First Time With Cornish X's

[ChickenJerk]

One of them started acting weird after eating, open beak breathing and stretching his neck out, sneezing, stresses me out. I don't want any of them dropping dead at this point!

This sounds like the actions of a chicken that has just gorged itself on food. Are you restricting feed? In what way?

 

[Coralietg]

I have 16 out in the tractor currently, I just grabbed some of the closest ones for weights.

Males:
6.2lbs
5.87lbs
5.97lbs (this is the gaspy one)
6.49lbs
6.78lbs

Females:
4.8lbs
5.5lbs

 

[Coralietg]

This sounds like the actions of a chicken that has just gorged itself on food. Are you restricting feed? In what way?

I'm restricting food, I feed them three times a day, filling two long plastic feeders. Food is usually gone in 5 minutes or so.

He gets all gaspy and his comb goes a purple colour.

 

[ChickenJerk]

Cyanosis resulting from a blocked airway.
Chickens are "grazers" not physiologically designed to desperately gorge on feed. Gorging is what they do to satiate an extreme feeling of hunger. The one in particular seems to have become overly desperate to fill the crop.
The weights seem to be just a little behind genetic projections.Perhaps a bit more so for the females but they are probably being deprived of feed by the larger males. But the size of the sampling may skew this number.
You feeding practices are most likely to also contribute to inefficient digestion along with risking death of at least that one bird.
At what weight do you plan to slaughter them?

 

[Coralietg]

Cyanosis resulting from a blocked airway.
Chickens are "grazers" not physiologically designed to desperately gorge on feed. Gorging is what they do to satiate an extreme feeling of hunger. The one in particular seems to have become overly desperate to fill the crop.
The weights seem to be just a little behind genetic projections.Perhaps a bit more so for the females but they are probably being deprived of feed by the larger males. But the size of the sampling may skew this number.
You feeding practices are most likely to also contribute to inefficient digestion along with risking death of at least that one bird.
At what weight do you plan to slaughter them?

Which part of my feeding method is causing the problem? From what I have read, females will be a lighter weight than the males. I've been following charts from various sources, and the weights I have seem to be ahead of what they project. I've been feeding fermented food, and I've had no losses at all. The gasping chicken is the first worry I have had so far.

We were planning on starting processing at 6lbs live weight, but my partner had to leave for a 48 hour shift. We're going to start processing the biggest ones on Saturday.

 

[ChickenJerk]

Which part of my feeding method is causing the problem? From what I have read, females will be a lighter weight than the males. I've been following charts from various sources, and the weights I have seem to be ahead of what they project. I've been feeding fermented food, and I've had no losses at all. The gasping chicken is the first worry I have had so far.

We were planning on starting processing at 6lbs live weight, but my partner had to leave for a 48 hour shift. We're going to start processing the biggest ones on Saturday.

Since one week of age they should have feed ad lib for 18 hours a day (there are other lighting programs but this simple plan works well enough) so that they can "graze" during that lighted time and have a more natural dark period.
Females do start to lag behind males in weight gain early in life.
Don't let that one over eat and you they will all probably make it to Saturday.

 

[Coralietg]

Since one week of age they should have feed ad lib for 18 hours a day (there are other lighting programs but this simple plan works well enough) so that they can "graze" during that lighted time and have a more natural dark period.
Females do start to lag behind males in weight gain early in life.
Don't let that one over eat and you they will all probably make it to Saturday.

A lot of what I have seen recommended restricting feed from 1-2 weeks of age, to prevent them growing too quickly and having health issues.

 

[LindaB220]

A lot of what I have seen recommended restricting feed from 1-2 weeks of age, to prevent them growing too quickly and having health issues.

Coralie, you are doing great. Keep up the good work. Try to keep them going until you can get to process. If this one fellow is really in distress, you might consider processing him early. I know. I know. Still something to think about. Someone else if your partner is out of town?

 

[Coralietg]

I went outside today to get some updated weights on some of the meaties. I only got a couple of weights and I've lost the paper, one male was 7.2lbs though. I was distracted by a smaller male lay on the floor not moving around. I picked him up, put him down and he flomped to the floor. Wouldn't put any weight on his legs. Go figure my husband left this morning for a 48 hour shift, I had no interest in processing by myself.

One weight I got before I got sidetracked. The red mark is just so I knew I had weighed him.



We bought a stainless steel table for processing, which is still unassembled. I hadn't even figured out a killing cone. I got a big stock pot full of boiling water, filled the cooler with ice and cold water. Rigged a killing cone out of an old vinegar bottle.



I had previously bought a knife marketed specifically as a killing knife, it is in the picture on top of the "killing cone". I don't know if it wasn't sharp enough, or I wasn't pressing hard enough, but I had trouble getting through the feather. My second cut caused a good flow of blood, but it wasn't enough. It took around 3 minutes for him to stop breathing, but he didn't thrash too much. I feel bad, I didn't want to prolong it.



As I am typing this, my mind went back to the small black spot on one of his feet and dang it, I think he might've had bumblefoot. I didn't pay much mind to it when I saw it, because I thought it was dirt or sap.


I zoomed in on one of the pictures I have. I guess at the end of the day it doesn't much matter.

Anyway, he expired and I dunked and swished him in the not quite hot enough water, and for a few minutes my daughter helped to pluck. She had no idea how much there was to it though, and she lost interest after a while.



It took me a ridiculous 1 hour 45 minutes from cutting, to putting him into the fridge. Most of the time was spent plucking feathers out. I didn't have too much trouble with the gutting except figuring out how to separate the crop and windpipe. I still haven't figured it out really.



I cut the wing tips off because they had some annoying feathers that I couldn't get out, and I'm pretty sure we don't eat them. I'm not completely sure what the small bruises are from. I do know I want an early night tonight though.

 

[Mrs.ChickChick]

I think you did an excellent job of processing by yourself on the spur of the moment! Kudos to you!

You did what was best for the bird and didn't let your own emotions stand in the way of doing the right thing.

So how much did the finished carcass weigh?