Help! I accidentally got Cornish X

[Beastie123]

I went to Tractor supply and I got Cornish X by accident. Can they live as pets because I don’t want to butcher them? There are 4 weeks and so kind and active.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
'Active' doesn't usually describe Cornishx chicks, although yours are still young. How about posting pictures? Why are you sure they are Cornishx? Do they sell any other white chicks, like white Plymouth Rocks?
Cornishx are meant to be in the freezer by eight or ten weeks at most, and if managed carefully, most will live that long. It's hard to keep them alive much longer, requiring very limited food, free ranging, and dealing with their heart failure and painful joint issues.
having them hungry and hurting isn't better, IMO.
Totally because 'cheap meat at the grocery' is why they exist at all, I think an outrage...
Mary

 

[Stayc]

The same thing happened to me at tractor supply. I purchased what I thought were 2 buff orphington and I am sure now they are cornish. I'll post pics. I am highly upset because I do not butcher my chickens either and these birds are specifically for meat and will usually not live longer than 12 weeks, at best. I am going to tractor supply today to see what can be done. I will update after.
Also, the big chest and huge feet were what made me think mine were cornish.

 

[Beastie123]

Welcome!
'Active' doesn't usually describe Cornishx chicks, although yours are still young. How about posting pictures? Why are you sure they are Cornishx? Do they sell any other white chicks, like white Plymouth Rocks?
Cornishx are meant to be in the freezer by eight or ten weeks at most, and if managed carefully, most will live that long. It's hard to keep them alive much longer, requiring very limited food, free ranging, and dealing with their heart failure and painful joint issues.
having them hungry and hurting isn't better, IMO.
Totally because 'cheap meat at the grocery' is why they exist at all, I think an outrage...
Mary

I thought they were Plymouth rocks but there were Cornish x

 

[Beastie123]

What should I do bc I don’t want to butcher them

 

[Yardmom]

Our neighbor's son had the same happen. He thought it was a huge Leghorn but he couldn't keep a roo so brought it to us for a trade. Unfortunately before we could butcher, it died even though it was free ranging and trying to keep up with layer chicks. I don't know how old it was but it had just started to crow.

 

[Oncoming Storm]

With the right diet regulation and activity, meat birds can and will have a semi-normal life. We got a batch of meat birds and only managed to keep two from predators. One was a rooster who actually managed a normal weight. The hen was larger and definitely a meat hen, but she was able to actually fly on the roosts and even get up into trees on her own. They do better free ranged and it’s best to not leave food out all the time because they will literally eat themselves to death. We just used scratch and the field and she lived a long time before a predator got her

I actually have a thread about this called like “tips and tricks to keep meat birds alive” or something like that.

 

[Anime2lover]

The same thing happened to me at tractor supply. I purchased what I thought were 2 buff orphington and I am sure now they are cornish. I'll post pics. I am highly upset because I do not butcher my chickens either and these birds are specifically for meat and will usually not live longer than 12 weeks, at best. I am going to tractor supply today to see what can be done. I will update after.
Also, the big chest and huge feet were what made me think mine were cornish.
View attachment 2586271View attachment 2586272

It's Cornish.

 

[theoldchick]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/cc-cornish-cross-as-pet.1263701/

https://www.farmsanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Animal-Care-Large-Breed-Chicken.pdf

 

[Yardmom]

What should I do bc I don’t want to butcher them

Can you give them to someone who would want them for meat?