First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[KCMOLisa]

Jessica, work has been crazy for me too this week! The meatballs are definitely a lot of work whenever work starts getting crazy. I have a little runt that is way smaller than everyone else and is super sweet. I would love to keep him, but he's a roo. Plus, I don't have any other chickens so I don't think he would be very happy all by his little tiny self. I did a short video update on mine earlier. They turned four weeks old yesterday. I will post the link when it's done uploading.

Plaid - Did you ever process yours? I'm interested to hear the results!

 

[KCMOLisa]

Here's my 4-week-old meatball video. It has been pouring rain for two days straight, so they were very excited to run around.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Lisa: I love them! They are as as spunky as mine!

Watch your runt very closely! I had a runt that was half the size of the others. She was spunky and didn't let anyone push her around for quite some time. Everyone else got bigger and she stayed tiny. I called her Teeny. I was actually going to keep her. All of a sudden she stopped eating. I brought her inside to the chicken ER and tried everything. I found that when I watched her "eat" she wasn't actually eating anything. She was making the motion but not picking up any food. It was so weird! I lost her. When I necropsied her, I couldn't pinpoint anything specifically wrong. I think she just malnutritioned out because she wasn't actually eating.

If I have a runt again, I plan on supplementing them earlier and making darn sure that they are eating so it doesn't happen again.

 

[LindaB220]

Here's my 4-week-old meatball video. It has been pouring rain for two days straight, so they were very excited to run around.

Lisa, that's so stinking cute I just can't stand it. Love it..

 

[KCMOLisa]

Quote:
Jessica - A couple of weeks ago I had to pick him up and realized his crop was almost completely empty. That's when I first noticed how runty he was. He kept up with everyone until about 2 weeks old and then just stopped growing. He still only has about half his wing feathers while everyone else has almost all their feathers. I have actually been hand feeding him when the others aren't paying attention and making sure his crop feels full at night. He has gained quite a bit this week, but he's still not getting feathers. I never noticed anyone was getting shuffled out or wasn't getting food, so it is weird that he wasn't eating enough. I do worry about him, though! He is the sweetest thing.

Quote:
Thanks, Linda! I love these guys way, way more than I thought I would (or should, for that matter)! Now tell me how I'm going to do them in in a few short weeks! My brother said he would help me on processing day, and I told him to be ready for tears (and I am not a crier).

 

[bhanley]

Here's my 4-week-old meatball video. It has been pouring rain for two days straight, so they were very excited to run around.

Love the video! Mine like to hang out on the deck at the back of the house too. They'd follow me into the house if I'd let them lol.

I too have a runt that seems totally fine, feathered out with the rest of the flock, just smaller than the others. And like yours, she's one of the sweetest of the bunch too. I keep very close tabs on her so I know she's eating, just not as much or as frantic as the others.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I thought my runt was eating too but she wasn't. She was making the pecking motion but not actually picking up food. so her crop was empty. I got down close and watched her and she wasn't even touching the food, just making the pecking motion. It was the weirdest thing ever. I feel bad because I seriously don't know how long she was doing it. She was a sweetie and pretty tough. She never let the bigger chicks push her around. It was sad.

 

[duluthralphie]

I thought my runt was eating too but she wasn't. She was making the pecking motion but not actually picking up food. so her crop was empty. I got down close and watched her and she wasn't even touching the food, just making the pecking motion. It was the weirdest thing ever. I feel bad because I seriously don't know how long she was doing it. She was a sweetie and pretty tough. She never let the bigger chicks push her around. It was sad.

Jessica, I admit it was sad....BUT the picture you painted in my warped mind, made the day..


You on hands and knees cheek to the ground, in a purple moomoo ( I have no idea how to spell it, so make fun of me) red socks and winter sandals......... Looking at a little chick bobbing its head....


BTW another rain day gives the boys a reprieve again..... Soon they are going to think that cage I put them in every night is their new home.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Jessica, I admit it was sad....BUT the picture you painted in my warped mind, made the day..


You on hands and knees cheek to the ground, in a purple moomoo ( I have no idea how to spell it, so make fun of me) red socks and winter sandals......... Looking at a little chick bobbing its head....


BTW another rain day gives the boys a reprieve again..... Soon they are going to think that cage I put them in every night is their new home.

I DO NOT wear moo moos!! LOL! I haven't reached the moo moo years yet. I'm a yoga pants and t-shirt kind of girl, but I can't argue the sock and "winter" sandals.

Actually whats worse is I am wearing those plastic slip on clog shoes. They are too big for me also and I feel like a smurf when I wear them. They are as ridiculous as the socks and "winter" sandals. Sometimes the meatballs like to try to hitch a ride on the back of them as we go to the tractor. Makes for a heavy step.

 

[Double Kindness]

Ya'll's make me laugh so hard

my chicks today. No cx, but these are what I have so they'll do.