Cornish hens dilemma

[nknkdvt]

Hi. I bought 2 Cornish chicks about 4 months ago. They were adorable and I thought I would add them to my flock. They have outgrown the other chicks and their breasts are so large they barely walk. They lie down, eat and drink and poop on themselves. FYI they have lots of room to move around but don’t. I just read that they are often butchered at 5 weeks old. Is that true?

 

[Molpet]

Yes they are bred to be processed and have heart, leg problems. I had one that died after a year

 

[Fluffy_Butt]

Unfortunate that breed is pretty much a production meat bird. They're bred to eat and grow like crazy, much more/faster than is healthy and what their legs/hearts can handle. It can help to limit their food access to only a few hours throughout the day. Personally, I feel sorry for those poor birds. Good luck!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Well hold on, are they Cornish, or CornishX? Cornish should have no problems, it's the crossbreeds that get problems because they're too big

 

[JadeFarms]

Are they Cornish or Cornish X? Cornish X take a lot of time, space and money to keep alive so I recommend processing.