are my cornish crosses sick? safe to eat?

[bowhunter862]

Sounds like Pulmonary Hypertension causing ascites. That bulging rear end is ascites (also known as "water-belly" It's the result of the fast growth rate of CX and the inability of the heart/lungs to keep up with the oxygen demands. If they got chilled in the early days, that will accelerate the development of the condition. It's not a disease and they are safe to eat. I've seen it and I've culled and eaten those kinds of birds.

 

[Triple Willow]

This is my first time raising CX but they CAN be raised in a healthy manner. I have seen the results of several friends raising these birds and they don't have to get sick or cripple. You have to limit their feed. Up to about three weeks you feed them three times a day. At week three you put them outside and reduce the feed to two times per day (if limited free ranging) and only feed them what they will eat in a few minutes. If you can let them free range all day you can just feed them one time per day in the evening. You can judge how full they are getting by the fullness of their crop as they eat. *You should watch their mobility closely as they grow.* If they get to where they move real slow or start having leg trouble, feed less feed. Hopefully you won't feed them so much to where they get to that point. There are all kinds of different ways to raise them but I have seen success with this method. Also, feeding fermented feed helps a great deal. Your feed will go further and you will have healthier birds.

My CX are a little over nine weeks and they are still running, jumping and flying - seriously! One started out with a leg problem but with good feed (fermented feed) that straightened out in a week or two. Now I can't tell which one had the leg problem. A few days ago one had a leg problem but I believe it was just some sort of injury because the leg problem is gone. Again I can't tell which one had the problem.

Here is one on a 10 foot ladder they kept climbing. I had to move the ladder.

They fly up on top of this 4 foot tall pen to steal their feed.

Thanks to the people on the "Fermented Feed for Meat Birds" thread for showing me how to raise these birds. They are such sweet birds I dread killing them.

 

[Triple Willow]

Six week old CX raised by Beekissed...

 

[Bonnie M]

I am on my second batch of Cornish Xs and the first batch I raised like everyone claims: in a pen, with food twice a day and just let them sit in their poop until 7 weeks old. It was fast and it was gross.

I did a second batch (they were 4 weeks younger then the first batch) and these ones I free range every day. They like to drink the dogs water better then their own water (chicken nipples from a bucket) so they excitedly run 70' first thing in the morning to go get water. Once they are there, they eat grass and just play in the yard all day. At around 4, they are all at the back door, begging for food. I give them a snack of non-GMO grain/scratch (wheat and other grains). At 7, I lower their feed dish back down and they run back to their coop to eat. They are so fun to watch. The boys ruffle their feathers and chest bump, they run after my border collie and they beat up my rooster (he is a bully) by grabbing him by the comb and throwing him. They are almost 10 weeks old and are so healthy looking, clean and fully feathered. They don't make a huge mess either; their tummies are clean and pretty.

I will admit, I will be glad to have my yard back so butchering will happen soon. We usually end up doing just 2 or 3 at a time.

 

[Triple Willow]

Mine share the dog's water too. Due to neighbor's letting their dogs run loose I only free range mine about an hour twice a day. Fermenting their feed makes a HUGE difference in their poop. With ff their poop is solid and not a stinking squirt. I have read a lot of things where people talk about how nasty and stinky they are. Mine aren't at all. They are really some beautiful birds.

 

[Desert Brooder]

We just butchered our CX chickens this past weekend they were 7 weeks and cleaned and dressed they weighed 5 1/2 pounds. A couple of days before we butchered I was freaking. It is getting hot here in Arizona 100 today or more and I knew they wouldn't take the heat I wanted to get them butchered. But they started having rattled breathing and coughing and sneezing. still eating and drinking not really looking sick. I thought we were going to loes them all. But then I had several people tell me they were just too big. Wow was I relieved. So we butchered I did notice at least one of them had like a sack of fluid around it's heart. Is that what happens with heat failure? I think from now on we will just raise chicks from a regular cornish and use them for our meat birds I didn't have fun raising these.

 

[Triple Willow]

@Desert Brooder... that bird was probably starting to develop ascites. That is a problem in CX. That is possibly what causes the heart attacks.

 

[mmgillan]

We just butchered ours this past weekend and they were @10 weeks. I think we let them go too long because we bbq'd one and it was chewy & tough. They were so fat all they did was lay around all day.

. Is this a problem anyone else has had? Next time we will let them out to free range and not feed as much!

 

[Desert Brooder]

If you cooked it the same day you butchered, that is the reason it was tough and chewy. We did the same thing. You are suppose to let them rest for 24_48 hours after you butcher because rigor sets in so you have to let that pass. We just bbqed the ones we butchered last weekend after setting in the fridge all week and they were very tender but I think 10 weeks is too long because of the fat. We butchered half of ours one weekend and the other half the next weekend and there was more fat on the second batch even after only a week. Mine were 7 and 8 weeks when we butchered.

 

[mmgillan]

Thanks. Never knew that!