Big moosy, unhealthy chicken

[Usedtowanna]

We got an assortment of chicks from Tractor Supply. I can't remember what this huge white one was "supposed" to be but she's not right. She grew SO fast. She seems too heavy to walk well and she's so dirty and disheveled. What breed is she? We have leghorns and she is twice as wide as they are.

 

[Mr Beaks]

Poor baby. I think you may have a Cornish Cross meat bird.

 

[MysteryChicken]

That's a Cornish X, and she looks like she's ready for the freezer.

 

[Acre4Me]

Yes Cornish cross.

how old?

 

[Usedtowanna]

A Cornish! She's maybe 16 weeks?

 

[Acre4Me]

So, you can butcher yourself or sell to someone else who will butcher. You can keep and try to keep alive too, however, they generally don’t live that long since they are bred for short life and high feed to muscle conversion. So, there are people who have kept a Cornish alive on BYC, but seems the life span is somewhere around 8-14 months.

 

[Usedtowanna]

So, you can butcher yourself or sell to someone else who will butcher. You can keep and try to keep alive too, however, they generally don’t live that long since they are bred for short life and high feed to muscle conversion. So, there are people who have kept a Cornish alive on BYC, but seems the life span is somewhere around 8-14 months.

Thank you, that's helpful as we've never had a Cornish before.

 

[MysteryChicken]

You're welcome.

 

[Ruthster55]

To keep that “dirty and disheveled” Cornish X girl alive, you could try really limiting her feed while you free-feed the others. Yes...hard to do without a lot of fencing.

She’s just thicc that’s all....

Or, you could process that chicken as your very first meat bird!

Or, you could sell/give away to someone who will “take her off your hands.” (I think we know what they will do with a Cornish x....)

 

[SharW75]

My mother has a cornish rooster who is about 18 months old now, and, while he's not as active as his lighter flock-mates, he does pretty well for himself. His name is Marshmallow, and other than some bumblefoot that we are treating right now, he's good. If you want to keep them healthy as long as possible, limit their food intake, as others have said, and also give them as much opportunity to free-range as possible.