Are these really white leghorns?

[azchickenz]

I purchased 6 pullets at a feed store that were listed as white leghorns. They are approx. 8 weeks old. Most pictures I have seen of white leghorns appear to be tall and slender however my seem to be built more like tanks. I will try to get some better pictures tomorrow night when I let them out but does anyone else think these might not be leghorns as they seem pretty big bodied compared to most?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Unfortunately - no, these are not White Leghorns. You have Cornish Cross, which are broilers (meat birds) - and at 8 weeks old they are ready to be processed. I am so sorry.

 

[azchickenz]

I sure hope that's not right but looking up pictures of the Cornish cross they look very similar in build. They have also grown extremely fast in the last few weeks. It really disappoints me to know the time effort and money our family has put into care and building a coop,run,watering and feeding system for chickens that may not produce eggs and from what I've read possibly have a short life span.

 

[Michael OShay]

Unfortunately - no, these are not White Leghorns. You have Cornish Cross, which are broilers (meat birds) - and at 8 weeks old they are ready to be processed. I am so sorry.

Agreed; those are Cornish cross.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hope won't change what is.......these *are* Cornish Cross. That doesn't mean this was a waste, though. Process them and you have meat for your family, or sell/trade them to someone who wants meat birds ready to process and get yourself the layers you wanted. Either way, they need to be processed soon...to not do so at this point would be a cruelty.

(edited for spelling and punctuation courtesy of trying to post from phone)

 

[azchickenz]

Well I guess that's a lesson learned regarding buying chickens from a feed store that doesn't know what they are selling! There is no way my family would allow me to process and eat them so i guess it's time to see if I can find someone to work out a trade. Either that or get them to Someone who will process them and start fresh next spring a bit more knowledgable of the chicken raising process.

 

[rides2far]

There are still chicks available from hatcheries. Don't wait until next spring! You'll love your new chicks when you get them!

 

[microchick]

But look at the experience you have gotten raising this little group of chicks. They look like happy healthy birds no matter what their genetic makeup is. You did a good job with them.

Yes, they have their negative aspects, being short lived and heat intolerant for example but there are plenty of threads here on BYC about them as layers and most say that they will lay enormous eggs for you.

Any chance you can just keep these girls and let them do what they do best, eat bugs and lay eggs on occasion for you? In the mean time get 6 chicks from somebody that knows a meat bird from a layer (bet you could find somebody here on BYC near you who could help you out) and incorporate them into your little flock. Your family doesn't want you to process them and they will probably not want them to be sold to be processed either.

Chickens are like Lays potato chips, 6 or 12....unless you live in an area that numbers the chickens you can have....the number doesn't really matter.

I would bring up the error to the store where you purchased them. Maybe if they still have chicks, they can make it up to you or at least give you a partial refund to make up for their error. If you got stung by them, so did others.

Good luck. I hope you find an amicable solution to your problem.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

But look at the experience you have gotten raising this little group of chicks. They look like happy healthy birds no matter what their genetic makeup is. You did a good job with them.

Yes, they have their negative aspects, being short lived and heat intolerant for example but there are plenty of threads here on BYC about them as layers and most say that they will lay enormous eggs for you.

Any chance you can just keep these girls and let them do what they do best, eat bugs and lay eggs on occasion for you? In the mean time get 6 chicks from somebody that knows a meat bird from a layer (bet you could find somebody here on BYC near you who could help you out) and incorporate them into your little flock. Your family doesn't want you to process them and they will probably not want them to be sold to be processed either.

Chickens are like Lays potato chips, 6 or 12....unless you live in an area that numbers the chickens you can have....the number doesn't really matter.

I would bring up the error to the store where you purchased them. Maybe if they still have chicks, they can make it up to you or at least give you a partial refund to make up for their error. If you got stung by them, so did others.

Good luck. I hope you find an amicable solution to your problem.

To keep these birds beyond processing and try to use them as layers would have required a different management approach several weeks ago to control their growth. As they are at this point that is no longer an option.

 

[azchickenz]

It sounds like keeping them may not be the best option. Being that I live in Arizona and are already nearing 100 degree days a heat intolerant bird is not good. That's one of the reasons I specifically looked for and bought what I thought were white leghorns because they were recommended for their heat tolerance.