First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[Dave C]

A couple of the olive egger prospects

This guy or gal has a wide stance.

This is a very nice bird, how old JR ?

 

[JRNash]

Around 5 or 6 weeks Dave

 

[duluthralphie]

5 new toads today!!

But 2 only have a 50% chance to make it.

 

[JRNash]

SidChick,against my better judgement I'm going to tell the reason why BH has problems its the 12 on feed 12 off. Yes the birds will act starved. Yes IF YOU GIVE IN AND FEED THEM EVERY TIME THEY ACT THIS WAY YOU THEY WILL HAVE ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS. If memory serves correct give them all they can eat for 15 minutes ONCE in the morning and then again in the evening. They will need a large enough area to forage for bugs and move around. Keep fresh water available. Have it well away from where you feed them. Make them walk. These birds can be raised successfully and bred. They MUST BE MANAGED CORRECTLY. IF you plan on EATING THEM,then by all means follow BH's advice. You will have an excellent dinner in a month or two.

 

[duluthralphie]

SidChick,against my better judgement I'm going to tell the reason why BH has problems its the 12 on feed 12 off. Yes the birds will act starved. Yes IF YOU GIVE IN AND FEED THEM EVERY TIME THEY ACT THIS WAY YOU THEY WILL HAVE ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS. If memory serves correct give them all they can eat for 15 minutes ONCE in the morning and then again in the evening. They will need a large enough area to forage for bugs and move around. Keep fresh water available. Have it well away from where you feed them. Make them walk. These birds can be raised successfully and bred. They MUST BE MANAGED CORRECTLY. IF you plan on EATING THEM,then by all means follow BH's advice. You will have an excellent dinner in a month or two.

A problem solved with toads... Yesterday they were lounging, sun bathing and visiting the layers. It is amazing how far they waddle in a day..Yep toads waddle not hop.../

 

[JRNash]

The people who still claim these birds are ONLY good for a 6 to 8 week run are in my opinion IDIOTS! Throughout this thread we have demonstrated over and over that with sound management practices these birds can have an extended happy productive life. Yes they were intended to process at anywhere from 4 To 8 weeks but that doesn't HAVE TO HAPPEN. These birds can and will lay eggs. In the end whether your birds make it to this point is solely up to you. As I keep repeating, it's not easy. If you can't make yourself stick to the feeding schedule then your birds will grow at an exponential rate. This is not cruel. Get THAT out of your mind!! Anyone with an ounce of experience knows that the weight of breeding stock must be managed to obtain optimum performance. The problem, IMO is that PEOPLE are lazy. Its easier to just give them what they want and continue with their day.

 

[JRNash]

I always ASK what the intended purpose is of the CX. The management of CX is DIFFERENT for birds that will be eaten and birds that are intended for breeding. Even if you DON'T wish to breed,keeping them as PETS will require the SAME management as breeders. As they mature the will slack off on the feed consumption.

 

[JRNash]

Much to some peoples surprise they can fly and will roost. Try to keep it to a couple of feet from the ground IF you give them one. They will still get heavier than a normal duel purpose breed. So manage them accordingly.

 

[Birdinhand]

The people who still claim these birds are ONLY good for a 6 to 8 week run are in my opinion IDIOTS! Throughout this thread we have demonstrated over and over that with sound management practices these birds can have an extended happy productive life. Yes they were intended to process at anywhere from 4 To 8 weeks but that doesn't HAVE TO HAPPEN. These birds can and will lay eggs. In the end whether your birds make it to this point is solely up to you. As I keep repeating, it's not easy. If you can't make yourself stick to the feeding schedule then your birds will grow at an exponential rate. This is not cruel. Get THAT out of your mind!! Anyone with an ounce of experience knows that the weight of breeding stock must be managed to obtain optimum performance. The problem, IMO is that PEOPLE are lazy. Its easier to just give them what they want and continue with their day.

well perhaps we can come to different conclusions without stooping to the low of referring to each other as idiots and lazy. I have a 6 and 8 year old and a traveling wife who is gone 20+ weeks a year. I don't need anyone calling me lazy. I'm not young either, as you have implied in the past, I'm two years younger than you. this thread is full of useful perspectives but it's also full of chit chat, sometimes about as inane things as the weather, some of it written by you. I think the more the signal to noise ratio of such threads stays valuable, the more people will take the time to wade through at least some of the nearly 1,000 pages and glean what they can. not all of us have the time to be logged into BYC all day. I do believe a plurality of opinion should be encouraged, not squelched. there is only so much coddling I'm willing to do to keep a bird healthy. trying to keep these birds as pets is a tall order in my book, especially for a young child hoping to "rescue" one of them and I stand by that opinion. there are so many other really good choices. I grew up on a farm raising and butchering chickens and pigs, making sausage etc and taking care of a wide range of animals and, as stated, am on my third batch of CX, which I stated openly, qualifying my opinion. I'm not an idiot, and I think you need to take a step back from your self righteous tone.

 

[JRNash]

And that is my point EXACTLY. You did not take the intended purpose of the birds in to account. Its not a self righteous attitude. I normally work 7-12's year round non stop. That is the main reason I no longer have CX. I can't manage them correctly. What I take exception too is people who keep saying CX are ONLY good for one thing.