I do NOT like cornish x's.....

[lakeontariochicks]

No I do not. I have one out of 11 of them, that is gentle and quiet, the rest are just killing me.
5 of them are 3 1/2 weeks old, 6 of them were 2 weeks yesterday.
The bigger ones are the real problem. Every single time I try to feed them they cause problems.
I have had to put on one of my husbands big old snowgloves to get the feeder out of the brooder, because
they actually bite if I don't have it on.
As soon as I put the food in, they go crazy. It is one of the long feeders with many holes, but they won't let anyone else in. They fight amongst themselves too.
So, then I usually put in another feeder for my hens, but as soon as the meaties see this, they come running over and shove my poor little girls out of the way.

Now, they are starting to really bully them out of the way, my poor girls. A couple are brave enough to push their way in.... but for the most part they have to weight until the meaties are too full to move, then the girls get to eat.
I keep food out all day, I've been withholding it at night, like I'm supposed to. Even if I use two feeders, and one has food, if they see me coming they act crazy.
I just got done filling a feeder, went to put it back in, and the biggest chicken flew up and actually banged into the feeder- which was not in the box, bouncing back into the box and making me spill the entire feeder full of food all over the floor outside the box.

I thought they were supposed to be too lazy to fly?
They keep scratching, banging into my hens and waking them up when they're sleeping.
My girls will all stop what they're doing, and look at me, when I get down and stick my head into the box and talk to them. They are getting curious enough to come over and see what I'm doing, but then the stupid meaties have to come barging over, knocking everyone around, trying to bite at me.
I've already posted in the baby chick forum about possibly moving them onto our covered patio(personally right now, I don't care if they freeze to death!) but am guessing they are too young.
I am thinking I should at least separate them from my layers though, so that the layers can't settle down, and know what calm is like?
I will never, ever buy cornish x's again!
Off to research what other chicks are good meat chickens!

 

[card5640]

They are beasts some more than others, each batch have had different personalities. I would not have them in with my laying hens, plus they are so messy.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Mine never acted like that, but then I never let my feed troughs go empty because we needed them to grow quickly in time for my DD fair. Also, I never raise meat birds with my laying hens. They are too messy and I didn't want the meat birds to have roost or boxes. This way they stay on the ground.

 

[M@M@2four]

Quote:
Agreed! I never let their food bowl go empty. They are bred to grow fast in a VERY short amount of time, so need food 24/7. They eat, drink, sleep, and grow around the clock!

 

[Dogfish]

My solution was to have numerous feeders in their pen. A piece of 2" pvc run in a table saw taking off 1/5 of the pipe. Screw it to a board, block either end. Done.

I raised meaties and laying hens together as chicks, then separated them as the CX got bigger, around 3 weeks in the brooder. They are back together in the run, and have no issues.

Try multiple feeders.

 

[HLAC]

Interesting. I'd be annoyed if my birds bit me too. But mine are really pretty sweet at just over two weeks old. There are 20 of them and 13 golden comets in the same 4' x 8' brooder. They all get along pretty good so far. I think the little golden comets slightly annoy the bigger, slower cornish X's with all their constant running and jumping about... but just a bit. Overall they're too laid back to care.

When everybody is up and being active it reminds me of a bunch of dinosaurs. The cornish rocks being the bigger, lumbering T-rexs and the little goldens running in packs amongst them like little speedy velociraptors.

I put in four different feeders so that there is plenty of room for everybody to eat. Maybe try more feeders?

 

[HEChicken]

This doesn't sound at all like my experience either. I only have one that I got as an experiment and I'm raising her with the layers. She is SO sweet and quiet - a very calm temperament. She is 4 weeks old now and the only one that will just stand and let me pick her up - the others all run screeching like I'm a terrifying predator. What has surprised me more than anything is that she is just not dedicated to eating like I expected. She is being raised with 3 other layers (two are 7 weeks and the third is 4 weeks) and all three of them are much more interested in eating than the meatie. Oh, she's getting plenty to eat - she's the size of the 7-week SS already - but she doesn't just lay around eating all day long like I thought she would.

 

[Mule Chick]

Maybe they make them that way so you won't be sorry when you have to kill them

 

[tinahoak]

I have only raised meat birds for 3 years . I never keep my egg layer chicks and meat bird chicks together for more then a few weeks. Mainly because at that point they are so much bigger . I order them the same time every year so I can, more often then not ,count on the same type of weather .

I have the the meat birds on pasture ,in a chicken tractor ,with a heat lamp at 3 weeks old. I then keep what ever egg layers I have ordered as chicks, in my big galvanized horse water trough that I use as a brooder box.
I have several feeders in the tractor . not sure if you can picture this, but I have jute tied to my handles on the hanging style feeders. the jute rope end hangs outside the tractor so when I open up the hinged lid on the tractor, I can use the jute to lift the feeder in and out of the tractor if the birds are aggressive. Waters are done the same way, just stronger rope.
I move my tractor every day so they are on fresh pasture. I don't handle my meat birds ( other then to put them in and take them out 9 weeks later for the butcher), that way there is no chance of becoming attached. I do look them over every day to make sure they are ok and not in need of anything.
Last summers batch was the easiest, I think because I have a lot of quirks worked out and things are smoother to operate.

 

[silkiechicken]

Odd, must be that bunch. I've always found my cornish x birds to be the most friendly, laid back, and doscile birds even compared to the silkies.