Cornish X's = Nastiest birds EVER

[K9FindM]

I totally agree - I can't believe the recent article regarding "The Truth" because I just raised half a dozen Cornish X birds for the first time. Not the first time for chickens, I have had layers and dual purpose birds for 30 years. This was the first time I raised strictly a meat bird and I read that article plus numerous others. I raised them with RIR and BR's at the same time. They had a fenced in coop with a small yard that I opened during the daytime onto a fenced in almost 1/4 acre for them to free range. The Cornish X wouldn't know how to free range if the other chicks weren't around and they never went very far into the open paddock anyway. They preferred to lay in front of their feeder waiting on me to dump feed. They were also the nastiest smelling animals I had ever experienced. If the older hens got near them, they picked on them. Not complaining, just stating facts. It was an experience that I will never do again. We processed last night and I cleaned the coop out and it doesn't smell this morning with only the layers in there. I appreciate the article on "the truth" but it was only their experience and I don't believe it is a fair and balanced article.

 

[aoxa]

I totally agree - I can't believe the recent article regarding "The Truth" because I just raised half a dozen Cornish X birds for the first time. Not the first time for chickens, I have had layers and dual purpose birds for 30 years. This was the first time I raised strictly a meat bird and I read that article plus numerous others. I raised them with RIR and BR's at the same time. They had a fenced in coop with a small yard that I opened during the daytime onto a fenced in almost 1/4 acre for them to free range. The Cornish X wouldn't know how to free range if the other chicks weren't around and they never went very far into the open paddock anyway. They preferred to lay in front of their feeder waiting on me to dump feed. They were also the nastiest smelling animals I had ever experienced. If the older hens got near them, they picked on them. Not complaining, just stating facts. It was an experience that I will never do again. We processed last night and I cleaned the coop out and it doesn't smell this morning with only the layers in there. I appreciate the article on "the truth" but it was only their experience and I don't believe it is a fair and balanced article.

Your management.

Read other peoples accounts. Get them out on pasture at 2 weeks! If you raise them in early spring where there is no pasture, they will not forage like they should.

I have videos/photos and lots of other people who raised them similarly agreed it can be done.

 

[LindaB220]

Your management.

Read other peoples accounts. Get them out on pasture at 2 weeks! If you raise them in early spring where there is no pasture, they will not forage like they should.

I have videos/photos and lots of other people who raised them similarly agreed it can be done.

Agreed. Making them stand up to eat and drink helps a lot. Keep food and liquid apart so they have to walk. And think about fermented feed next time. Cuts the smell sooooo much. Easy to do.

You say you won't do it again, but wait until you taste the fabulous chicken.

 

[aoxa]

Agreed. Making them stand up to eat and drink helps a lot. Keep food and liquid apart so they have to walk. And think about fermented feed next time. Cuts the smell sooooo much. Easy to do.

You say you won't do it again, but wait until you taste the fabulous chicken.

Can't be beat for that texture!!

I fed them way away from the brooder. They had to move to get to it.. Plus when they go 8 hours between feedings, they must find something else to eat. Mine were so active through the day.

Never laid around except right after they ate. They would take a snack nap for about 45 minutes and get back to foraging.

 

[mendocinobirds]

Lies, lies and more lies. That's what the industry and inexperienced farmers spread


about the CornishX. This is a magnificent and compassionate chicken they have created, quite accidentally while breeding it for maximum meat and maximum speed of rearing. I saved this Cornish X hen from my last slaughter so I could use her for breeding. I moved 35 baby Cornish and Red Broilers into her house when they were 10 days old. She immediately became interested in them. She is just 4 months old, too young for eggs or babies. AS time passed she started protecting them and caring for them. There are also 10 I hatched here, so its a big crowd. Now they sleep up in her body, like she was their real mom chicken. Other chicken breeds do NOT accept babies past the third day of the babies and not usually past the first. There are many aspects to the Cornish X that Im finding that are endearing and fascinating, including mating pairs....When I put the light on her she was still asleep but true to the CornishX stereotype, moved to the food and began to eat, babies following along

 

[Beekissed]

I totally agree - I can't believe the recent article regarding "The Truth" because I just raised half a dozen Cornish X birds for the first time. Not the first time for chickens, I have had layers and dual purpose birds for 30 years. This was the first time I raised strictly a meat bird and I read that article plus numerous others. I raised them with RIR and BR's at the same time. They had a fenced in coop with a small yard that I opened during the daytime onto a fenced in almost 1/4 acre for them to free range. The Cornish X wouldn't know how to free range if the other chicks weren't around and they never went very far into the open paddock anyway. They preferred to lay in front of their feeder waiting on me to dump feed. They were also the nastiest smelling animals I had ever experienced. If the older hens got near them, they picked on them. Not complaining, just stating facts. It was an experience that I will never do again. We processed last night and I cleaned the coop out and it doesn't smell this morning with only the layers in there. I appreciate the article on "the truth" but it was only their experience and I don't believe it is a fair and balanced article.

You raised 6 birds of this breed and you feel your experience is a fair and balanced opinion? You might want to try them with a different method before stating "the facts", seeing as that is only your experience when you tried to raise this type of bird once and only raised 6 of them. The author of the truth has raised many of this breed by now, as have many of us, and we have a totally different perspective than yours that would seem to support the findings in that article.

It's all in how you manage them.

 

[K9FindM]

Could the birds be "different" Cornish X's? Mine were way heavier than the birds in the video at that age. I used the advice from this site to research and help in raising these birds. They couldn't run, they weren't interested in foraging and hardly had any feathers to cover their bodies. I kept them out with my egg layers and they were more interested in laying down in front of their feeders whether I had filled them or not. The egg layers started to pick on them and I felt awful for even deciding to try and raise them. I thought it would help them go out and forage if they followed the egg layers out. They were the best chicken I've ever eaten, but I felt awful about raising them.

 

[LaylaFlora]

I too had a wonderful experience raising cornish X's!

I let them free range after 2 weeks/fully feathered and they were surprisingly very good foragers. I had heard that they would not forage but they did. I had no issue with excessive stinkiness.

The meat was delicious. Legs were a little tough I think because of all the exercise they got.

 

[Beekissed]

Could the birds be "different" Cornish X's? Mine were way heavier than the birds in the video at that age. I used the advice from this site to research and help in raising these birds. They couldn't run, they weren't interested in foraging and hardly had any feathers to cover their bodies. I kept them out with my egg layers and they were more interested in laying down in front of their feeders whether I had filled them or not. The egg layers started to pick on them and I felt awful for even deciding to try and raise them. I thought it would help them go out and forage if they followed the egg layers out. They were the best chicken I've ever eaten, but I felt awful about raising them.

Some strains of this bird are more active than others, that is true....the last set I had were less inclined to run and forage like the first two groups I had, but they still didn't sit by any feeder waiting for food...they were out foraging until feeding time. Could you describe what advice you used to raise them? The birds in that video were being fed just once per day and only what they would clean up in one meal. They were being fed a mix of fermented layer mash and whole grains after the 2nd week and they also were put out to free range in that second week. If they wanted food, they had to go out and get some in the grass and forest. Since CX are driven by hunger, they pretty much had to get out there and rustle up some grub.

 

[KittieChick]

I had 6 CX chicks last March at 3 weeks old that I got from a friend. (she was overwhelmed with other things) They were HUGE chicks, and smelly. I think they were being free-fed. I immediately started feeding only 2x daily, and finished their feathering out in a wire X-pen in the shed with a heat lamp. When the weather warmed up, they went into an enclosed area to scratch around and at 5 weeks, they spent all their time outside.

Eventually, they outgrew the small space, so I opened the gate, and they free ranged the backyard from then until we processed them in July. Funny birds, but a couple of cockerels were getting a little feisty at the end. They feasted on June bugs, centipedes, and just about anything they could find.

I started FF with them in May, and the poops firmed up and looked healthy within a couple days. I really enjoyed these white birds. They were nice to interact with.

Our largest dressed bird was 6.6 pounds. My friend had a 12 lb dressed bird from the same batch of chicks. I would bet that bird wasn't chasing bugs the morning it died.