Does anyone know how to sex Cornish Rock chicks?

[lightchick]

Are they feather sexed or what? The chicks I'd be looking at would be anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks.

 

[Twistedfeather]

Cornish rocks grow at a rapid pace. They are ready to butcher at 7 weeks and rarely crow if that's your concern. By week three to four weeks you can start to tell. (Combs.) I'm no expert of feather sexing but I don't see why it wouldn't work since they grow rapidly.

 

[lightchick]

Well. I'm planning on keeping only one and having it as a pet only. Of course I'd have to grow it really slowly.....

 

[Chris09]

Well. I'm planning on keeping only one and having it as a pet only. Of course I'd have to grow it really slowly.....

You would almost have to starve the bird and even then they don't live that long..

 

[Twistedfeather]

They grow at the same rate it'd be cruel to starve it . (Cornish Cross HAVE to eat more than your average chicken because their metabolism is faster)

 

[lightchick]

I wouldn't starve it. I care for my animals. Would it even be possible to raise them so they can live longer? I heard somewhere that if you feed them normal chick starter they grow slower. Is that true? I'm just THINKING about doing this. I really just was interested in saving one if I could.

 

[Twistedfeather]

I totally understand and you can experiment with that and maybe it will work. I understand you wouldn't starve it (that was a miswordage on my part) but I have never tried going past that seven to eight weeks because they can't walk well anymore our 6lb broilers started to do the split because they couldn't support themselves. Never feed a Cornish Rock medicated chick feed or worm them. I normally set mine on flock raiser from the start (this puts weight on turkeys) I do not agree with the Cornish Cross chicken and would raise a Heritage bird any day.

What we're trying to warn you is that Cornish Cross are honestly meant for commercial usage and the only time I ever raised them was for county fair. When you see people rescue chickens half the time it's battery hens who have a normal metabolism and won't hurt themselves. If you like what they look like why not find Cornish or a Plymouth Rock?

 

[Cowgirl71]

I fed mine regular chick starter and rationed it, per hatchery instructions, by giving them free choice feed for 12 hours and then no feed for 12 hours. They still dressed out at 4-5 pounds each at 8-10 weeks.

Even if you were to severely ration your bird it's still going to mature really big, probably about three times the size of a regular hen. Honestly, if you're wanting to rescue a hen, the best thing would probably be to buy a retired "spent" commercial laying hen. These are usually 18 month old or so White Leghorns or Red Sexlinks that have spent their entire mature lives in a tiny cage and are about to get a one-way ticket to Campbell's chicken noodle soup company.

If you want to go ahead with the Cornish cross, I'd look at the two week olds and pick the one with the smallest palest comb. Assuming they're straight run, I think that would be a pretty safe bet.

 

[GoldenChick910]

You would almost have to starve the bird and even then they don't live that long..

Actually I had one as a pet and she did great she did great and even laid very large eggs daily. They need to be able to roam free and get lots of exercise as well as have fruit and vegetables in their food.