At what age do leg problems and heart attacks start in Cornish X?

[backintime]

I have 18 Cornish X that are 6 weeks old. My roo's weigh in at 8 pounds now. Both hens and roo's are looking healthy and moving around fine, but they are "plopping down" harder and more often than they used to. I'm trying to decide whether it's wise to try to keep them alive another week for the extra meat, or if I'm going to run into trouble and lose some.

Does anybody know at what age the leg/heart troubles really begin?

 

[agriewahn]

Feed them a good high protein diet and hold on to them another week or 2. Seems the fatter they get, the more they plop.

 

[chicken farmer meigs]

Keep em going until 8 weeks. The heart problem can happen at anytime. Its not really an age thing its more from growing to fast and there hearts and legs cant keep up.

 

[backintime]

OK, thanks! (Sorry I didn't thank you sooner . . . life happens!)

 

[peterlund]

I raised 6 Cornish X this spring. The first 3 went to freezer at 8 weeks and they were healthy and active and other than plopping down after they ate, seemed quite normal... although HUGE compared to regular chickens... I let the last three go for two more weeks and they were clearly in distress... constant panting, and they really were starting to look ragged with feather loss and grime as they just cannot groom themselves. 6 weeks is a bit early, 7 is perfect and 10 is just torture to the birds... Even the butcher that did my processing said after 8 weeks they are only putting on more fat. Good luck.

 

[dancingbear]

If they start to pant or wheeze, butcher quick before they drop dead. Sounds like they're certainly big enough to do now, if you wanted to.