Easter Egger club!

[Sylvester017]

.. So basically diet and exercise will help? XD that's awesome! I did want to cull her.. but she's so friggin awesome and they seem to be sooooooooooooooooo attached!

Buff Orpingtons are wonderful birds that are great layers and docile pets, not exactly the best meat birds though. Cornish Cross are a completely different thing. Tuff is definitely a Cornish Cross. They must be kept on a strictly regulated diet for life, and exercise is a must. Start limiting Tuff's access to feed to just having access to it during the day. And keep it as far from the water and the heat source as possible. The idea is to make her move as much as possible to meet her needs. At 6 weeks, limit her to just 2 feedings a day, in the morning and evening. And get them out on grass as early as possible to encourage foraging.

Something I learned from a friend who raised a dozen Cornish X for fun -- if the birds are kept outdoors in a heatwave it is best not to keep the water too far from the feed. These birds can literally die of thirst because they won't move the 10 steps they need to get to the water. I feel so sorry for these poor babies. They grow so fast their skeletal structure can't support their fast and massive muscle or internal organ growth thanks to man's gross engineering of this poor breed. Sometimes they die from pain and suffering before they reach 2 months. They are fed continuously in the poultry industry to make them grow fast so it stands to reason to feed your chicks on a more sparse schedule to eliminate getting them to grow too heavy too fast. Sometimes Cx's that are overfed or not on a strict diet just rest themselves in front of their feed and water and don't move the whole day. So sad. Crows pecked and killed 1/2 my friend's Cx chicks through the pen wire because the chicks were just leaning on the side of the cage too heavy and lethargic to move.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Yes it I am not a big fan of the CX. I plan to raise some this fall, but they are not my favorite birds.
I agree be very diligent about food and encourage exercise. I always keep water as near and plentiful as possible, just make them work for every crumb of food, even scattering it out (in small quantities).

 

[love laugh farm]

Tuff is very mobile when she's in the cage and we are not holding her though, we are raising them outside in a cage next to the coop so they and the hens are used to each other by the time they are old enough to integrate. I feed the chicks once in the morning but give them enough to last the day and when I get home from work I feel their crops to see how much they've eaten and how much they've knocked down and buried. I'd love for the kids to be able to keep her long term but if she ever starts to show pain or laziness I will cull her. We have a dachshund trained to hunt and she's good about staying away from the cages but I wouldn't want to take the chance of Tuff being mauled through the pen from laziness, the kids would be much more upset about it happening that way

 

[Greenthumb83]

Something I learned from a friend who raised a dozen Cornish X for fun -- if the birds are kept outdoors in a heatwave it is best not to keep the water too far from the feed. These birds can literally die of thirst because they won't move the 10 steps they need to get to the water. I feel so sorry for these poor babies. They grow so fast their skeletal structure can't support their fast and massive muscle or internal organ growth thanks to man's gross engineering of this poor breed. Sometimes they die from pain and suffering before they reach 2 months. They are fed continuously in the poultry industry to make them grow fast so it stands to reason to feed your chicks on a more sparse schedule to eliminate getting them to grow too heavy too fast. Sometimes Cx's that are overfed or not on a strict diet just rest themselves in front of their feed and water and don't move the whole day. So sad. Crows pecked and killed 1/2 my friend's Cx chicks through the pen wire because the chicks were just leaning on the side of the cage too heavy and lethargic to move.

That is awful I had been tossing the idea around for Cornish X next year, because I have gotten attached to all of our DP birds and will have a hard time processing them (only 2 extra cockerels). This is just our test run, since we are new to chickens. If we do ok processing our own meat, we will do more next spring. I think I'd rather suffer a little myself, ending the life of a happy healthy bird for the freezer, than raising any of those. Just a person choice. Thank you for this info.

 

[cabinchicky]

Thinking of switching from quail to Cornish for more meat. Need to get hubby to approve yet.
On a side note I have 2 bantams that are psycho broody. They will not nest out of their home and are getting attitude adjustments by roosters,bigger hens and I. Lil evil things. Drawing blood too.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Tuff is very mobile when she's in the cage and we are not holding her though, we are raising them outside in a cage next to the coop so they and the hens are used to each other by the time they are old enough to integrate. I feed the chicks once in the morning but give them enough to last the day and when I get home from work I feel their crops to see how much they've eaten and how much they've knocked down and buried. I'd love for the kids to be able to keep her long term but if she ever starts to show pain or laziness I will cull her. We have a dachshund trained to hunt and she's good about staying away from the cages but I wouldn't want to take the chance of Tuff being mauled through the pen from laziness, the kids would be much more upset about it happening that way  

You might consider not allowing her to eat freely through the day. Unlike the other birds she will sit at the feeder and eat until it kills her. If you move the feeder up, even just a foot, she will not be able to reach the food. Allow her to ea a good meal in the evenings, 15 min, but I wouldn't allow her food all day.

 




[COLOR=0000CD]Something I learned from a friend who raised a dozen Cornish X for fun -- if the birds are kept outdoors in a heatwave it is best not to keep the water too far from the feed.  These birds can literally die of thirst because they won't move the 10 steps they need to get to the water.  I feel so sorry for these poor babies.  They grow so fast their skeletal structure can't support their fast and massive muscle or internal organ growth thanks to man's gross engineering of this poor breed.  Sometimes they die from pain and suffering before they reach 2 months.  They are fed continuously in the poultry industry to make them grow fast so it stands to reason to feed your chicks on a more sparse schedule to eliminate getting them to grow too heavy too fast.  Sometimes Cx's that are overfed or not on a strict diet just rest themselves in front of their feed and water and don't move the whole day.  So sad.  Crows pecked and killed 1/2 my friend's Cx chicks through the pen wire because the chicks were just leaning on the side of the cage too heavy and lethargic to move.[/COLOR]

That is awful I had been tossing the idea around for Cornish X next year, because I have gotten attached to all of our DP birds and will have a hard time processing them (only 2 extra cockerels). This is just our test run, since we are new to chickens. If we do ok processing our own meat, we will do more next spring. I think I'd rather suffer a little myself, ending the life of a happy healthy bird for the freezer, than raising any of those. Just a person choice. Thank you for this info.

These birds if raised correctly can be healthy happy birds, it just requires lots of exercise and restricted food. But a breed you might consider instead is the Dixie Rainbow (or pioneer)

They are pretty birds, grow slower then the CX, but still much faster then a non meat bird. I do still restrict their feed somewhat (they all get breakfast and supper and free range throughout the day), but they are over all healthier.

 

[Sylvester017]

Tuff is very mobile when she's in the cage and we are not holding her though, we are raising them outside in a cage next to the coop so they and the hens are used to each other by the time they are old enough to integrate. I feed the chicks once in the morning but give them enough to last the day and when I get home from work I feel their crops to see how much they've eaten and how much they've knocked down and buried. I'd love for the kids to be able to keep her long term but if she ever starts to show pain or laziness I will cull her. We have a dachshund trained to hunt and she's good about staying away from the cages but I wouldn't want to take the chance of Tuff being mauled through the pen from laziness, the kids would be much more upset about it happening that way

You're right about kids getting upset when they get attached to animals. I was so traumatized as a kid on poultry slaughter day my Mom made sure I wasn't around for future butcher days. Still -- a quick humane processing is better than being mauled or carried off by a predator. You sound like you have all well in hand. I know someone who had a flock of Cx's and when processing day came, they had a runt hen that they kept back to fatten up a little more. Funny thing is she stayed on the smaller side and became one of the best laying hens they ever had. Of course this was a fluke but I love sweet unusual outcomes like that!

 

[Sylvester017]

That is awful I had been tossing the idea around for Cornish X next year, because I have gotten attached to all of our DP birds and will have a hard time processing them (only 2 extra cockerels). This is just our test run, since we are new to chickens. If we do ok processing our own meat, we will do more next spring. I think I'd rather suffer a little myself, ending the life of a happy healthy bird for the freezer, than raising any of those. Just a person choice. Thank you for this info.

In the '40's and '50's chicken meat was expensive and considered a luxury so there was sort of a contest to find the best new breed to engineer for economical fast growth for the supermarket and restaurant industries. The Cornish Crosses won the contest for largest fast growing meat bird in 2 months or less. The Cx's are produced like mad for the markets and restaurants today -- 95% of market and restaurant chicken is Cx -- except the industry failed to realize there was no taste in the too-young birds. Ever notice how tasteless a Cx is next to chicken meat processed at a half year or older? You have to douse Cx meat in some brine or sauce to give it any flavor -- it is otherwise tasteless. On the farm my folks processed dozens of Babcock Leghorns and we had many a tasty meal from those smaller birds. If we had company than we had two chickens served for dinner - chickens don't have to be heavy in order to taste good. Of course in our senior years we keep a little flock as pets and amusement so we won't be eating our little dears, just their eggs

.

 

[Greenthumb83]

In the '40's and '50's chicken meat was expensive and considered a luxury so there was sort of a contest to find the best new breed to engineer for economical fast growth for the supermarket and restaurant industries. The Cornish Crosses won the contest for largest fast growing meat bird in 2 months or less. The Cx's are produced like mad for the markets and restaurants today -- 95% of market and restaurant chicken is Cx -- except the industry failed to realize there was no taste in the too-young birds. Ever notice how tasteless a Cx is next to chicken meat processed at a half year or older? You have to douse Cx meat in some brine or sauce to give it any flavor -- it is otherwise tasteless. On the farm my folks processed dozens of Babcock Leghorns and we had many a tasty meal from those smaller birds. If we had company than we had two chickens served for dinner - chickens don't have to be heavy in order to taste good. Of course in our senior years we keep a little flock as pets and amusement so we won't be eating our little dears, just their eggs

.

I have never had chicken that wasn't in a restaurant or grocery store. I am very excited to finally have some! We are about a month away. It will be a very special day when we have that first chicken. I know we all will truly appreciate it, knowing we raised it and loved it. The ones we will have to process are BRs. One is looking pretty meaty already (probably more fluff than meat lol), the other a runt. I am struggling a little with the thought of killing our birds, but the benefits to my family keep me focused. We have three kids that I want to see eating clean, hormone free meat. I also want them to appreciate where their food comes from. This has been a tremendously enlightening experience for our whole family.

I stopped buying chicken at the store months ago. It really is so bland.

 

[Greenthumb83]

These birds if raised correctly can be healthy happy birds, it just requires lots of exercise and restricted food. But a breed you might consider instead is the Dixie Rainbow (or pioneer)

They are pretty birds, grow slower then the CX, but still much faster then a non meat bird. I do still restrict their feed somewhat (they all get breakfast and supper and free range throughout the day), but they are over all healthier.

Thank you! I bet these would be a great option for us. We have several acres they could range on. We will be hatching chicks, but would rather sell the chicks and have meat birds separate from our flock. We spend a lot of time with them and get too attached. At what age do you process yours? How is the flavor?