicken crossed with another breed of chicken.

 

[Puck-Puck]

Very informative, Goldnchocolate. Now why didn't I think of checking Wikipedia, myself?

Not game, not necessarily hens, and only partially Cornish! It sounds as though culling one of your plump pullets due to injury

might give something similar...less white meat. I've also realized that these aren't economical for me to raise, and I understand why they cost more in the stores, too. Thank you for passing this on.

 

[Buckshot-47]

Miller doesn'tsell a cornish game hen look closer their cornish game hen IS the cornish giant pullet at 4 weeks,their other meat bird is the cornish rock giant(just includes cockerals)they are the same bird..and yes they are a cornish x,it's in the name CORNISH/ROCK GIANT!
Quote:

 

[Buckshot-47]

That's exactly right Jaku exept the print is bold and yes the price is the same unless buying a batch of unsexed birds, their game hens are the pullets at 4 weeks.
Quote:
McMurray also sells a "Cornish Game Hen," but if you read the fine print, it's the same bird. I'm not sure if Miller Hatchery is doing the same thing or not. I've heard there is (or was, years ago,) an actual "Cornish Game Hen," but I think they are just young Cornish X's for the most part now.