Always lying down?

[Jilara]

I've got a Cornish who is about 3 months old. The folks I got her from named her "Tubby" because she got so big so fast. But she seems like she has trouble walking, sometimes, and will sooner lie down than stand, even eating. Sometimes, it seems like her legs just collapse out from under her, and down she goes.
Has she just grown so fast she has coordination problems? I know Cornish are supposed to bulk up fast, and I wonder if she put on more weight than her frame can handle? She really is huge. Twice the size of the other two chickens we got from these folks. (These chickens were being raised in the house by their daughter, and got too big for being house pets.) Will she get better at getting around later, or are these just heavy, clumsy birds, overall? She doesn't deal well with perching, so just settles down on the ground a lot. Sweet little chicken, but she really seems like it takes a lot out of her to get around.

 

[arlee453]

Sounds like you have a Cornish X. (Big fat, white bird??) They sort of tend to self-destruct as they are meat birds specially bred to grow fast to reach market weight in about 8 weeks or so.

They often drop dead of heart attacks OR have leg issues because of the fast growth rate.

There are some folks here who have kept them as pets for a few months, but they aren't know for their longevity.

If you've gotten her to 3 months, that's pretty old for a CornishX....

If you are so inclined, you could eat the bird. Otherwise, restricting feed and encouraging exercise may help extend her life.

Good luck...

 

[Jilara]

Shoot, I was hoping it was something that she'd grow out of, grow into her weight or something.

Yep, big white bird. Sounds like Cornish X. She was raised with two other female chicks of mystery heritage, who are older a couple weeks older and half her size. They were kind of a package deal, as we were interested in getting some hens, and these "house chickens" came up, having outgrown the daughter's bedroom. I have been watching her, and keep joking about "this bird would actually like being kept in a box just eating and laying eggs" but was really starting to wonder, she's so ungainly. I figured she was a meat bird, but still hoping for a layer.

Heart attack in chickens. Who knew? I'll tell my boyfriend not to get too fond of her.