sad now! cornish x, newbie question

From what i can gather Cornish X are primarily a meat bird and will eat themselves silly, i hatched one chick out of my cornish X eggs (bad humidity problem ) and was hoping that if it was a pullet we coiuld keep it with my girls in the garden but seems to me that its destined for the oven either way - am i correct??

H x

Most have short lives, and even with food restrictoin, will eventually die. It is possible to keep them till adult hood and a few have done so but it is the exception rather than the rule. Just restrict feed. Personally I would eat them because that is what they were bred for. They are crosses so they don't breed true either.

I bought 8 pet chicks and found out they, too, were broilers. I'm not going to or let anyone else eat them so I feed them for a few minutes in the morning and then let them run around the yard in the evenings after work. I'll try to keep them skinny for as long as possible. If they suffer I'll take them to the vet. I change the light bulb from white to red at bedtime. I keep the curtains open so they can see the sunrise and set.

I also ordered 7 more show chicks so if these die I'll have more lovely pets.

Norwich, UK - I download BBC music sets all the time

I don't know if keeping them skinny is the answer either. If they don't get enough to eat it won't make them stop growing but it might slow down in their growth. The problem is their hearts give out and their legs are usually too weak to support them near the end. Watching their food ration and exercise will probably help but at some point they simply die from the stress - often a heart attack.

We are about 45 minutes from one another, chickenbutt. Howdy, neighbor!

This is probably the downside to most rookies with meat birds. One is the people who buy them intending to eat them are shocked when they die on them, not knowing this is how they are and two people who don't know they are meat birds and thought they were getting a laying pullet. You can keep them going but for how long I don't know. There are people on the boards that have managed to keep them alive longer the 6 to 8 weeks. I haven't had much experience with them and personally I don't feel bad eating them as I would probably be by knowing other birds. This is sad that this is the way it is to be. Most meat birds are gluttens and will hoard the feed if housed with layers. I have heard the most people have spent more money on feed for meat birds than it would cost to buy a broiler at the store.

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You are very correct, Hotwings.

It does cost more to raise the meat birds than the chickens at the grocery. One of the reasons I raise my own is that I prefer to eat chicken that is not loaded with antibiotics in its short life as well as what it is that they do eat.

Here is the biggest reason I am raising meat birds. I control the conditions they live in and my birds are not abused. They are not laying in poop with their breast feathers missing and other birds are not pooping on them. My birds are getting fresh air and sunshine. They see the sun rise and set and feel the morning breeze on their feathers and green grass under their feet. They eat bugs and grass and run around and play (as best as animals play LOL). They are living a good life.

The commercial meat bird industry is shocking to say the least. If you saw how those birds are raised it would put you off eating chicken for a while (maybe forever) and you would NEVER eat the skin. Makes me shiver to think about it.

It is very easy to walk in a big chain and buy a $4 Tyson or Perdue bird and perhps cheaper dollarwise compared to the birds I raise. The better taste, texture and knowing my birds recieved better care and lived a respectful life I think in the long run we are getting the better deal for the dollars we have invested in them.

It also is a huge educational experience for our children. Americans are often too far removed from the sources of their food and many have an out of sight out of mind mentality about the meat in the nice trays and plastic wrap (My mother does and we lived on a farm up until she was widowed and sold out and moved to town a few years ago -go figure). I want my children to learn a respect for the purpose the animals serve in our lives. An animal died to provide the meat on our table. It is not easy to take their lives and doing so with a respectful and responsible attitude is a lesson that can't be bought at any price with money.

Miss Prissy:
Hear, hear!!!!!!!!!!
Stacey

Hello all, I received two cornish X babies, maybe 6 weeks old, from a Post Office. One was shoved in a mail collection box and the other was found in the PO parking lot in late Nov. freezing to death. Someone must have let them lose or they got lose, I don't know. We figure kids found the one and thought it would be funny to put it in a mail box, poor baby. The female made it to laying age and gave me the biggest eggs ever!!! She passed away in the heat of the summer, even with a fan I had put in her coop just for her. She died laying in front of it. At least she was happy and cared for. I still have the boy. He is huge. Somehow he made it through the summer heat and, to me, appears to be doing well. He's able to get around despite his size. I guess he's a year old now.

I can raise chicken cheeper than I can buy a comparable chicken in the store. By that I mean not the big name factory farms stuff but a brand that states they had all natural feed or free range, antibiotic and hormone free.

I lower my costs a great deal by allowing them access to range and making sure they have the grasses and plants they like. This would be impossible on a huge scale so I'm sure producers go through more feed. They also have the expence of heated buildings and such.

Anyway it can be done better at home for sure, for both you and the chicken. Give it a try.

With these birds, should you eat them if they die or is that what you're supposed to do?

Forgive the stupid questions; just trying to learn. Thanks!