Cornish X over due for slaughter ***POOPING BLOOD***

[mychookschick]

I posted this in the Meat birds section, but haven't gotten any replies, so I decided to put it here too...

I posted a few days ago (in the meat bird section) saying that I was being given some Cornish X that were way over due for slaughter. I had decided to keep them for a few days before I had them done, to check for worms, etc. Well, I was just outside and one is pooping blood! Is this a sign of worms? Something else? Also, one is sneezing... Is this just upper respitory (sp?) issues due to them being over grown? Or could it be something that we souldn't eat them over? Another thing, I am going looking for pics of bumble foot right now, because I think that atleast one of them has it... I am starting to think that this was a bad idea! Let me know about my questions... Thanks in advance!

And I want to add to this post that I was wondering if the one with bloody poop has cocci? If so, we can't eat it right? And the one with possible bumblefoot... If that is what it is, it is VERY progressed!​

 

[purpletree23]

I would ask the butcher.

When meat birds are kept past the time they should have been dressed and in the freezer all kinds of things go wrong. They are a genetic mess.

 

[CMV]

The one with cocci should be OK to eat. The one with the advanced bumblefoot I wouldn't eat. Chickens tend to pocket infections, but who knows if it has spread to the rest of the body. If a bird is showing signs of an infection, then I wouldn't eat it. If you get the infection cleaned up then it should be OK. The sneezing one probably has an airway irritation or infection. It should be fine to eat, but I'd keep it away from any of your laying flock. It might be carrying something that could infect your laying birds. Not a big deal in meat birds (which are going to be slaughtered), but detrimental to layers (which you tend to keep for several years).

Hope this helps. Enjoy those birds. I can't wait to grow out some more CXs this year. Delicious.

 

[mychookschick]

Ok... Thank you! I got a different answer in the meat birds section. Ugh. They kept telling me that they were fine to eat, but it just didn't sound right...

Anyways, I got to talk to the butcher shop, and they said that they aren't even opening until June 3rd! And then they don't start processing birds until they are 8 weeks from delivery. Not helpful. Now I have to do something myself! Whether we just be merciful and kill them, or if we try to get some help from friends for butchering, I don't know.

It makes me mad that they would go to the trouble of ordering these birds, feeding them, and then randomly decide not to eat them, so they sit around and get fat. Get cocci, and bumble foot because of downright discusting living conditions, and now we can't do anything with them! Poor birds!

 

[CMV]

I read the replies in the meat section and they were basically telling you the same things I was. You can eat any one of the birds because chicken diseases are generally not transmissible to humans directly. (Some airborne illnesses can be passed to humans, but eating the birds shouldn't give you any problems.) I am slightly more conservative about what I eat, though. Cocci is OK- no worries. Questionable respiratory infection- I'd cook the meat thoroughly (but then again I cook my chicken thoroughly anyway) to ensure it's safety, but I'd still eat it. Symptomatic bumblefoot infection- I'd still pass on this one. I would treat and cure the condition prior to eating this bird. I am slightly finicky about the idea of eating a bird with an active and spreading infection.

Once the bird was healthy then I wouldn't hesitate to add it to the freezer.

 

[mychookschick]

Hey... Thanks again! We'll see, but I don't think that with the age of these birds and with all of the complications, that we are going to do anything with them. We got them for free and have only fed them for a few days, so it isn't that big of a deal... It does sort of bum me though...