Fat chicken

[Redhotrb]

Hi. I ended up with a Cornish cross chicken as a pet, not to eat. It grew and grew, ate and ate. It's huge and fat and now it can't walk. Is there any coming back from this? Now that she can't walk she is not eating as much only what we put in front of her. Will she lose weight and recover? Im just hoping someone will have some insight on this thank you. Thank you.

 

[Muhammad Ahtisham Ali]

can you post a picture of your hen ?

 

[Redhotrb]

 

[Redhotrb]

 

[Redhotrb]

I posted a couple photos.

can you post a picture of your hen ?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Unfortunately Cornish x must be managed carefully l from the first couple of weeks if one is going to extend their lives beyond normal processing age. Once a bird reaches the condition of your bird it cannot be reversed. The humane thing is to cull

 

[ronott1]

I am so sorry!
You gave her a good life and did enjoy her while she was here

 

[DuckMom2017]

Hi. I ended up with a Cornish cross chicken as a pet, not to eat. It grew and grew, ate and ate. It's huge and fat and now it can't walk. Is there any coming back from this? Now that she can't walk she is not eating as much only what we put in front of her. Will she lose weight and recover? Im just hoping someone will have some insight on this thank you. Thank you.

Not sure how different it would be than a Pekin duck, but I had a girl in a similar situation. She had a hurt foot though that really contributed to her quick weight gain too. I changed how much I fed her and let her swim more and she's losing weight and recovering pretty well. I would try to at least help her and give her a chance. Maybe there's some alternate chicken exercises than running?

 

[Kiki]

Not sure how different it would be than a Pekin duck, but I had a girl in a similar situation. She had a hurt foot though that really contributed to her quick weight gain too. I changed how much I fed her and let her swim more and she's losing weight and recovering pretty well. I would try to at least help her and give her a chance. Maybe there's some alternate chicken exercises than running?

Are you familiar with chickens that are bred to grow fast for meat?

 

[junebuggena]

She's not fat. She just grew too fast and her bones and joints didn't get enough time to strengthen to support the weight. These birds have an incredibly fast growth rate that must be carefully controlled with limited feed and exercise from a very early age. Once they are at the stage yours is, there is no going back or reversing the weight gain. They grow very large, in a very short span of time. It's their genetics, and you can't undo that. Careful management can help slow the growth rate enough to give the bones a chance to develop enough to support the eventual weight, but that's not going to help this bird. Chalk it up to a learning experience, and either process for the table or euthanize. It's the kindest thing for her.