Are your Cornish X dirty?

[V-NH]

I'm just curious whether or not your Cornish X are dirty? I've noticed that mine don't really dust bathe or maintain themselves at all. While my White Leghorns are perfectly white and clean virtually all the time, my Cornish X seem to always have dirt on them.

This is my first time raising them, so I am trying to figure out what the best management techniques are. I tried to raise them on grass, but I only have a limited amount of it (most of my property is wooded) and they didn't cooperate when I tried to move the tractor. They would hunker down against the back edge and sometimes get a let or something stuck under the edge. I have since started keeping it in the same spot and adding/turning mulch every other day to keep the area fresh. I don't really like that method either.

How do you manage your Cornish X?

 

[Life is Good!]

Our CX preen themselves often, but their feathers are constantly dirty. They are not 'white' birds, more like 'dark white'!
We have a tractor inside a large run - the tractor gets moved weekly (more often as they're closer to Camp). I have their food trough on the opposite end of the run, so they get breakfast out in the run, dinner in their tractor (so I can lock them up easily). So while they're eating breakfast, I move the tractor as needed.

The other odd thing about CX is the definite lack of feathering on the breast. As they grow, you'll notice 'bare' spots on their chests - there simply are no feathers there. It's really weird! But in the summer heat, it's a blessing, as it helps to keep them cooler.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Yes, Cornish are dirty birds. They eat a lot, poop a lot and don't move much. This is what they were bred to do, put on weight fast. I've only raised one group and due to a very cold spring, they spent more time inside my garage than in the tractor I'd built for them. I tried to divide the extra large brooder into a feeding half and a nesting half. The feeding half just had a tarp for a floor which I could scrape off every few days with a oversized dust pan. The nesting half I tried to keep full of fresh pine shavings. I could scoop poop daily with a cat litter scoop and add fresh bedding on top. About every week I had to shovel out the whole mess. The good news about the lack of feathers on the chest is that they are much easier to pluck than the Freedom Rangers I raised last summer but you'll probably want to rinse them before you scald them because otherwise your scalding water will be very dirty very fast.

 

[redsoxs]

Their slovenliness is what makes them dirty - if allowed to remain in one place they are more than happy to do all their business - eating, drinking, pooping, sleeping - in one place. Make them them move to different places to get what they need. Their belly and breast feathers can get matted with poop. When I dress mine, after I have bled them I hang them upside down and blast the poopy area with the hose to get off what I can before scalding. Kind of disgusting while doing it but it's long forgotten come fall and winter - the smell of one roasting in the oven with rosemary and lemon makes it all worth it!!

 

[V-NH]

Another thing I've noticed is that they don't eat nearly as much as I thought they would. Mine spend most of their day just laying around nowhere near the food. Every couple of hours they'll go over and eat for a couple minutes, then they'll go back to their usual sitting spot.

 

[phalenbeck]

I do what I can, with tractor moving, new straw/grass/woodchips, but when it is all done they are dirty. More space, and letting them out helps, and some think I am silly, but I bath them day before sending them to freezer camp. I would rather process a clean bird. With dual purpose this is not necessary.

 

[thekings5]

Mine have plenty of breast feathers and are very pretty white but dirty on their bits and some bald on their butts. The peculiar thing with my flock is that all of the birds have white legs and primarily white beaks but one is beautifully yellow legs and beak and his crown is brighter red also. Anyone else seen that before?

 

[Chickie McFly]

We have an accidental pet Cornish. She is beautifully white and loves to take dirt baths but can’t get to her bottom so it is very dirty. She loves baths but really I would rather not. She is 6 months old and weighs about 15 pounds. I found her on a walk in the middle of nowhere. We keep her outside during the day but she sleeps in a pen with pine shavings at night. Any suggestions on how to keep her backside clean?

 

[Chickie McFly]

Trying to learn how to use this site. This is Chickie McFly a Cornish X zand she is 6 months old.

 

[Kelly Holt]

We've raised meat birds 4 times, a different breed each time. The first two times were Cornish X. We put them in a large 6'x8' chicken tractor and move them every morning. We use large round feeders and we remove the feed at night (12 hrs on and 12hrs off). In the AM we bring the feed and they act like they are on the verge of starving to death. So, we place the feed in the tractor and they walk forward with the movement of the feed as we move (moved one 8' space) to get closer to the feed. We've never had an injury doing it this way.

We got to where we would move them 2 times a day the last week. I just couldn't bear the filth and smell, so we decided to try Red Rangers because of the filth of the Cornish X. We liked them but found plucking feathers by hand to be tedious because of the dark bases. But...it obviously didn't bother us too much because I got Kosher Kings this spring which are another dark feathered meat bird.

So far the Kosher Kings have gone well (they are 6 wks now) and I like the looks of them. I am surprised how much they act and look like the Cornish X (no bald spots except under their wings, but some have the fat feet, all gorge themselves, sit down after taking 5 or 6 steps and look like plump little dumplings) but they don't look dirty. They are extremely flighty though. They freaked out majorly every time I changed their feed or water when brooding. This might be a batch tendency vs a breed tendency. I don't know since this is my first time raising them.

I think I will keep getting something other than Cornish X mainly because I want something different than what I can get in the grocery store. Also, there is difficulty getting the Cornish because of demand.