First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[CCsChickens]

Hey CC, great to have you. Tell me about your ISA's. I plan on ordering some in a couple of months. I hear they are so much better than the regular sex link chickens. Do you have roosters also? I saw a thread on breeding them to keep the fine egg laying amount up but not have to buy them again. They turn all white on the second or third generation. Also the same for Australorps, I plan on ordering Lavender Australorp eggs in the spring. We have a great lady in south La that raises them and will send me some. How is their laying compared to the ISA's. Or have you started getting eggs yet? Keep coming back to this thread. It's the best. We are friendly and kind.

My ISA's are beautiful! So very happy with them - in about a month and half's time both my ISA's are Australorps are due to start laying. I find my ISAS to be cheeky playful and very friendly to humans and to others (I had raised them all from about 2 weeks old!). I don't have roosters as I don't plan to breed just plan to have my girls for eggs. I've heard that the smaller the size of the chicken the quicker they lay (supposedly) but am looking forward to some proper free range eggs soon. Is eggs turning white a problem? My grandfather has had chickens for decades and frankly told me that the 'black ones and brown ones best eggs' and pointed to the ISAs and Australorps - after many years of having them the eggs he gets are still cream/brown.

Another interesting fact is an aspect of my ISAs. Unfortunately my flock is infected with CRD. I did post a thread on that asking for advice and after a round of antibiotics they are fine except for the occasional open beak breathing. But the interesting fact of this is that my ISAS have shown NO symptoms at all. Possibly they could be carriers that aren't affected by the disease. Apart from that my flock is great and for my first time raising chickens and the help of this site I'm going great!! Thanks so much for the lovely welcome

I

 

[duluthralphie]

I think rainbow socks would have a certain eye opening quality for my kids. I may have to get them for myself for xmas.

I am sorry to here about your CRD problems. Do you have lots of ventilation in the coop?

I have no ISA's but I have Australorps, I love them. I keep thinking I should post a picture of my black Australorp rooster on here. He was not much as a baby, there was nothing impressive about him but in the last 2 months he has blossomed.


As I understand it egg color is controlled by genetics. It is way more complicated than simply crossing 2 cx's and getting a frog. Whatever color a chicken starts laying eggs at is the color they will have. Some people say they will brighten or darken over time but they will be essentially the same color.

I have a vast array of colors from my girls. Which is a problem for me, I have a hard time not sorting them, by color gradient, by size or by date laid. OCD can be a .....Never mind If I said the word I would probably get another nasty letter ( See I can learn M Mom!)

 

[duluthralphie]

Hey all, I started a thread to see how many birds those of us on BYC own..


BUT I was thinking it would be fun to see how many chickens those of us on this thread own combined...


I have

33 chickens and 4 cx's for a total of 37


Just state your number of chickens and add yours to my total of 37


On this thread lets only count chickens on the other thread I want all birds.. ( winter boredom mixed with OCD made me do this)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/940564/how-many-birds-do-we-own-farm-type-birds#post_14432740

 

[Double Kindness]

Ralphie- now you're going to make me go outside and count my chickens?! I just got back inside from critter round 1 for feeding and let out.

My count in my head is 34 chickens also. Oh no, I didn't realize I had this many still. I lied to my bf when I said I thought I only had 25 left. OMG.

Lets hope he doesn't go out and count. Though he probably already did when he & my friend gave tylan injections to my entire flock save 7 dp meaties and 3 muscovy ducks.

What's CRD? Chronic respiratory disease?

 

[Morrigan]

Wow! some of you have a lot of chickens. Right now I have 20 chickens -- 12 assorted laying hens, 1 ameracauna rooster, and 7 CX chickens who, sadly, won't be with us soon. The breakdown on my hens is 7 buff orpingtons, 3 speckled sussex and 2 "mutts" -- one is a BO/amerx. mix and the other a SS/amerc. mix.

The biggest limiting factor is our coop size, but my husband says that next year he will tear out a wall and expand it.

 

[duluthralphie]

My 37

DD 34

Morrigan 20


total 91 chickens!!!

Not bad!!!~

 

[holm25]

We had 59 chickens until this morning we had to cull a barred rock that I could not get to stop eating eggs.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I only have 18 right now. Look, I finally got a pic of Sunny with her two silkie buddies, aka The Three Amigas.




Here's the rescue babies. They are 11 weeks old now. I tried to get them all in the frame but man do they move fast!

 

[LindaB220]

OMG for the sake of Ralphies children and grandchildren, don't encourage him!

Ditto, CCsChickens, he's hard to reign in already. (Did I spell that right?) Yes, no? I've decided that the Cobb 500's are not a good idea for eggs. They are too big and shaggy at almost 15 mo old. I think I will do what I had planned on, use them as canned meat. Due to their age, I'll have to slow cook them, but free meat is free meat. And they have got some meat on them. I think for the easiest plan, since it's just me, I'm going to just peel back the breast and leg and thighs. I don't have much of a freezer yet. And I'm going to need the coop.

 

[LindaB220]

I only have 18 right now. Look, I finally got a pic of Sunny with her two silkie buddies, aka The Three Amigas.




Here's the rescue babies. They are 11 weeks old now. I tried to get them all in the frame but man do they move fast!

Yeah, Jessica, Sunny is the spitting image of the Silkies.

I'm glad she has bonded with buddies. It's necessary.