First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[JessicaThistle]

Who says a Cornish X will only stay on the ground and not jump?

 

[JessicaThistle]

So DH finally gave me the "ok" to order a set of birds!

He wants to try only a handful (15 or so... but I might "mistakenly" order closer to 20). Thanks for posting your experience on this thread... I'm going to use it for some reference once my birds come.

Woohoo!! I am so excited that my experience may have inspired you and your husband to raise your own meat birds. I love it!

So, I want to share a few very important things that I have learned over the course of the last five weeks and more importantly just in the last couple of days. I decided to do this thread because I am a Cornish X newbie. I felt that sharing my experience would help other newbies in the process, people that raised them unsuccessfully to see it can be done and inspire others to give it a go. I also hoped that seasoned CX raisers would chime in and share things to help me through the process. It is important to note that I am a studier and you can find me constantly reading and learning to be sure that I don't miss a thing and ensure my success. Now with that said, my few extremely important things I learned.

1. Put them in a chicken tractor on pasture if you can. Otherwise you need to add wood chips and/or shovel and scoop bedding an poo multiple times a day and they will stink!

2. People say "don't get attached" to your meat birds. Well, I say this: Don't name them of course, but be attached enough that you pay attention to them! Learn their mannerisms and personalities so you can identify when there is a problem. This has helped me 3 times. I have potentially saved the lives of two of my birds by noticing that they weren't feeling good. (I will explain more in a bit). I also potentially saved another of my bird's life because I heard the rest of the group making an alarm sound and all looking toward me. When I ran to the chicken tractor, one of my birds had fallen into the pvc trough and was stuck. He couldn't wiggle enough to get out. I was able to help him.

3. Keep a box handy when chicks are young or a large tote for when they are big if you need to bring them inside for care. Read on to see why!

4. Keep baby vitamins (Polyvisol) and Pedialyte handy. Also have a syringe (not the needle kind, but the baby medicine kind) to administer liquids.

5. While these birds have some different breeding than standard chickens, they do not have to have health problem and/or die. You must protect your investment if you can! Sometimes you can save them if you are paying attention and take action! So, admittedly, I have lost 3 of my birds. One died at 2 days old, overnight and I found him that way. One died at 10 days old, again overnight and I found him in the morning. I just lost a bird yesterday after morning feeding and I don't know why. I want to believe that I could not have saved these three. They died without me noticing a problem. Now on to the two I saved.

Alert: Aforementioned box and tote needed next.

After I lost the 10 day old chick, I was on alert. A couple days after that, I went out to do the morning feeding. I put the food trays in and noticed one chick didn't start to eat. Hmmm....weird. These guys are piranha. There is no way that chick isn't hungry! I immediately grabbed him out of the brooder and took him inside. I tried to force water and damp feed down him but couldn't get anywhere. I set him in a box with a towel around him to keep warm. He had pooped and swallowed a drop or two of water, so i had a little hope. It was early and I decided to lay back down for a bit fully expecting a dead chick when I woke up. He did not die! I continued to try and feed or water him to no avail. I finally bought the baby vitamins and a syringe. I forced vitamins and water on him. I made him scrambled eggs. He drank little bits and ate teeny bits and after continuing for hours to do this, he perked up! All of a sudden he was standing, eating, drinking, pooping and looking good. At around 5:00, I put him back in with the others and before long I couldn't even tell which one he was! Phew!

Now, to today. Yesterday I went to do noon feeding and found a dead bird. I was determined to NOT let that happen again. At morning feeding today, I noticed a bird not go to the trough to eat. Hmm...again, piranha not eating. I took note of this because this bird has one dark gray feather on his back. I figured he was just holding back for a chance to get in there. At noon, I went out for next feeding. I noticed the same bird did not go to the trough. I grabbed him up and brought him inside. I took note that he drooled when I picked him up. I set up the big tub (he's about 4 pounds). Syringed water and baby vitamins, tried damp food and scrambled eggs. Grumble...nothing! Researched like crazy on possible problems expecting he would die anytime. The closest I could figure was sour crop. Darn it! The other possibility was a plum pit as I had thrown some tiny plums to them the night before. His crop was very squishy and he was "vomiting" occasionally, so it kinda fit. Every now and again when I felt his crop, I thought that every now and again I felt something hard but it would move. I really considered a plum pit was causing a problem. I kept on an on massaging the crop and he puked multiple times. I pushed water, someone recommended olive oil and I tried that, I pushed ACV in the water and kept trying damp food. After about 5 hours of this, he pooped. Nothing interesting really here. He pecked a bit at the food and pooped some more. I admit, I examined each to see if something was helpful there, but it wasn't. He ate some more and he pooped again and there it was. It took me a minute to figure out what it was. It wasn't a plum pit but a piece of tire rubber! After that, he ate a bunch, drank, pooped a bunch and went home to the chicken tractor to free range with the rest as if nothing happened.

I can't say for sure if I had left these chicks be if they would have died or not but I really want to believe my intervention saved their lives! Pay attention to them! Sometimes, they just may have eaten something wrong, or just need a break for reduced stress and a little extra love.

6. These guys will free range, jump, run and are voracious foragers. Yep, they'll even eat tire rubber!
7. Be careful when wearing flip flops or shorts when tending them. They will jump on your feet which makes for your poopy feet. Their pecks hurt a bit and you could lose a toe. Heehee. On the plus, you won't have to shave your lower legs.

I am loving raising these birds. If I can make it through processing time, I plan to raise them forever. They are entertaining, fulfilling and will fill my family's tummys! Oh, and I better make it through processing time because I am getting 30 more on August 4th!!

I hope this helps you and anyone else reading my thread. I will continue to post pics (as I score photo-opps) videos and anything that I learn along the way. Plus there will be a new batch coming soon. Yay!

 

[PlaidBattleAxe]

Thank you for the wonderful reply. I am thinking this is going to be a wonderful learning experience for my family and I... I'm going to take the plunge and order them this afternoon. I cannot wait. The sick chick stuff is hard for me! My buff orps occasionally act like something is afoot, but I've nursed my roo back from an impacted crop (scary!!!). Getting attached to them is my big fear, but I know that I can give them a great life while they are here, and they will further me keeping my children healthy by eating organic meat. I may be picking your brain periodically once my fluffs arrive!!

 

[JessicaThistle]

Thank you for the wonderful reply. I am thinking this is going to be a wonderful learning experience for my family and I... I'm going to take the plunge and order them this afternoon. I cannot wait. The sick chick stuff is hard for me! My buff orps occasionally act like something is afoot, but I've nursed my roo back from an impacted crop (scary!!!). Getting attached to them is my big fear, but I know that I can give them a great life while they are here, and they will further me keeping my children healthy by eating organic meat. I may be picking your brain periodically once my fluffs arrive!!

Woohoo! If I can offer any advice I would be happy to help. I'm no expert and am seeing this all through new eyes but I never miss an opportunity to observe, learn and share what I learn if it can help someone! I hope you enjoy this adventure as much as I am!

 

[LindaB220]

Woohoo!! I am so excited that my experience may have inspired you and your husband to raise your own meat birds. I love it!

So, I want to share a few very important things that I have learned over the course of the last five weeks and more importantly just in the last couple of days. I decided to do this thread because I am a Cornish X newbie. I felt that sharing my experience would help other newbies in the process, people that raised them unsuccessfully to see it can be done and inspire others to give it a go. I also hoped that seasoned CX raisers would chime in and share things to help me through the process. It is important to note that I am a studier and you can find me constantly reading and learning to be sure that I don't miss a thing and ensure my success. Now with that said, my few extremely important things I learned.

1. Put them in a chicken tractor on pasture if you can. Otherwise you need to add wood chips and/or shovel and scoop bedding an poo multiple times a day and they will stink!

2. People say "don't get attached" to your meat birds. Well, I say this: Don't name them of course, but be attached enough that you pay attention to them! Learn their mannerisms and personalities so you can identify when there is a problem. This has helped me 3 times. I have potentially saved the lives of two of my birds by noticing that they weren't feeling good. (I will explain more in a bit). I also potentially saved another of my bird's life because I heard the rest of the group making an alarm sound and all looking toward me. When I ran to the chicken tractor, one of my birds had fallen into the pvc trough and was stuck. He couldn't wiggle enough to get out. I was able to help him.

3. Keep a box handy when chicks are young or a large tote for when they are big if you need to bring them inside for care. Read on to see why!

4. Keep baby vitamins (Polyvisol) and Pedialyte handy. Also have a syringe (not the needle kind, but the baby medicine kind) to administer liquids.

5. While these birds have some different breeding than standard chickens, they do not have to have health problem and/or die. You must protect your investment if you can! Sometimes you can save them if you are paying attention and take action! So, admittedly, I have lost 3 of my birds. One died at 2 days old, overnight and I found him that way. One died at 10 days old, again overnight and I found him in the morning. I just lost a bird yesterday after morning feeding and I don't know why. I want to believe that I could not have saved these three. They died without me noticing a problem. Now on to the two I saved.

Alert: Aforementioned box and tote needed next.

After I lost the 10 day old chick, I was on alert. A couple days after that, I went out to do the morning feeding. I put the food trays in and noticed one chick didn't start to eat. Hmmm....weird. These guys are piranha. There is no way that chick isn't hungry! I immediately grabbed him out of the brooder and took him inside. I tried to force water and damp feed down him but couldn't get anywhere. I set him in a box with a towel around him to keep warm. He had pooped and swallowed a drop or two of water, so i had a little hope. It was early and I decided to lay back down for a bit fully expecting a dead chick when I woke up. He did not die! I continued to try and feed or water him to no avail. I finally bought the baby vitamins and a syringe. I forced vitamins and water on him. I made him scrambled eggs. He drank little bits and ate teeny bits and after continuing for hours to do this, he perked up! All of a sudden he was standing, eating, drinking, pooping and looking good. At around 5:00, I put him back in with the others and before long I couldn't even tell which one he was! Phew!

Now, to today. Yesterday I went to do noon feeding and found a dead bird. I was determined to NOT let that happen again. At morning feeding today, I noticed a bird not go to the trough to eat. Hmm...again, piranha not eating. I took note of this because this bird has one dark gray feather on his back. I figured he was just holding back for a chance to get in there. At noon, I went out for next feeding. I noticed the same bird did not go to the trough. I grabbed him up and brought him inside. I took note that he drooled when I picked him up. I set up the big tub (he's about 4 pounds). Syringed water and baby vitamins, tried damp food and scrambled eggs. Grumble...nothing! Researched like crazy on possible problems expecting he would die anytime. The closest I could figure was sour crop. Darn it! The other possibility was a plum pit as I had thrown some tiny plums to them the night before. His crop was very squishy and he was "vomiting" occasionally, so it kinda fit. Every now and again when I felt his crop, I thought that every now and again I felt something hard but it would move. I really considered a plum pit was causing a problem. I kept on an on massaging the crop and he puked multiple times. I pushed water, someone recommended olive oil and I tried that, I pushed ACV in the water and kept trying damp food. After about 5 hours of this, he pooped. Nothing interesting really here. He pecked a bit at the food and pooped some more. I admit, I examined each to see if something was helpful there, but it wasn't. He ate some more and he pooped again and there it was. It took me a minute to figure out what it was. It wasn't a plum pit but a piece of tire rubber! After that, he ate a bunch, drank, pooped a bunch and went home to the chicken tractor to free range with the rest as if nothing happened.

I can't say for sure if I had left these chicks be if they would have died or not but I really want to believe my intervention saved their lives! Pay attention to them! Sometimes, they just may have eaten something wrong, or just need a break for reduced stress and a little extra love.

6. These guys will free range, jump, run and are voracious foragers. Yep, they'll even eat tire rubber!
7. Be careful when wearing flip flops or shorts when tending them. They will jump on your feet which makes for your poopy feet. Their pecks hurt a bit and you could lose a toe. Heehee. On the plus, you won't have to shave your lower legs.

I am loving raising these birds. If I can make it through processing time, I plan to raise them forever. They are entertaining, fulfilling and will fill my family's tummys! Oh, and I better make it through processing time because I am getting 30 more on August 4th!!

I hope this helps you and anyone else reading my thread. I will continue to post pics (as I score photo-opps) videos and anything that I learn along the way. Plus there will be a new batch coming soon. Yay!

Jessica, wonderful post. That's the joy of research. Normally, you can find out what's wrong. No, you aren't going to save them all but good going. I'm so proud of you. You have worked so hard to get it going. Nothing's gonna hold you back, girl.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Jessica, wonderful post. That's the joy of research. Normally, you can find out what's wrong. No, you aren't going to save them all but good going. I'm so proud of you. You have worked so hard to get it going. Nothing's gonna hold you back, girl.

Thank you Linda! I just want to be successful and I don't feel like I can if I don't go the extra mile. While I wish I still had all 31 CX chickens that I started with, all I can do is bust my rear to get the remaining 28 through the next few weeks.

I got a fun pic today of...you won't believe it....Cornish X chickens acting like chickens!!! I know...crazy! They were enjoying a dust bath! The one that is fuzzy was in the process of throwing stuff up.

 

[Pennychickens]

Where can I buy chicks in oregon in August for meat?

 

[JessicaThistle]

Where can I buy chicks in oregon in August for meat?

I buy mine at Jenks Hatchery In Tangent Oregon. Their website is www.jenkshatchery.com. I would contact them right away to be sure that they aren't sold out. They are a smaller hatchery that focuses on meat chickens and turkeys.

 

[Pennychickens]

Thank you really thinking this would be a good ideal for our meat.but we do not have a large pasture for a run ?

 

[LindaB220]

Thank you really thinking this would be a good ideal for our meat.but we do not have a large pasture for a run ?

If you need to just do a coop and run, make sure that you do a deep litter. Start with 4" pine shavings and stir daily and add more if necessary. Also, think about fermenting your feed. I do both and have never had smell and I don't really see the poop. It just disintegrates into the shavings. The fermentation allows the body to absorb more nutrients. It changes the poop. Notice that normal chickens poop have corn and stuff in it. Mine doesn't. It's all absorbed. But these are not meat chickens.
For one thing, treat your meat birds as chickens. Feed 2 x a day all they will eat in 20 min or so. Then put away. Keep water out at all times. They will attack you at feeding time. Running. You can make a trough out of a rain gutter. Cut it into 5' lengths and stabilize with 2x4" on the ends. If you are interested:

http://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/