Mikey's current thoughts on chickens... (And I've not posted a pict of the peepers/cluckers in quite a while!)
1. I don't think they have advanced pain receptors like we do. They can obviously feel something but when they get pecked bloody, it doesn't seem to hurt them, just bothers them. Also, if I had a bloody, raw, pecked open sore
anywhere on my body like this Cornish roo does, and someone cleaned it out with soap and water like I did to it, (especially if it was a monster 40 times my size!) I wouldn't just stand in the sink and cluck.
2. The Cornish don't get handled like the rest ('cause I don't want to get attached to sumptin I'm gonna eat!) so they struggle a tad when I first pick them up. Today, this roo let out a noise that was as close to a crow as I've heard. Is this normal in a 5-1/2 week old bird? Also, the silly thing weighs 4.6 lbs (and yes Dr. Tracy I've been tough loving them feed wise). Is this normal for a Cornish cross?
3. This is One Dot. She is a sweetheart & probably my favoritist bird. I'm mentally anguishing over the fact that she may not be a Production Red, and my in fact be a Red Broiler. I'm thinking that regardless I'm not going to kill her. She is too sweet. But... how does she compare? She is way larger than one of the other red's - almost but not quite as big as the Cornish (Just not as fat!). She is also lighter in color than the others. When Tracy & I seperated the order I was supposed to have 2 Productions and 2 Broilers. We believe we got 3 & 1. Please take a look at the four picts below and let me know what you guys think: Production or Broiler
This is One Dot in her favorite pose - set'n in my hand
This is One Dot from the top view for comparison.
This is another red - we thought production red when Tracy & I divvied them up as fuzzys
The other female is similar in color but larger - the fourth Red is a roo & darker like this one. Just not fully feathered.
This is a size comparison between One Dot and A "Blue Butt Cornish" hen. She looks darker
in this pict than she really is. She is almost a uniform light brown (red?)
Black Australorp in the background.
What do ya'll think? And, If she is a Red Broiler, is there any harm in letting her live? What I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to ask is; I understand that letting a Cornish Cross live beyond 8 - 10 weeks is cruel because of their physiology, will a Red Broiler have the same health / quality of life issues past their due date?
Thanks in advance folks!
