Are these Layers or Meat?

[nes]

I think someone messed up...

How do you tell the difference between a cornishX and a "commercial egg layer" breed (hatchery site doesn't say what), other then at 5 weeks they are 700gs?
Or is that pretty definitive...

They are our first meat birds, and we're new chicken keepers. They have been ranging in the chicken tractor, with visits to the great outdoors once a day (when I can supervise) and have been feed commercial grower.

 

[rleepac]

We had some cornish x-rocks and they were very slow and lazy. All our layers and non GMO meat birds were very spirited. But the X-rocks just don't like to be very active! Hope that helps.

 

[nes]

'k I'm super new to chickens, but if I let them out of the tractor they will range to about 30' in a few minutes, fly around, squawking. They love to dive right into the garden. They will fly up at the tractor sides when they see me coming (hoping for food!).

So I would not classify them as "non active" but what is not active?
They certainly don't lay around just eating and drinking like they are supposed too...

I would almost call them more active they my cuckoo maran/dominique/not really sure what they are in... layers in the coop.

 

[WishboneDawn]

Quote:
Just a note - Cornish X chickens are not GMO. They're old fashioned hybrids.

 

[WishboneDawn]

We just had our Cornish X chickens processed last week. They were pretty active. They liked to rest when the day got hot or after a big feed but otherwise they dutifully roamed our yard clearing out our record slug population, bless their hearts.

A better indication is how they run and their legs. When ours ran they looked ridiculous. Cute, but ridiculous. It was a big side-to-side waddle, not a nice in-line sprint like other chickens. Their legs are set quite far apart. And they're legs are HUGE. A close up pic of a whole chicken, legs included, would be more helpful with the ID.

 

[nes]

Irene's tail end is just passing over us, so it's a little wet outside to get some pics just right now

.

I can't tell with their legs, they look skinny, I guess. They don't run funny.

This actually isn't very helpful because this is the ugly runt... (he's the biggest PITA!! follows me everywhere, pecks at my feet... if we'd had him capped' I would keep him!)

 

[Edwards' East of Eden]

Love the focus play in that last picture!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

To be honest, I don't believe they are cornish X. Those look kinda tall. Maybe a close up pic would help. At 5 wks, my meat birds were weighing 5-6 lbs and really didn't like moving around very much.

 

[simplyscrambled]

Mine were FAT at 5 weeks, and they would pretty much park themselves at the feed! They 'look' like CornishX. Did you free feed during the day (not just ranging, that wouldn't be enough to get CornishX where you want them to process at 5 weeks)

 

[SteveH]

A pound and a half at 5 weeks means they're not what we commonly call CX, unless they've been fed nearly nothing. If you post a link for the hatchery site we can probably be more help; I really can't get a much of an idea what they look like from those pictures, but suspect you might have bought a bunch of commercial type Leghorn males.