CX and Pioneer side-by-side

[HappieHippie]

I am new to all chickens. We ended up with 1 CX and 2 red sex links. They were purchased as chicks for someone's children for Easter, then I'm guessing the wow factor wore off and on Craigslist they went. (Which is how I got them.) My question to you, Hoffy, is how do you keep your CX so active? Ours seems as if she's exhausted, almost all the time, unless she knows you're bringing food. Lol.

 

[maggiemo]

Thanks for this thread Hoffy. I am going to raise some meat birds this fall and I was going back and forth between freedom rangers and pioneers. I think I am going with pioneers based on your review. Thanks so much for taking the time.

Hi Happy Hippy.
If your Cornish X was hatched around Easter then I am guessing it is at least 8 or 9 weeks old, is that right? So, it is time to process that bird, that is why it is just sitting around. At least that is my guess. I have only raised freedom rangers though. Someone else will chime in.

 

[LindaB220]

I am new to all chickens. We ended up with 1 CX and 2 red sex links. They were purchased as chicks for someone's children for Easter, then I'm guessing the wow factor wore off and on Craigslist they went. (Which is how I got them.) My question to you, Hoffy, is how do you keep your CX so active? Ours seems as if she's exhausted, almost all the time, unless she knows you're bringing food. Lol.

Happie, I believe that she's ready to process. Their quality of life goes down great after 7-8 weeks.

 

[LindaB220]

@Maggiemo Yes, I'm going to get maybe 15 CX's in the fall. My family are not chicken people and I dread the idea of having to process but I'm gonna!!!

 

[HappieHippie]

Ah ha, thanks for the info.

 

[Hoffy]

I am new to all chickens. We ended up with 1 CX and 2 red sex links. They were purchased as chicks for someone's children for Easter, then I'm guessing the wow factor wore off and on Craigslist they went. (Which is how I got them.) My question to you, Hoffy, is how do you keep your CX so active? Ours seems as if she's exhausted, almost all the time, unless she knows you're bringing food. Lol.

When raising Cx, it seems it has a lot to do with timing. I think they do better when raised in cooler weather, so I wanted to process them before it got too warm. I also found it has a lot to do with what and how they are fed. Mine are not fed pellets or crumble. That is too energy dense of food, so they become more susceptible to overeating and ill health effects. I find that feeding them a fine ground mash put out in a long row away from the coop (twice a day) encourages them to scratch and not lay down as much. I also put water well away from the food so that they have to walk to get to it. I put out shade boards for them (4x8 plywood cut in half to create a "tent") throughout the yard. With all of this, they still do lay down far more than a laying hen will, especially red sex links, but my birds seem to be way more active than most of the Cx birds I have heard about. I had no negative health issues at all with my birds.

Hope that helps!

 

[Hoffy]

Thanks for this thread Hoffy. I am going to raise some meat birds this fall and I was going back and forth between freedom rangers and pioneers. I think I am going with pioneers based on your review. Thanks so much for taking the time.

I'm glad to hear it and glad it was of use for you. Good luck with them! The two I kept for layers are some of the the most friendly birds I have ever raised. They all were great birds to raise, so I would get them again for slow cooking recipes.

 

[BayWest Farm]

This has been a very informative thread, thanks Hoffy !!
Have you tried another breed aside from the pioneers ??
Cheers John

 

[Hoffy]

For meat birds, I used to raise a lot of dual purpose breeds (white rocks, barred rocks, australorp, orpington, etc). For what it's worth, I would raise Pioneer over any of those breeds for meat.

 

[pinusresinosa]

Great thread! Interesting indeed.