Help, ended up with a meat bird, in with layer chicks

[U_Stormcrow]

Personally, I would give him a good but brief life, eating as much as he wants, and then humanely dispatch him, and have a tasty chicken dinner. But my preference may be very different than yours!

Stuffed with mushrooms, painted with a raspberry garlic glaze. But OP is a vegetarian. So not a practical solution for them.

 

[Weeg]

He’s on the food like flies on then sits by the feeder waiting for meal worm treats. The others eat but I’m worried he’s going to get so big I can’t balance how much he gets compared to the others. I didn’t want a meat bird because I’m not willing to butcher it (I don’t even eat meat). I knew from the start he looked way different in color but he was kinda the same size so I brushed it off.

Op, what are you able/wanting to do in this situation.
The way I see it you have three options-

1) Cull it now so that the other birds can eat and you don't have to worry about it anymore.
2) Separate it within the brooder, and raise it until 8 weeks old. Then cull it and eat it.
3) Separate it within the brooder, and restrict feed so it stops gaining weight. Continue to restrict feed for the birds entire life, and make adjustments to your setup to suit him/her, and keep it as a pet.

If you choose option 3 I can give you some tips. Just be aware, pet meat birds take more time and energy than simply, restricting treats from your over weight laying hen. You have to make sure that the Cornish does no have access to the feeder that the other birds eat from free choice. Though it also has to have interaction with other chickens, so unless you get another meaty and put them in a separate coop, it will have to live with your flock. That means you will have to make sure the other birds can get to the feeder, but it can't. You will have to watch its weight carefully, and figure out how much you need to feed it twice a day. I do like to feed my Cornish X Dooel crumbles, since she scarfs it down very quickly at meal time. You will need to make sure the the birds quality of life is good. This means watching weight, watching how it interacts with other chickens, watching it in general. Not all dieted Cornish X live happy lives, and one may have to know when to cull out of mercy. You will obviously, have to have time to feed him/her twice a day.
On top of that, what if its is a rooster? I don't think that most Cornish X roosters would be able to successfully mate a hen, but I'm sure he would try. This could cause serious over-,eating issues in your flock.
If you think that you can work with all of the above, great! I think its a fantastic thing to take in a Cornish X and keep it as a pet. Just remember that it takes a bit of effort, sometimes more effort than the average backyard poultry keeper is willing to put in.
If you do put it in, than you will be greatly rewarded. Cornish X are so social, and Doodle is probably the most hilarious bird I own. I couldn't imagine my flock without her.
If you decide to go for option three, I'll link my thread and article for you. It had a ton of info, I hope I was able to help!
Good luck with your meaty!

 

[Little Lucky]

I’m in Wisconsin. I did some research about not culling and I know they aren’t meant for longevity but I’m a sucker for animals. It’s got a sweet disposition too. Any suggestions on feeding? It’s impossible to keep its weight down right now, I swear it’s bigger every time I look in the brooder

We didn't want to isolate Fluffy so we just let him eat. At one point he would fall asleep on the feeder. After his feathers came in and we put him outside he was at a much healthier weight and could even flap around the lot when we came out to see him. I really think our 95 degree July did him in.

 

[Prestoncreekfarm]

Op, what are you able/wanting to do in this situation.
The way I see it you have three options-

1) Cull it now so that the other birds can eat and you don't have to worry about it anymore.
2) Separate it within the brooder, and raise it until 8 weeks old. Then cull it and eat it.
3) Separate it within the brooder, and restrict feed so it stops gaining weight. Continue to restrict feed for the birds entire life, and make adjustments to your setup to suit him/her, and keep it as a pet.

If you choose option 3 I can give you some tips. Just be aware, pet meat birds take more time and energy than simply, restricting treats from your over weight laying hen. You have to make sure that the Cornish does no have access to the feeder that the other birds eat from free choice. Though it also has to have interaction with other chickens, so unless you get another meaty and put them in a separate coop, it will have to live with your flock. That means you will have to make sure the other birds can get to the feeder, but it can't. You will have to watch its weight carefully, and figure out how much you need to feed it twice a day. I do like to feed my Cornish X Dooel crumbles, since she scarfs it down very quickly at meal time. You will need to make sure the the birds quality of life is good. This means watching weight, watching how it interacts with other chickens, watching it in general. Not all dieted Cornish X live happy lives, and one may have to know when to cull out of mercy. You will obviously, have to have time to feed him/her twice a day.
On top of that, what if its is a rooster? I don't think that most Cornish X roosters would be able to successfully mate a hen, but I'm sure he would try. This could cause serious over-,eating issues in your flock.
If you think that you can work with all of the above, great! I think its a fantastic thing to take in a Cornish X and keep it as a pet. Just remember that it takes a bit of effort, sometimes more effort than the average backyard poultry keeper is willing to put in.
If you do put it in, than you will be greatly rewarded. Cornish X are so social, and Doodle is probably the most hilarious bird I own. I couldn't imagine my flock without her.
If you decide to go for option three, I'll link my thread and article for you. It had a ton of info, I hope I was able to help!
Good luck with your meaty!

Thanks, I’d love it if you could do the link of the thread and article. I see it’s got a comb coming in already so it could well be a Roo. My son named it Blurb . I’m up for the challenge and I’m heading upstairs to put an addition on my brooder box with mesh in between

 

[Weeg]

Thanks, I’d love it if you could do the link of the thread and article. I see it’s got a comb coming in already so it could well be a Roo. My son named it Blurb . I’m up for the challenge and I’m heading upstairs to put an addition on my brooder box with mesh in between

Awesome! I'll do some linking for you.
I love my Doodle more everyday, I'm sure you'll love yours too.
Just be prepared, even with dieting and restricting feed, exercise, etc, most only live for two years. Thats better than nothing in my books, but still not very long.
Keep this thread updated with how everything goes! Surely you'll find some hoops you need to jump to, and others may find it helpful being able to read about them if they are in a similar situation.

 

[Prestoncreekfarm]

We didn't want to isolate Fluffy so we just let him eat. At one point he would fall asleep on the feeder. After his feathers came in and we put him outside he was at a much healthier weight and could even flap around the lot when we came out to see him. I really think our 95 degree July did him in.

I have a feeder and also a tray they can scratch in. It’s usually asleep in the tray, if it’s not in the tray it’s got at least 5 layer chicks snuggling with it. They probably think it’s a nice pillow to lay on

 

[Prestoncreekfarm]

Awesome! I'll do some linking for you.
I love my Doodle more everyday, I'm sure you'll love yours too.
Just be prepared, even with dieting and restricting feed, exercise, etc, most only live for two years. Thats better than nothing in my books, but still not very long.
Keep this thread updated with how everything goes! Surely you'll find some hoops you need to jump to, and others may find it helpful being able to read about them if they are in a similar situation.

I agree it’s better than nothing. It’s got a beautiful chirp and very friendly. Blurb deserves a chance in my book. Thanks so much

 

[Weeg]

Heres my thread- https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...few-meat-birds-as-pets.1449592/#post-24117780
It has SO much info, tracking my entire learning curb as I knew about as much as you going in.
If Blurp about 3 weeks old? If so, nows the time to separate. Also, can you post photos of your coop/run setup, mostly the feeder setup? I may be able to give you some tips on making the feeder inaccessible to Blurp, but still accessible to the layer hens.

Here is my article- Doodle and Smudge: My adventure with Cornish X as pets

 

[Weeg]

I have a feeder and also a tray they can scratch in. It’s usually asleep in the tray, if it’s not in the tray it’s got at least 5 layer chicks snuggling with it. They probably think it’s a nice pillow to lay on

What you need to do is section off a part of the brooder where Blurp can see, but not access the other chicks and their feeder. Cornish X are bred to eat SO much quickly, so this is a pretty normal occurrence for the Cornish X. You'll want to offer no food in her brooder, only water. Along with this, I do suggest putting her on puppy pads, or a similar bedding that she can't swallow. This is because she may try to eat the bedding since she no longer has free choice feed.Give her about 1/4c of food a day for starters, and monitor her weight based on the keel bone. The keel is a straight bone that goes directly down the middle of the chickens underside. Feel the keel on your chicks, then feel it on Blurp.
The below image shows how it should feel.

If Blurps keel is more similar to image 3, than you need to feed less food. I fed Doodle and Smudge about 1/4c per bird per day and they were slightly over weight. Once they are adults you can go to about 1/2-3/4c a day, depending on the bird, the setup, the amount of space/exercise, etc.

 

[Weeg]

I agree it’s better than nothing. It’s got a beautiful chirp and very friendly. Blurb deserves a chance in my book. Thanks so much

Your very welcome! Keep us updated! I posted some links and more info below.
Blurp is a very lucky girl.