I've read so many posts on here about the Cornish X. Most of them ARE negative. I've read how they will either fall over dead after a certain age or their legs will break...how they will not be good egg layers....how dirty they are...and that they will NOT roost. Well,I wanted to show some that if the proper care is taken,these guys can be just like "Normal" chickens. My chicks are 17 weeks old. Guess what?? I just got my first egg from my Cornish X today. I put it beside a Store bought Large egg to show size. I'm thinking after time,they will get bigger. Not only that,but I wanted to also show that these guys CAN roost. You just have to give them a way to do it. They've been roosting like this for over a month now. Come morning,they'll all go to the top of the fence and fly down outside of the coop. I don't think my chickens are any dirtier than any other chicken. Yea,they do take dirt naps and get a bit dusty then,but what chickens don't? Anyhow,just wanted to share some pictures...
Meet Big Moe 1 1/2 years old. He was from McMurray hatchery broiler stock. He is a big baby, obese, fat and lazy and too large to fly up on the roost anymore. He has a special box in the coop where he lays at night !
Nice pictures!! I reallydon't understand the bad press the Cornish X get. I like them and I think they are fun to raise. They poop a lot because they eat and drink a lot more than your standard chicken and I think folks don't take that into consideration when estimating the amount of bedding and/or space necessary to keep them clean. We bed ours on shavings and we add more shavings whenever necessary. We don't give ours roosts because they go to freezer camp before roosts are really necessary. Plus I am a little concerned about them hurting their legs when they jump down. The very first Cornish X I got I wanted for pets and I did everything wrong. Managed to kill them all except for one. He grew to be huge. Glad to see yours are doing so well.
Mine are in the freezer now but they ran with my other chickens. They free ranged all day & after feeding at night they went to roost with all the other birds. Some times they would be roosting as high as 7' which is the highest perch I have for them. I only had problems with one bird that could barely move around. She would stay inside & lay on the ground all the time & only got up to eat. She was half the size of the others & died while I was sick & my 6 year old was the only one taking care of them on the hottest days of this summer. Mine probably didn't grow as fast as others but they were healthy, taste great, & didn't eat much feed. They would have rather laid beside the feeder & waited for another scoop but I liked the pasturing idea better.
Great pics! Cornish X are bred for a purpose and a time frame for harvest like any other crop. Great birds and we grow a crop to replenish our freezer when needed. Are you trying to breed to raise your own?
Southerngirl...GREAT pic of your Roo. He sure is handsome. Glad to read that he has made it past his 1 year Bday!! Well,I'm not really trying to raise my own...but with 3 roosters,I'm sure I'll have some babes. Which is fine with me..I think these guys are THE sweetest. I'm thinking of putting one of the Roos in the Freezer though. They all go after the hens so much,I'm surprised they have any head feathers left. That was another thing I had read,how the Cornish X are so big they can't mount a hen to mate. Soooo not true!! Trust me on this! LOL
OK-so I am NOT the only one that loves their meaties. I recieved my first bunch (11 1wk. ago) and their poop DID smell worse (to the extent that it was the cleaned up material from 1 day prior still in a feed bag by their brooder) but in general they did NOT smell worse. they moved to chicken shed at 2 days old with heat lamp and ruby dog to guard them at night and they are doing wonderful. this post kind of worries me because now i think I will be able to differentiate one from another and it will become a pet.
Congratulations! When one educates oneself on the qualities of the Cornish X, understands their purpose, and raises them by following the established protocals, one has great success with these birds. As the old saying goes... " the eye of the master fattens the cattle".
I hadn't heard that they WON'T roost, but that you shouldn't LET them roost if they are to be used as broilers.
What does letting them roost have to do with whether or not you eat them? I have read on here a couple of times,people posting that they will not roost. Just wanted to show that they can. Now they can't fly up there like a smaller chicken,that's why we made the ladder thing for them.
