I have a 4.5 week Cornish broiler laying around..is he dying or lazy

[algerville]

I am new to this and i have 16 cornish x broilers ..all seem well and happy but one this morning just laid there as the others scurried around. I poked at him and he didnt seem to care. I see no injury. Help?

 

[Free Spirit]

Are there any other symptoms or abnormal behaviors that you can observe?

Here is a thread with a checklist that may help you know what to look for. The more info we have the better we can serve you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1048620/how-to-provide-emergency-and-supportive-care

 

[algerville]

No other symotoms or oddness

 

[Free Spirit]

No other symotoms or oddness

Without any other symptom to go on it is very difficult to identify the problem. I'm so sorry I can't help as I just don't know. It could be any number of things. If you notice anything else please let us know so we can try and pinpoint it.

 

[donrae]

If he's down and not wanting to move, I'd go ahead and butcher him. Something's not right. I'd much rather butcher and eat now than have him die on me. I'm not really keen on eating them if I don't butcher them.

 

[Morrigan]

Starting around this age, I occassionally have a CX that just stops walking and moving around well. CX are known for leg problems as a result of the rapid growth they are bred for. It's not even necessarily the result of a particular bird being too fat, as I've had some of the smallest birds in my CX flock suffer from leg problems. I think it might be a genetic malfunction in which some birds just aren't hardy enough to bear the weight gain they are bred for.

Like donrae I butcher a bird I see having leg problems, even if it is still a pretty small bird. I do examine the bird pretty carefully first to see that they otherwise look healthy (no sneezing, clear eyes, normal droppings etc.) and, after butchering, check that all their innards look healthy before I put it in the freezer. I'm not sure I'd want to eat a bird if it looks like it might be suffering from some type of disease.