I posted the below yesterday, but not replies - so here it is again...
I have 13 cornish x's and need some info on their feeding and habits.
They are now 11 days old (hatched 2 Saturday's ago). They are growing much faster than the 13 egg-layers I got at the same time from MM (the egg layers are Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, and Black Austrakorps).
The cornish x's have been drinking more from the beginning and have only yesterday, for the first time, surpassed the egg-layers in the amount of food they are eating.
I have noticed over the last day or two that the cornish x's seem to be breathing a little hard. Their bodies are moving lick they are panting and they have their mouths open. They have always layed around quite a bit more than the others, but this heavier breathing, even when they are laying around, is new. Is this normal? Is this just because of their size/weight?
Is there anything I should be doing special with their food and water? I have a supplement called Broiler Booster (from MM) that the cornish x's get in their water and I am feeding them Dumor Chick Starter (24%). Should I be taking their food away at night, or giving them limited quantities in some way, or...? They are going to be meat chickens at somewhere between 6 and 8 weeks from what I've read and thus planned, but I don't want them dieing before then.
Please advise. Thanks!
I have 13 cornish x's and need some info on their feeding and habits.
They are now 11 days old (hatched 2 Saturday's ago). They are growing much faster than the 13 egg-layers I got at the same time from MM (the egg layers are Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, and Black Austrakorps).
The cornish x's have been drinking more from the beginning and have only yesterday, for the first time, surpassed the egg-layers in the amount of food they are eating.
I have noticed over the last day or two that the cornish x's seem to be breathing a little hard. Their bodies are moving lick they are panting and they have their mouths open. They have always layed around quite a bit more than the others, but this heavier breathing, even when they are laying around, is new. Is this normal? Is this just because of their size/weight?
Is there anything I should be doing special with their food and water? I have a supplement called Broiler Booster (from MM) that the cornish x's get in their water and I am feeding them Dumor Chick Starter (24%). Should I be taking their food away at night, or giving them limited quantities in some way, or...? They are going to be meat chickens at somewhere between 6 and 8 weeks from what I've read and thus planned, but I don't want them dieing before then.
Please advise. Thanks!