Cornish Game Hens

[farmgirl1995]

Mk, so I know a Cornish Game Hen has been specifically bred for butchering but I just couldn't do that. Is it ok to keep them as egg layers? Do they get too fat to walk? Do they make good pets? I want to know everything about them because truly truly I couldn't kill them or even harbor the thought of sending them to slaughter.

 

[Lesa]

Why not get a good layer- if you have no intention of eating it?? No need to get meaties. They are not known for their laying and will probably be short lived.

 

[farmgirl1995]

Hm. I see your logic. Just thought I'd try something different but I guess you're right. Thank you!

 

[jaku]

Cornish Game Hens are, for the most part, just regular Cornish X's, butchered early. They may lay, but wouldn't really be a good choice if you primarily want them as layers.

 

[farmgirl1995]

Omg its gonna suck to butcher them............................

 

[jaku]

Quote:
Did you already get them? You don't HAVE TO butcher them- they will lay eggs if they get old enough. Similar to the fact that it's perfectly ok to eat a leghorn, it's ok to keep them for a purpose for which they weren't necessarily designed. Just be aware though, that they may not live to egg producing age.

 

[ChIck3n]

Yep, you can keep them the same way the breeders keep them. If you haven't got them yet, I would just choose from one of the hundreds of other fancy breeds if you want variety. If you have them already, you can do one of two things.

1. Butcher them. They are very tasty! If you don't want to do it, contact your Extension/4-H/FFA/whatever you have in your area agent. When the kids do broiler projects for showing, there are usually a few people that will butcher them for a low price. Contact them about having your birds butchered.

2. Keep them. This will require some work. If they have full reign of the feeders, they will grow very fat and probably have a short, slow life of sitting around in front of the feeder. What you need to do is limit their rations so they don't get too big. The large companies sometimes give the birds all they can eat one day, then withhold feed the next day. Or they limit the amount of food given each day, but this sometimes causes a few birds to eat a lot of food and get really fat while they others don't get enough. Don't give them fattening foods, just layer pellets will do. Even then they will still get fat and probably have a higher mortality rate then the regular layers. Just watch them, and vary feed as needed so they don't grow too fast. I can't really help you with amounts, as this is usually done on a massive scale and that is all I have been taught.

You will not get anywhere near the amount of eggs out of them as you would with nearly any other chicken. As far as pets, they are very slow birds and are generally docile after they get used to you. Hand feed them some food, and you will be friends for life! Just be warned that they don't always stand to defecate, so will not necessarily be the cleanest of birds to handle. Just clean up after them daily, and make sure they have clean litter.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

These were mine, they made it to a year and a half before their hearts gave out, they weighed 20 lbs apiece. Their names were Gloria and poopy butt Dorrie. I now have an entire flock of their offspring.

 

[ChIck3n]

Wow, THAT is a sizeable chicken!

 

[farmgirl1995]

@KatyTheChickenLady Oh wow.....20 lbs. Thats like the biggest chicken I've ever heard of. I'm sorry they died And @ ChIck3n Thanks for the info That helps alot. @ jaku no i dont have them yet so i guess i really wont get them