Freakishly GIGANTIC chick

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dansapricot

dansapricot

Hatching
6 Years
Mar 22, 2013
4
0
7
We've had chickens for 3 years but never saw anything like this. We bought these chicks on March 1. Same age. Same size when we got them. The two leghorns are siblings. But one of them is growing at triple rate and is already almost full size! Seems too drastic to just be chalked up to "must be a rooster." Could this be a disease or is this normal?
400
 
Ok that would make sense. Looked up the Cornish Rock and they definitely have the thick thick legs like ours. Kind of a bummer since we buy for the eggs, not meat.
 
well, it probably wont work out for eggs.....as I understand it , due to their rapid growth, their life span is pretty short. They are usually considered ready to process in 8 - 9 weeks
 
From what I have read (no expert here!) if you want to keep a Cornish and not process, you have to put it on a diet and keep it moving. So they recommend for those birds to feed at intervals (like 4 meals a day or more) and in different spots to keep them moving around.
As, if they get to eat all they want, they will get fat and lethargic and just sit around until their hearts give out. But if you keep them lighter and moving they can do well. If you want your other birds to have food always available you could put the main feeder UP, where the heavier bird cant get to it.
One thing it might be useful for is to cross out (if its a hen) to another breed roo... like RIR, Faverolle, or something else with some meat tendencies.... and then you could have a supply of meat chicks to grow out or sell... LOL
 

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