Hen is dangerously overweight. Help!

[tuesdaylove]

My first hen, Darcy, is a Cornish cross meat bird, although she will not be killed for meat and I intend of raising her as a pet to live the longest, healthiest life that she can live. However, she seems to be gaining weight very quickly. I've been told that meat birds can gain so much weight that it either causes heart attacks or causes their legs to break from their own weight. Is this true? I've tried cutting back on her food, but not only does this seem to not be working, it's keeping too much food away from the rest of the flock, all baby bantams. Are the rumors true about meat birds? What can I do to help Darcy lose weight? I cannot separate her from the others while they eat, so I need a different solution. If it helps, all of the chickens are about three months old.

 

[spikennipper]

I am not familiar with the breed but if she is 3 months old she is still growing so I doubt the extra weight will be an issue at the mo, would be interesting to see a pic of her though!

perhaps if she is being reared along side bantams it may look like she is overweight but isn't, her breed just makes her grow very rapidly, will they be freeranging at all? keeping her active may help.

 

[tuesdaylove]

It seems that she already has trouble walking around - I don't know if this is due to the weight or to what appeared to be a splayed leg that she had when she was a baby. Here's the most recent pics I have, from about two weeks ago:




I would also like to point out that she's not very fluffy - yes, she's actually this big!

 

[dawg53]

It doesnt matter whether you cut back on feed or not. It is and will become a quality of life issue for her as you are already seeing. It would be best to cull her and end her current suffering before it becomes worse. Meat birds are meant to be put in the freezer, that's the way they are designed to be.

 

[tuesdaylove]

I wouldn't dare kill Darcy, and no matter when and how she dies, I certainly won't be eating her. She's practically my baby. I rescued her from an abusive owner when she was just a couple of days old and I just cannot kill her.

EDIT: Also, I'm vegetarian, and so is my mother, the only other person who lives here. We'd have no use in killing a chicken for food.

 

[dawg53]

I wouldn't dare kill Darcy, and no matter when and how she dies, I certainly won't be eating her. She's practically my baby. I rescued her from an abusive owner when she was just a couple of days old and I just cannot kill her.

EDIT: Also, I'm vegetarian, and so is my mother, the only other person who lives here. We'd have no use in killing a chicken for food.

It is your choice to let her suffer? She WILL get worse. Perhaps it might be best to place an ad on craigslist and give her away.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I've seen maybe one or two posts by folks who free ranged their Cornish crosses with a flock and saw some better quality of life for a little while longer than normal.

You might try that, but sadly enough, you'll have to at some point, face the fact that this animal has been bred to live a very short life. And there isn't all that much you can do about it. And I'm very very sorry to sound harsh. I don't mean it that way.

Also, I've seen posts where this breed accidentally hurt peers of standard breeds because of the amazing size difference. If her peers are bantams, this potential is even greater.

I really wish i had more encouraging words. I know you love your girl.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[tuesdaylove]

It is your choice to let her suffer? She WILL get worse. Perhaps it might be best to place an ad on craigslist and give her away.

I don't want her to suffer, but I don't believe in killing any animal for any reason. I suppose I might have to consider giving her away, but I know that most omnivorous people will want her just to kill and eat her. From the perspective of the meat-eater I used to be, she definitely looks like a perfect eating chicken.

I've seen maybe one or two posts by folks who free ranged their Cornish crosses with a flock and saw some better quality of life for a little while longer than normal.
You might try that, but sadly enough, you'll have to at some point, face the fact that this animal has been bred to live a very short life. And there isn't all that much you can do about it. And I'm very very sorry to sound harsh. I don't mean it that way.
Also, I've seen posts where this breed accidentally hurt peers of standard breeds because of the amazing size difference. If her peers are bantams, this potential is even greater.
I really wish i had more encouraging words. I know you love your girl.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

You don't sound harsh. That's actually what I needed to hear, I guess. I had a teacher tell me that she never had a Cornish cross live longer than eight months, but I didn't think their lifespans were really that short. And there's already some problems with her stepping on the little ones and causing them damage - many of them have sores of their feet and heads.

 

[featherz]

I'm also a vegetarian and don't kill my birds for food.. However, she IS a 'frankenchicken' and will have serious problems later on if feed is not restricted. I think only option, if you don't want to put her down, is to separate her and limit her food and/or free range with limited food. Given free access to food all I have heard (never had cornish X) she will just get bigger and it's a race between whether her heart or her legs will give out first. And that really will cause her to be miserable. I do kill my birds if they are suffering, I'd put my cat down as well if it was suffering and I couldn't fix it.

All the Cornish X I have seen on here as pets only survived as long as they did with severely restricted feed + free range for exercise.

Also, not fair for the bantams to have such a huge chicken in with them. She could really hurt them, even unintentionally. =(

 

[CMV]

PunkinPeep- It's good to see you. I haven't seen you around for a while.

Quote:

I don't want her to suffer, but I don't believe in killing any animal for any reason. I suppose I might have to consider giving her away, but I know that most omnivorous people will want her just to kill and eat her.

CXs are not meant to withstand the long haul. They die young because they are so genetically selected that their bodies get huge, but their organs are mush (especially their hearts). Sure you can keep her alive for a few months, but she will have health issue after health issue until she drops dead. Then what do you have? A dead bird of no use except as fertilizer, who likely suffered quite a bit under her body's failing.

OP you need to decide which you want- her not suffering or you not killing an animal for any reason. They are mutually exclusive unless you give your problem away to someone else. When the problem is given over to someone else, don't be dismayed when she gets eaten...as was her intended purpose all along. At the very least, when she gets processed she will be serving some higher purpose- feeding a family. It may not be your food choice, but that's not going to stop the rest of us from enjoying chicken as a meal.

If you are not in the position to give her a merciful end when she needs it, then I would recommend finding her a new place to go.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.