Help! I can no longer Keep Silent!

[Robin'sBrood]

Quote:
TSC sold Cornish Rocks this year. Problem is, at least at our local one, they put the CR chicks in with the layer chicks!

 

[m2wandc]

Robin'sBrood :

If they're all girls then with some work you may be able to keep them alive long enough to get some eggs, or if you don't want the hassle, you can process them and have a few good meals.

Curious, what makes "meat birds" different??? Do they not lay eggs? do they die early? why can't they become egg laying pets???

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

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Agreed.

 

[walkswithdog]

Meat breeds are designed to grow HUGE in 8 weeks. Table sized. That growth rate works great for meat production. But they grow TOO big for their bone density and their hearts. And most either snap a leg or die of a heart attack kept over six months.

Unless you pen them and calorie restrict them - they eat like feathered hogs and all but blow up and burst.

Some tiny few can live long enough to lay but they're obviously not being raised to mate, lay or brood normally and haven't been for thousands of generations, so there are also those problems faced when considering trying to keep one alive beyond butcher date.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

Quote:
Curious, what makes "meat birds" different??? Do they not lay eggs? do they die early? why can't they become egg laying pets???

They grow extremely fast, get very heavy, and usually wind up dying before they get to egg laying age.

Check out raroo's thread, her meaties are 6 months old and laying eggs now.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=148587

And here is my thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=153867

 

[TriciaHowe]

She looks like my white rocks that I have.....I got them from TSC. The legs don't look thick enough to be a cornishx in my opinion. If it is a white rock they are excellent layers and mine are very friendly. Here is a picture of one that I got off of feathersite.com.
I really hope it is a rock and not a cornishx.

 

[SunAngel]

That is a hard view to judge by...I would definitely have to see better pics from the side and front and some of the others, before thinking they were meaties. Aren't meat birds ready to butcher by 6-8 weeks? The pic looks nothing close to eating size if they are 5 weeks. Maybe its just wishful thinking for her hubby, but I am still leaning towards Leghorn or Amberlink...or possibly even a White Rock.

Our TSC was really good about labelling all their bins with what was in them. They mostly got assorted pullets and the only straight run that came in were RIRs. So I would assume you probably do have pullets.

 

[Wateredgarden11]

Wow ty everyone for so much help. I finally called DH and told him. He said the girl told him they were dual purpose. LOL Looking through some of the pictures posted here by kind souls. I think these are pullets..which is good news. These birds look alot like the picture of the white birds perching on one of the pictures sent in on this thread.
They really dont look like meat birds..ie big behinds..heehee and they move fast in the run. Maybe we got lucky and we have some leghorns.

I would still like to get different birds next year, but if these are females and egg layers..then hubby and I are happy campers.
I was so embarrased to even ask this question on a thread ..for weeks I dithered over whether to expose just how ignorant we are as to breeds. If they are meat birds I guess we will find out soon enough and will have some extra protein in our freezer. Ty for kind posts regarding the coop. We are still building and I will post more pictures as we go. Hubby really sliced his hands badly so it is slow going while he heals. Last year he cut off his pinkie on right hand and now this year he had a board kick back and take tip off of one finger and wedge deep cut. From now on table saw is off limits and he is only allowed to cut when I am out there to hold boards. He is great guy and while we feel 16 inside our bodies and eye sight are in their fifties and we need to be more careful.

 

[Wateredgarden11]

Sorry, I went back and checked. My chickens look so much like greenpeeps and cindyanne1' white chicks. So perhaps that is good news.

 

[danielbrown]

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Don't be embarrassed, you got to learn somehow.

They look like white rocks to me, my leghorns at the same age are skinny and have almost full tails.
At least you have a good chance of getting layers, there are alot of people who get a bunch of meaties thinking they're layers. Give them to the kids who make them pets and get really attached then find out they won't live long.