Buckeye X Cornish X breeding project. Third generation pics pg. 20

[Bettacreek]

I zip tied mine, but even with tightening it just enough to not slip off, they're outgrowing them very quickly. 200 zip ties would be a pain in the arse to adjust or clip off and rezip. Our BR roo came from the feed store/hatchery with a blue dot on his head. Maybe you could figure something out that would be similar (shoe polish?! lol). I just don't think that P. marker is going to hold up.

 

[SteveH]

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He will not have 200 to mark , just the few he gets from his 'bator . At the cost , zip ties can be cut off and replaced but in a pinch when it was choice of driving to the store to get more or loosening three or four , I loosened them .

. They do get brittle in time and aren't as good for making permanent connecters as I thought as they would be . A toe punch kit is cheap and its permanent , but bands are easy to see from a distance of several feet .

 

[Brunty_Farms]

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You might try spiral leg bands , they expand with growth to a degree . Zip ties are very cheap temporary leg bands and I have used a mini screw driver or the point of my knife to lift the lock tab and let them out to a bigger size , but its a pain LOL . Wing bands can be purchased with numbers to identify each individual chick and left for life if you want to get fancy and get some really accurate records . Or you could just toe punch them for permanent identification .

Come to think of it, my Buckeyes have wing blue wing bands on them... were could I get those at? I would imagine just about any poultry supplier online will have them.

By the way, I could see why holding a chicken in between your arms and with a tiny screw driver trying to get that tab to move.... LOL... I think the wing bands are a one time hit. How early can you put the wing bands on?

 

[Brunty_Farms]

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I would just do the 4-5 that are ones that I hatched. I just couldn't come to grips zip tying 200 birds.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

By the way, I'm down to 5 hens. The three older ones that I have were just way to big and I think the flipped. Very weird though because all three were dead in the same night. They were just laying there stiff as a board but not a normal flip. They had their feet under them, and just died in a normal sitting position. No feathers missing.... no blood. Very weird. However I do believe that they were not restricted at a younger age like the other 5 were. I had them on free choice feed for the last 10 days or so and that might have pushed them over the edge.

Not looking good 3 died at about 7-8 months. Very odd that all three died though in one night... do you think maybe they piled on each other? I'm puzzled.

 

[TimG]

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Isn't 0.24 lbs just under 4 ounces?

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Ya... that's what I meant. I guess .50 would be 8 oz. It's been a long week and it's only Tuesday!

 

[SteveH]

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I have some links for ordering bands of all sorts , if you need I'll post one ; permanent wing bands can be put on as they come out of the incubator .
And no , I loosened some larger ones used to hold a tarp down to readjust the tarp ; a young guy like yourself could see well enough and be co-ordinated enough to do the chickies if he were too tight to buy new ones . TBH I can't even see the tabs on those little ones if they have them

. I did , however , want to read a report in a couple weeks of your struggles to readjust those ties

ETA : I have no ideas why three kicked off in one night and sorry you lost them ; it sure emphasizes the need for controlled feed consumption of them as breeders . Our weather here went from unseasonably warm in the day to low 40s ; something like that could throw some stress on them . Those huge hens of Katy's living on grass and bugs amaze me . In a way , it says something about their resilence to go from full feed to total self-sufficiency , continue to grow , and be healthy enough to lay fertile eggs . Still , their potential for rapid growth has to be cooled off a little to make a healthy breed . There are reasons the giant breeds take over a year to fully develope

, but I think there is the potential to grow a Cornish body bigger and faster than a standard Cornish does .

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Bummer about your hens Jeff, I have to say I doubt a 7 or 8 month old bird would die from piling in you nice set up. I have had to put mine into a pens with free choice feeders a couple of times and watched them go down hill immediately, I'm betting that had more to do with it. I'm guessing that when mine go it will be laying down normally as that seems to be the position that puts the most strain on their cardio system. I just decided last night to run a 2X4 across their pen about four inches off the ground, a modified perch so to speak, to see if that will ease up on their systems a bit - they're looking rough and have stopped laying

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I'm agreeing with what you said there at the end Steve.
I am coming to be of the opinion that while there is special breeding and line crossing in the CX's, I think an important factor in their rapid growth is all that extra high protien feed that is immediately given to them.
I got a batch of CX's last week and am experimenting by feeding them as regular chicks (standard medicated starter & whole grains for 4 weeks then standard grower & whole grains to finish weight) I want to see if that eliminates the "stink" and "grossness" as I feel that a lot of those undesired smells are coming from excess protien being excreted instead of utilized . . . just a theory.