My Boreal Homestead Life

I have been raising Cornish Cross broiler chickens for a number of years.   During that time, I have tried a number of different ways  of housing these birds but it is only  recently that I started to use a chicken tractor to move them across my yard so that they get fresh grass every day.  And I love this method of housing for the Cornish Cross.   However, how long I leave them out on the grass has always been a bit of a debate because although I like a bigger broiler, most customers do not.  A one meal sized bird is all they want.  This customer driven demand is reflected in the teachings one can find online.  And typically, it is recommend that the Cornish Cross be only raised to eight weeks of age and then processed.   The claim is that this is the point when you start loosing money if raised longer.  I question this and so in 2024 I set out to determine if this was in fact the case.

Raising Cornish Cross Chickens - Size matters

I have been raising Cornish Cross broilers for many years and have always strived to get them in the 7 - 10 pound (3.2 - 4.5 Kg) range with a few a little lighter for fryers. The little lighter has always been problematic for me due to timing and outside influences. But also as of late, the standard teachings is that the 8 week mark is where you start sacrificing money and quality. And to be honest, I have struggled with this teaching for a number of reasons:

1. A rooster spends the first three to four weeks building bone structure so butchering at 8 weeks means that the bone to meat ratio is off;
2. Taking out one 10 pound chicken to roast for supper makes more sense to me than taking out 2 five pound chickens. You only have to raise and process one bird vs two;
3. Profit should be more on larger birds I feel;
4. Not all birds grow at the same rate so having a fixed time frame doesn't make sense to me - there were quite a few folks in 2024 that were harvesting small birds at 8 weeks;
5. I realize that a fixed rotation at 8 weeks allows for multiple batches throughout the year which allows for a more structured business model.  But at the same time, more chicks and feed will be sold;
6. I also realize that 5 pounds or so fits with societal norms  of what can be eaten at one sitting with little to no leftovers.

But the thing is that it is only my opinion. I had no data to support or oppose my opinion. So in 2024, I decided to do something about that. I decided to collect data....a lot of data.

Raising Cornish Cross Chickens - Context

I started with 65 Cornish cross chicks on May 29, 2024 that I received from Rochester Hatchery.  After raising them in the brooder for 36 days, it was time to move them out to the chicken tractor I built in I try Pastured Poultry for the first time with a DIY moveable chicken coop. So on July 4 (36 days later), I moved 62 chicks into my chicken tractor and put the birds on grass. 

The birds were moved to fresh grass daily through their time on my place. Contrary to popular teachings I am not a believer in having feed in front of them 24/7.  But rather, I ration the feed between a morning and evening feeding, adjusting amounts as necessary. I did miss the odd evening feeding due to work but the birds had the grass to nibble on. Studies with other animals have shown that split feedings result in a faster rate of gain than continuous feeding, so it makes sense to me that the same would apply to the broilers. As a side note, with this feeding method the birds moved around all the time and I never lost a single bird to their legs giving out despite some of the birds being larger than normal.

On July 4 the birds were moved to the tractor and the weighing of the birds started by selecting 12 random birds to weigh with 10 random birds being selected on July 14 and then again on August 4 to supplement the weight information. The final weights were determined on each of the 9 processing days with the final birds being processed on October 6 at 130 days. 

Due to the cost and availability of organic feed, I fed a commercial chick starter until the birds were moved to the chicken tractor and then switched to a commercial grower mix that was fed for the duration.  It was at this time that I started determining my input costs.  To determine my feed input costs I measured and weighed all the feed that was given each day and applied the feed cost in Canadian dollars to each gram of feed given. I felt the labor involved needed to be included and so I estimated that I spent about 1/2 an hour each day feeding and watering the birds but on butcher days I would do about 2 birds an hour. For ease of calculations I decided to average the estimated total time over the 130 days for an average of 0.71 hours per day, from start to finish, and paid myself $20.00 CDN/hour.

Raising Cornish Cross Chickens - Results

When I moved the 36 day old chicks out to the chicken tractor on July 4, by weighing the 12 birds chosen at random I determined that the average live weight was 3 pounds 14 ounces, or a rate of gain of 1.72 ounces per day up to this point.  For the next 10 days, I fed the birds the majority of their feed in the morning with a much smaller ration given a minimum of an hour before dark.  The tractor was moved each day.  On July 14 ten birds were chosen at random and it was determined that the average weight of the birds was now 4 pounds 10 ounces, resulting in an average daily gain of 1.23 ounces per day.  This was achieved by feeding 160 pounds (72.6 kg) over this time frame which equates to 16 pounds (7.26 kg) per day or approximately 0.26 pounds (0.12 kg) per bird.

For the duration of the time, the birds were fed their ration in two feedings, increasing as the birds grew in size and they were moved to fresh grass daily. The final weigh in was done on August 4, 2024 which was 8 weeks 6 days from the hatch date.  As a result of the weighing of ten random birds, the average weight was determined to be 7.427 pounds which translates into a rate of gain of 2 ounces per day.   This was achieved by feeding 516 pounds (234.1 kg) over this time frame which equates to 24.6 pounds (11.2 kg) per day or approximately 0.4 pounds (0.18  kg) per bird.

Due to outside influences the processing of the first birds did not happen until August 25, 88 days from when I received the birds from the hatchery. The rations were maintained at the same August 4 levels and were only adjusted down as birds were processed.

With the data collected and entered in a spreadsheet to make the calculations and analysis easier, I was able to review the data and determine the following:

• The first butcher day was August 25 (88 days from arrival);
• The final butcher day was October 6, 2024, 130 days after the chicks arrived;
• The lightest bird was 4.25 pounds (1.93 kg) live weight butchered on August 25 and the heaviest was 22 pounds (9.97 kg) live weight butchered on October 6, 2024;
• In total 54 birds were processed, a loss of 11 birds (17% loss) at various stages of growth.  All birds were found dead in the morning so cause is not certain but it is suspected that Sudden Death Syndrome would be the cause;
• Total whole bird kill weight was 527 pounds (239.043 kg) with the cleaned weight coming in at 492.55 pounds (223.42 kg).  This results in an average of 14.6% loss to live weight due to evisceration;
• Average cleaned bird weight was 10.5 pounds (4.76 kg);
• Total feed given to the birds from July 4 to October 6 was 2168 pounds (983.4 kg).

It should be noted that each bird that was processed spent rest time of 24 to 36 hours in the fridge after a minimum 4 hour chill in an ice bath. Although my plan was to supply the customers with 5 pound birds as that is what they have become conditioned to, life got in the way and as normal, my birds got bigger than I wanted. But that's okay, it gave me some data. To pivot, I decided that anything over 8 pounds would be parted out and sold as individual packages.

Raising Cornish Cross Chickens - Analysis

With this information in hand, I was able to start looking at what it was telling me, the first of which was the Feed Conversion Ration or FCR.  The FCR is a published figure that tells the producer how many pounds of feed is required to put on one pound onto an animal/bird.  As the  Anderson International Corp article Understanding and Optimizing the Feed Conversion Ratio explains, the FCR is determined by comparing the total feed to the final weight of the animal/bird.  However, as it  further explains there are a number of factors that can affect the FCR such as environment, genetics, the feed itself and the feeding strategy.  As it goes on to explain “because of these factors, each animal’s feed conversion ratio will shift throughout its life stages. For example, a small 4-pound broiler has an average FCR of about 1.65, which means it consumes 1.65 pounds of food for every pound of meat it gains. The bigger the chicken, the more feed it will need to gain additional weight, so a 6-8 pound broiler will have a slightly higher FCR of 1.85 or more. A large 10-pound broiler has an average FCR close to 2.”.

The published FCR for commercial raised broiler chickens varies from 1.4 to 1.9.  However, some reports would indicate that slow growing meat birds can have a FCR in the range of 2.8 to 3.2.  So,  I was curious how my small flock did.  Because I did not include the amount of starter that was fed during the first 36 days of growth into this analysis, it is worth noting that the calculations revealed that they gained 1.72 ounces per day during that time.   For the remaining days, I was able to determine that I fed 2168 pounds ((983.4 kg) to achieve 527 pounds (239.043 kg), live weight.  This translates into a FCR of 4.1.  Not surprising as some of the birds are quite large and it was a good number of days before they were butchered.   Although the starter fed for the first 36 days would have had an affect on this FCR, I feel it would not have been sizeable.  But I wondered, if I was to have butchered the birds on August 4, 2024 when they were around the recommended eight week age mark, what would the FCR be.  So using the average weight at that time of 7.427 pounds (3.37 kg) times the number of birds compared to the total feed given of 1028 pounds (466.29 kg), the FCR drops to 2.36.   This makes sense as the longer the birds are growing, the FCR would go up.  But I am also  okay with it as I am a believer that raising the birds slower results in a superior product.  But what does it do to the bottom line?

For the purposes of this small study and its analysis, I decided that everything would be based on whole chicken weight (converted to metric). The total feed and labor cost was determined and then averaged over the number of birds in the tractor for the time frame being analyzed to give a cost per bird. To compare against, I went on line to my local store that claims you can save on food and got the price per 100 g to determine what it would cost to buy the same weight of bird (not organic) in the store. I determined that cost to be $1.30 per 100 gram (4.50 USD/pound) in fall 2024 and will be using these prices for this analysis to ensure all prices are comparable for the year they were incurred.  For interest though, current prices for whole frying chickens averaging 1.25 kg (2.7 pounds) have now dropped to $1.10 per 100 gram ($3.57 USD/pound).  And whole organic raised chicken, 2.1 kg (4.63 pounds) average is currently $1.60 per 100 gram ($5.19 USD/pound).  My selling price on whole birds is $5.00 CDN (3.53 USD)per pound.

For the purposes of visualization and analysis of the data, two graphs were created.  The first was to compare the store bought costs of the birds and what I am charging compared to my cost to raise the birds.  This data was sorted based on the age of the birds.

The second graph was to look at the data by comparing the in store value, my cost to raise vs the weight, sorted by the date weighed.

After the analysis and plotting on the graphs, the results of this study were interesting:

1. As expected, the cost per bird increased over time;
2. With a 14.6% live to freezer conversion for gutting, a 5 pound (2.28 kg) chicken in the freezer would need to weigh about 5.73 pounds (2.6 kg) live. This is just the start of "profit" with "profit increasing from there;
3. The amount of "profit" is actually more in the 6 - 11 pound (2.72 - 4.99 kg) range than in the 5 pound (2.28 kg) and less range;
4. The birds are cheaper to raise (blue line) than buying in the store until about 100 days of age at which time it's cheaper to buy in the store;
5. The birds are cheaper to raise (blue line) than buying in the store until about 11 pounds (4.99 kg) at which time it's cheaper to buy in the store;
6. The maximum return on investment is actually from 67 to 100 days which equates to about 8.5 to 11 pounds (3.86 - 4.99 kg), give or take.  This is illustrated in both graphs by the gap, which indicates profit, that increases between the blue line and the other lines as the birds reached 67 days old or 8.5 pounds (3.86 kg). Due to the dates the data was collected, there is a steep increase between 45 and 67 days but I think it is safe to say that this profit would be right around 67 days as indicated by  the graph.  This gap is maintained until the bird is around 97 days or 10 pounds (4.5 kg) with a decrease in profits till the bird encroaches on 100 days or 11 pounds (4.99 kg).  At this point, the cost to raise the birds start to be more than what I could get the birds for in the store.

Interestingly, at the end of the study, I put 32 whole birds in the freezer at a value of $1,642.50 CDN ($1,173.46 USD).  For the remaining 22 birds, I decided that due to the larger size of the birds, that parting them and setting the price per 100 gram based on the “cut” would be wise.  As a result of  this value added processing, I increased my potential overall profit by approximately $951.27 CDN ($679.83 USD).

Raising Cornish Cross Chickens - Final Thoughts

Although the 8 week timeframe works for a one meal bird, based on this data I would suggest that a person could raise fewer birds and increase profits (if you are selling) and/or meat in the freezer by raising them slower, longer and larger. To date, I nor my customers have found that the larger birds lack quality.

Although it is not a long standing study or perfect, and was conducted by just a farmer, I think it illustrates that the 8 week (56 day) teachings may not be the best. But as always, it depends on your situation and goals. But I feel that it definitely shows that even with somewhat lower in store current prices, it is still cheaper to raise your own Cornish Cross Chickens.  I think it is also safe to say that even if I were to have fed organic feed the results would be similar as although feed costs would have been higher, I would also be charging more.  But would they sell as easily I would wonder.  

The data and subsequent analysis certainly shows that there are opportunities for me to maximize profits.  However, at this time I will be continuing to raise as I have with the exception of trying to get them in the freezer before they are bigger than 11 pounds. Which means working at getting processed in one or two days vs 9 days. But in addition, there may be opportunity to explore alternate feed source suppliers to decrease costs and thereby increase profit.  I have looked into direct farmer purchasing  a bit, but getting the smaller quantities I need is not that easy here.  I will keep exploring though.

Regardless of the less than perfect FCR, the larger than normal weights of the birds and the length of time it took me to get it all done, I am happy with knowing that I saved some money and can pass a bit of that savings on to my customers.  Added to that is knowing what the birds ate, how they lived and how they were processed.  To me,  it makes a superior product.  But even if I wasn't selling the birds, knowing where my food comes from is something that is very important to me with everything I raise or grow. I can certainly say that I have maintained that mantra with these birds. 

I plan to do this study again in 2025 with a few tweaks.  But I am curious, do you find that 8 weeks works for you or does it make more sense to raise them longer?

I hope you found this of interest, that it gives you some food for thought and that it helps to encourage you to grow your own Cornish Cross Chickens, even at a small scale, if you are not doing so already. If you did enjoy it, please consider joining the My Boreal Homestead Life community.  By supplying your email address at the bottom of the page and hitting "sign up" or by clicking Join the community, you will ensure you get an email notification when I post new blogs to the My Boreal Homestead Life site.

Thank you for joining me on the front porch of My Boreal Homestead Life as we explore this Homegrown, Homestead life, In a Modern World.

Additional Resources

• How to Raise a Year’s Worth of Meat - Homesteading Family
• Raising Meat Birds (in depth playlist) - Heartway Farms
• Raising Cornish Cross Chickens for Meat - Backyard Poultry