Cornish X noobie problems

[pony007]

I recently got an order of chicks, 13 egg layer chicks and 2 cornish x's. Me and my husband want to get into starting/finishing our own meat birds. However, we only wanted a couple to start to see if we could go through with the whole process without having to commit to prepping 20 birds.

I started everyone out together for the first 2 weeks. The meaties are getting a little too plump coming into 3 weeks, so I removed them from the rest of the chicks to start the 12on/12off tonight. One of the meat chicks is fine, doesn't care at all at the flock reduction, but the second one is throwing a huge fit, screaming his little head off. I don't want to stress them out, but they need to eat less, cause they already look like they have balloons for butts. We planned on having the two out in a chicken tractor here soon, so they would have needed to be separated for that anyways.

Was separating them the right course of action? Will the little guys be ok with just the two of them (in thier separate brooder and then in the tractor)?

I'm regretting not getting 4 or 5, simply for the social interaction they need, but hind sight is 20/20. Gotta make the best out of the situation.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

I recently got an order of chicks, 13 normal chicks and 2 cornish x's. Me and my husband want to get into meat birds, but we only wanted a couple to start to see if we could really go through with the whole process, without having to commit to 20 birds.

I started everyone out together for the first 2 weeks. The meaties are getting a little too plump coming into 3 weeks, so I removed them from the rest of the chicks to start the 12on/12off tonight. One of the meats is fine, doesn't care at all at the flock reduction, but the second little meat is throwing a huge fit, screaming his little head off. I don't want to stress them out, but they need to eat less, cause they already look like they have balloons for butts. We planned on having the two out in a chicken tractor here soon, so they would have needed to be separated for that anyways.

Was separating them the right course of action? Will the little guys be ok with just the two of them?

I'm regretting not getting 4 or 5, simply for the social interaction they need, but hind sight is 20/20. Gotta make the best out of the situation.

I'm confused. Are you using them for meat or not? Not judging, just asking for clarification.

Cornish X cannot be kept as pets. They are bred to gain weight rapidly. Even with exercise and a chicken tractor, you're looking at a few weeks tops before they become unable to move or function. They get so heavy they cripple themselves. It really isn't fair to them to keep them alive past a certain point.

If you're uncomfortable in the end with butchering them, you can always sell them or give them to someone who will. I hope this helps.

 

[pony007]

Yes we fully intend on butchering them. These 2 are a practice run for me and my husband, to see how hard the process is going to be. I know they can have heart/bone issues if they're on constant feed, so i removed them from the egg layer chicks, to better regulate their feed (they look really plump compared to pics of other meat birds at their age). I just feel bad, cause they are upset that they aren't in the main group of chicks anymore.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Yes we fully intend on butchering them. These 2 are a practice run for me and my husband, to see how hard the process is going to be. I know they can have heart/bone issues if they're on constant feed, so i removed them from the egg layer chicks, to better regulate their feed. I just feel bad, cause they are upset that they aren't in the main group of chicks anymore.

Most people keep them separate. Meat birds consume a ridiculous amount of feed, and can also injure your other chicks/chickens due to their weight and size. The 2 meat birds together should be okay.

 

[pony007]

Most people keep them separate. Meat birds consume a ridiculous amount of feed, and can also injure your other chicks/chickens due to their weight and size. The 2 meat birds together should be okay.

I should have jsut started them out in separate brooders. They weren't really causing too much of a problem in the other brooder as they just lay around and eat 24/7. But that was the issue.. Don't want my chicken dinners dying early!

They have seemed to settle down after a couple hours of being put in their new brooder, so i hope they will be okay.

 

[cassie]

I don't know if this will help. My meat chicks had access to feed from seven in the morning until seven at night. Your other chickens can get along on that schedule. You are better off to keep them separate though. The Cornish X eat a lot, poop a LOT, and grow fast.

 

[pony007]

I don't know if this will help. My meat chicks had access to feed from seven in the morning until seven at night. Your other chickens can get along on that schedule. You are better off to keep them separate though. The Cornish X eat a lot, poop a LOT, and grow fast.

Thats what we ended up doing with our Cornish X. They stayed separated and got food 7am to 7PM. Worked best that way, they were really poopy and i have them on different feed than the layer chicks. The layer chicks all moved out to the coop a week after and the meatie boys were fine just the two of them. It was just traumatic for them for the first couple hours.