Are these roosters?

[stephanie1992]

Cornish Cross meat birds

 

[ramirezframing]

I lost my last meatie roo just a few months ago, he was over 1 1/2 yrs old. I still have a meatie hen left, takes forever for the hens to start laying and most will lay an egg and die right after (that's what mine did) But the one hen still lays eggs and doing good, but they are known for leg problems and having heart attacks, which is how I lost my two roos.

 

[PinkHairGirl]

oh goodness I did not realize that laying eggs killed them!
I wonder if I should send them to the pot and rather get some more Koekkoeks.

 

[ramirezframing]

It doesnt kill them all, but some it will stress enough that they kill over

 

[dolly85]

Oh my goodness, laying eggs does not kill a cornish cross! I kept two hens I didn't have the heart to butcher and they lived to be 2 years old and only passed away because a raccoon got them. They laid HUGE delicious double yoked eggs 5 days a week with no problems whatsoever. The key to keeping these guys healthy is not feeding them a lot of corn and letting them free range as much as possible. They were the friendliest little (ahem, huge) birds ever, I loved them so much!

 

[donrae]

Well I agree they look big, but my cornish cross were larger than this at three months, and looked way worse. They were raised free range with my layers. I'm not sure what those are, OP what country are you in? That might make a difference. They look like meat birds of some type, but not cornish cross. At five months I'd say both pullets, getting to point of lay.

 

[ramirezframing]

Well all I know is that I lost five hens that were perfectly fine and on one of the many egg collecting trips I take a day. I would find one with a still warm egg right behind her in a nest box and her warm and movable but DEAD!

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

Well all I know is that I lost five hens that were perfectly fine and on one of the many egg collecting trips I take a day. I would find one with a still warm egg right behind her in a nest box and her warm and movable but DEAD!

The pushing can be too hard on their heart and make them stroke out or have heart attacks right on the nest. I had kept 7 hens one year and the oldest made it to 1.5 yrs before I found her dead in the nest with a warm egg. I've watched 2 stroke out running after a grasshopper in the afternoon in the middle of summer, we were sitting outside with guests and the chickens were free range and 2 monsters seen the same grasshopper and ran out from the shade(where they were sitting panting already) and didn't even make it 20 ft before both went down. Dumb as bricks those were, they were 7 months old.
Strict feeding is key to keeping them longer, but they are just not build for it in the long run.

 

[dolly85]

How do you know the egg was layed by the dead hen and not another hen sharing the nest box?

 

[PinkHairGirl]

Thank you everyone.
They free range all day around the garden and compost heap and generally eat as much as they can get their little beaks into. I do give them mixed chicken feed morning and night, I wonder if I should stop.

I am from South Africa and was pretty sure they were meat birds just was not sure if I had another Roo. I am going to wait and see if they lay and hope that they survive our hot South Africa summer.