First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[nj2wv]

I have found a great way to appease family members with my chicken math. I order chicks , keep my favorites and sell the rest at swap meets. The money I earn I use to buy more. So they pay for themselves. The problem I have is trying not to keep too many.

 

[Double Kindness]

So.. this morning one of my cx meaties didn't gang rush me for food

I did have them out before the snow storm hit us yesterday.

the cx meaty not acting right seems cold, shivering and not warm like the others. What is wrong with it, what should I do?

I have been withholding feed for the cx.

 

[holm25]

DK I have learned that with CX when they get that bad they rarely make it. Its sad but true...

 

[duluthralphie]

DK I have learned that with CX when they get that bad they rarely make it. Its sad but true...

I hate to say it, but I agree, they seem to go from healthy to near dead to dead in no time. By the time I notice they are sick they are dead.

It must be something to do with the weird genetics they have.

 

[mountain mom]

Sorry DK! Hope there is a turn around... do you have baby vitamins? Poly-vi-Sol. They really help. Put them in the water of the sick baby or if they are not drinking, give them a drop or two.
I *knock on wood* have not had a sick CX. I would tend to agree with Ralph and Holm though, stories I have heard of them when they are sick are rarely encouraging.

In other news, my chickens look like drowned rats. It turns out they LOVE the rain. All are soaking and seeking out worms.

 

[1zooman12]

Okay good fellow chicken nuts, I have learned having worked on the farm and later as a Curator of Birds, that birds uniformly have developed a survival trait that at first glance seems odd. It is less pronounced in raptors but otherwise all birds are very prone to it. What you are saying about a chicken, or what have you bird, that they seem hale and hearty on minute and near death the next is absolutely true. And 'tis NOT weird at all. Over the aeons of evolutionary time birds have developed by natural selection an innate ability to hide their illnesses until they are so sick hiding it is highly improbable. The survival value is this: Many birds who are ill recover and it goes unnoticed. Had the sick one shown symptoms the probability of survival would diminish for this is one of the things the raptors are looking for. Such a bird would not live long enough to get well much less to reproduce! And there you have it. So we must pay very close attention to our birds so that we may intervene with the appropriate treatment as soon as a diagnosis can be made. This helps the bird survive because as we all now know inattention lets the bird get sicker until there is no return. Many bird keepers are very adept at this. Also, it pays to have, in our arsenal, a vet who specializes in birds.
I wish you all wellness; and for Pete's sake, stay away from raptors big enough t eat you,
Neal, the Zooman

 

[Double Kindness]

So.. can or should I send my one cx to freezer camp tonight?

 

[Dandelioness]

Sorry to hear about your CX not doing well, Double Kindness.

You can try isolating your bird, adding vitamins to the water, etc., and he or she may or may not get well. Sometimes I've done this and they perk up in a day or two and can be reintroduced. Sometimes they just don't make it. It is really hard to say. Your living conditions look and sound conducive to good health, so it may just be a weak bird.

If you decide to go the freezer camp route, just be sure to check the insides and be sure there are no growths or smelly infected parts in there. If the meat looks fine, you may consume it.

 

[LindaB220]

So glad I don't have snakes like that around here.

We put out mothballs 3 times a year or so and it's been so rain. We put it off. See the results. It turned out to be a copperhead. Three were killed in south Haughton so they must be rampant this year. Someone said to put lime out. i wonder if you have to keep putting it out when it rains.



Added for content:
@Double Kindness yes, hon, go ahead a cull. It's time. Check for good looking organs and enjoy her after 2 days in fridge.

 

[Double Kindness]

I started the cx on ff from day one because I like that it makes their poop disintegrate into the bedding.

After I had them for 10 days I moved them into a different brooder box so I could restrict their food intake. I put them outside to get fresh air and scratch and dustbathe.

I feel like I must have done something wrong to have this happen to this little meatie.

Please tell me what I need to do so the rest don't follow suit?