Crooked toes/fingers on White Leghorn

[chickengeorgeto]

Meat birds are bred to be especially lazy because movement requires a chicken to squander its food reserves instead of making drumsticks. For a chicken to get to over 9 pounds in under 8 weeks requires some serious eating coupled with very little movement or strenuous exercise of any type.

Here is a real world comparison between CornishXs as they existed in 1957 and in 2006.
a space of only 49 years.

Notice that the weight of a new chick has only increased by 10 grams from 34 to 44 grams in that time while a 54 day old chick now weighs an astonishing 4,200 grams.

 

[Eggcessive]

They do look like meat birds or Cornish crosses to me as well. Are they much bigger than your other chickens the same age. Meat birds are ready for butchering around 6-8 weeks, and may suffer leg and foot problems, or suffer heart attacks if kept longer. TSC frequently has these birds labeled correctly, but if one doesn’t know they are meat birds, they may not know enough to tell them.

 

[Lbernie7]

Meat birds are bred to be especially lazy because movement requires a chicken to squander its food reserves instead of making drumsticks. For a chicken to get to over 9 pounds in under 8 weeks requires some serious eating coupled with very little movement or strenuous exercise of any type.

Here is a real world comparison between CornishXs as they existed in 1957 and in 2006.
a space of only 49 years.

Notice that the weight of a new chick has only increased by 10 grams from 34 to 44 grams in that time while a 54 day old chick now weighs an astonishing 4,200 grams.
View attachment 1350393 View attachment 1350393

Wow, that’s crazy. Thank you for the info!

 

[Lbernie7]

They do look like meat birds or Cornish crosses to me as well. Are they much bigger than your other chickens the same age. Meat birds are ready for butchering around 6-8 weeks, and may suffer leg and foot problems, or suffer heart attacks if kept longer. TSC frequently has these birds labeled correctly, but if one doesn’t know they are meat birds, they may not know enough to tell them.

They’re about double maybe triple the size of our other birds of the same age. The TSC in the next town over is seriously lacking in the common sense department, it’s just the way the whole town is unfortunately.

So here in another couple weeks they should be butchered?

 

[theoldchick]

Definitely not a Leghorn! This bird was bred to grow fast and be dinner by 6-8 weeks. Some folks keep Cornish alive by strictly controlling the diet.

https://www.farmsanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Animal-Care-Large-Breed-Chicken.pdf

 

[Eggcessive]

This happens a lot every year when someone buys white chicks, but the store clerks do not warn people that they are getting meat birds. If they are 6 weeks old, they can be butchered now or in the next 2 weeks. Since meaties eat so much food, if kept longer, they will need to have their food limited, and separated from the regular pullets, so they may get enough to eat.

 

[Lbernie7]

This happens a lot every year when someone buys white chicks, but the store clerks do not warn people that they are getting meat birds. If they are 6 weeks old, they can be butchered now or in the next 2 weeks. Since meaties eat so much food, if kept longer, they will need to have their food limited, and separated from the regular pullets, so they may get enough to eat.

Ok, thank you so very much for all the help!!!

 

[BrindleFinch]

Sorry to hijack the thread a little, but I have a question related to this and wasn't sure if it really warranted an entire new topic.

Do cornish X's usually have yellow legs?

The chick in my profile picture is the one in question... she was a "free," chick they stuffed in the box. She's super sweet, but growing fast, and I'm worried she's a cornish x.

Is the quality of life okay for cornish x's on a limited diet, or would it be more humane to process her at 6-8 weeks if she is a cornish x?

 

[Lbernie7]

Sorry to hijack the thread a little, but I have a question related to this and wasn't sure if it really warranted an entire new topic.

Do cornish X's usually have yellow legs?

The chick in my profile picture is the one in question... she was a "free," chick they stuffed in the box. She's super sweet, but growing fast, and I'm worried she's a cornish x.

Is the quality of life okay for cornish x's on a limited diet, or would it be more humane to process her at 6-8 weeks if she is a cornish x?

That’s what our two looked like when we first got them too, so she might be a Cornish x. As for the other part, I don’t know. Good luck though!

 

[myvetluvsme]

My Leghorns look like that too. Most of them anyway. Short and stumpy with big bodies. I also have some that just look like a normal sized chicken. Most pics I've found show both kinds for Leghorns.