Cornish Cross

[Grind Hard Farm]

This guy is 8 weeks old. One day I was showing my parents how big our chicks got when I noticed he was balding. They suggested he get quarantined, so he got his little area, it has been at least 3 or 4 days now. My parents found his feet swollen, so I added a mixture of baking soda, salt, and some honey into his water for those days. Before when he was in the coop with the other chicks, he wouldn't go into the house with them, and instead lay there, panting. I studied the other chicks, who are also 8 weeks or around 8 weeks, and they don't have any big feet like he does. I checked for bumblefoot but found no markings. We found him lying on his side avoiding his feet and he also topples over. If we're mistaken about his feet or anything in particular, please let us know.

- Grind Hard Farm

 

[Rose the Legbar]

Cornish cross don’t want nor stand very well due to their weight. CX also due to how fat they are, have a hard time regulating their temperature. They also start to “bald” as they grow due to how they have been bred. Cornish cross don’t have very long lives and should be butchered at around 10 weeks.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not ever give baking soda to the chickens. Feeding that can lead to gout in chickens. The bald patches are very normal in Cornish cross meat birds. The a average time for butchering is 6-10 weeks. Some suffer from leg and foot problems because of their heavy weight.

 

[Grind Hard Farm]

I never knew that baking soda could cause that. I don't see any difference in the chickens, but it must've been a good thing I stopped giving it to them recently. Thanks for letting me know that