broken beaks???

[Chew593]

Either way you have a mess on your hands. You either got the wrong type of birds or you have some illness or behaviors to address. Best of luck!

 

[chickabiddies]

Seems you guys are right! I went onto the gender/breed forum as suggested and a number of people agreed rather quickly with your thoughts.
Meat birds!?! What am I gonna do with 58 meat birds? Well, Cornish X's is what everyone seems to think... Time to investigate how these birds need to be cared for., annd what exactly a Cornish X is!!
I already took out the roosts and am taking precautions with feed etc.

Definitely interested to see what the hatchery has to say.
Anybody had to do this before??? I have no idea what to say! lol

 

[Judy]

Guess you're going to learn how to process!!! They will be yummy....

Let us know how it goes with the hatchery. I suspect you'll get credit with little hassle.

 

[Chew593]

Quote:
please let us know what they say. I just hope they make it right for you.

 

[mypicklebird]

You need to send photos to the hatchery you got them from- I also think you got the switchero- probably a silly accident- but unfortunate for you, as you wanted egg layers. You need to look up ASAP care for cornish x, as they have special feeding needs. IE, not letting them eat all of the time, and a often a different food than standard chick start. No perches.

Push on their beaks- if they are flexible & rubbery- you may have ricketts (aka calcium or Vit D deficiency) this would make soft beaks that are easily broken (legs too).
Feathering on meat birds usually looks pretty bad- they are bred to put all of their energy & growth into meat, not nice feathers. Sudden death due to heart problems is also common.
Also either start planning for processing them, or find someone who might want to buy them for processing if you do not want to.

 

[chickabiddies]

Thanks for all the advice. i am really digging this website!

My Aunt knows how to process birds, and I also know a guy who has mentioned that he has good friends near us that can help on butchering day. it's gonna be a long day if someone with experience isn't there!

Plus, I already have people lined up who want to buy them! Now I have to decide if I'm willing to share ...lol

I will let you know what the hatchery says.
Off to buy MORE food. Hungry little buggers.

 

[Judy]

Sounds good.

Just another bit of advice: don't plan on processing all of them in one day! And if you like to eat the skin, have lots of feather pickers available. Our grandkids were great for this. Skinning is a lot quicker and easier than picking feathers, if you are not a skin eater.

 

[chickabiddies]

Thanks for the advice.

I was going to process them all in one day because I think I can pull together the crew to do it. HOWEVER, I just read that you have to let them sit in the fridge for 2 days prior to freezing! I have more than enough freezer space for 58 birds ... but not enough fridge space to let them sit the 2 days.

Phew. That would have been a horrible "oh shoot!" moment. Though I suspect one of my "crew" (all experienced) would have told me it wasn't going to work before we got started.

I called Welp and the office manager had me send pictures so he can have them looked at by the workers. I can't remember who it is he is sending them too ... lab guys?
If there was a mix up he said he'd send the right order.

These meat birds are great ... now that I know not to be alarmed by the whole feather thing. I don't mind to pay for them, but I do still want my egg layers. When I looked on Welp's site it said they were sold out of White Rocks for the year.
Hmmmm. Maybe Buff Orpington??? Looks like they get big, are docile, don't mind the cold winter, and are good layers.

 

[chickabiddies]

No deal from Welp hatchery. They had their people look a my pictures. They said they are definitely white rocks. the males feather in slower because they are rapid growers. Supposedly they will lay eggs as planned.

back to square one! I'll still be watching them very carefully over the next few weeks. I'd rather butcher them if they get too big and get new birds from somewhere else.

 

[Judy]

White rocks, huh? Hmmm... wonder what the folks on the meat birds forum think....

Anyway, I dug this thread up again because I just read another one. Thought it might solve your original puzzle, on the beak problems:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=197584

Subscribing again....