I understand the business analysis, but man cornish x feel wrong!

[QCFChicks]

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Ha yea there's and idea!

 

[bigredfeather]

I was going to stay out of this, but I just can't help myself.
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So what specifically feels nasty?

I feel sorry for the birds trying to free range, and running out from the tractor flapping their wings and eating two bites off a leaf before sitting back on their belly exhausted.

If you came to the pasture where I run my CX, that is not what you would see in my tractors. When I move the tractors, my birds go after the folage like white on rice. Even after i refill the feeders, there are always several of them that pass on the feed and continue to eat up the clover/grass hay. By the next day, all you will find is stems. This weekend I moved a batch of 3 weeks olds to the pasture. Within 10 minutes, they where already scratching and munching on whatever they cold find.

Meanwhile, my seven 2-yr old free ranging heritage breed hens crank out 6 eggs a day for 11 straight days (after 2 years-wow!), while barely eating their Layena or WATER!

So if you were to butcher these 2 year old hens, would they have a nice long, thick breast and a meaty leg quarter after 2 years of growth? I would like to reiterate that layers and CX are not comparable.

These cornish x dropping dead for no reason just feels icky, right?

Wrong. They do not just die for no reason. The reasons may include overfeeding, not the correct nutrition, or may be sick from poor managment. I found a 2 year old DP rooster dead in the coop the other day. Is it safe to say he died for no reason? Of course not. Just because you don't know the reason, doesn't mean there isn't one.

It's posts like this that turn people off the CX. If you raise them and have problems, dig into it and find out what caused the problem. Don't go blaming it on the breed. Sorry if I sound brash in this responce, but it burns my rear when this type of misinformation is posted.

There, now I feel better.​

 

[mama24]

I looked into raising mine properly. I'm feeding them lower protein grower b/c I didn't want them to grow too fast. They are free ranging along with my layer flock. I have one CornishX pullet who runs as fast as my layers when my roo calls that he's found treats. I still feel AWFUL for them, and won't be buying them again. It looks like they're in pain when they walk, and mine do have to flap while running to keep from tipping over. And it's only May here in the sunny South, and it's so hot and humid, my meaties DO flop down after a few steps during the 2nd half of the day. In the morning, they are up and running with the rest, but all that energy is gone by late afternoon. They pant all afternoon and night long. They cry in the evening when the rest fly up to roost and they have nowhere to go. They climb as far as they can, which is usually about 6 inches off the ground. They still have the instincts of a lithe normal chicken, but they have the body of a hippo and can't do what their brains tell them they should be able to.

btw, I will continue to buy them from my local farmer at the farmer's market, but if I ever do meaties again, I will try a slower growing breed like the FR. I would rather be out more money feeding them or having to buy at the market than to watch them suffer in my yard daily. I feel like i"m giving them a much better life than they would have had in a commercial farm, but I don't want to see it. I actually prefer darker meat anyway, and I think the flavor of layers is superior to CornishX as well. Especially my Delawares. They are delicious! And their breast are twice the length and half as thick as a CornishX, so it probably ends up being the same amount of breast meat. Same for the legs.

 

[DanIndiana]

So what specifically feels nasty?

That they try, but can't function like a self-sustaining animal.

If you came to the pasture where I run my CX, that is not what you would see in my tractors. When I move the tractors, my birds go after the folage like white on rice. Even after i refill the feeders, there are always several of them that pass on the feed and continue to eat up the clover/grass hay. By the next day, all you will find is stems. This weekend I moved a batch of 3 weeks olds to the pasture. Within 10 minutes, they where already scratching and munching on whatever they cold find.

Mine do that as well, for a relatively brief period. You can't tell me they do that all day long.

So if you were to butcher these 2 year old hens, would they have a nice long, thick breast and a meaty leg quarter after 2 years of growth? I would like to reiterate that layers and CX are not comparable.

I was only comparing the self-sufficiency. I never said they were a meat bird.

Wrong. They do not just die for no reason. The reasons may include overfeeding, not the correct nutrition, or may be sick from poor managment. I found a 2 year old DP rooster dead in the coop the other day. Is it safe to say he died for no reason? Of course not. Just because you don't know the reason, doesn't mean there isn't one.

So their mortality is no higher than a standard breed? Come on

It's posts like this that turn people off the CX. If you raise them and have problems, dig into it and find out what caused the problem. Don't go blaming it on the breed. Sorry if I sound brash in this responce, but it burns my rear when this type of misinformation is posted.

There, now I feel better.

I understand it ticks you off, but there was never any misinformation posted. Just an opinion.
I admit that what I have to reconcile is how the sustainable, old-fashioned DP model gives you that whole warm, fuzzy feeling, and the cornish x don't-but they pay the bills.​

 

[DanIndiana]

Mama24 expressed my feelings more eloquently.

 

[bigredfeather]

Mine do that as well, for a relatively brief period. You can't tell me they do that all day long.

No they don't do it all day long, but what "self-sustaining" chicken does? My layers free range, but in the heat of the day, they're sitting in the shade panting just like the CX.

So their mortality is no higher than a standard breed? Come on

You weren't talking about the mortality rate, you were saying they just up and die for no reason. I was stressing their is a reason. In any given year I will lose 3-4 layers and/or roosters from my DP flock. I keep around 60-70 of them. If 4 of them die for no reason, that's about a 6% loss. In the same year, I will raise 600-700 CX. At that same 6% loss, if I lose 39 of them or less, they are at the same rate of loss. I may get close to losing that many in a season, but it isn't much more than that, and if I did, I would guarrentee you I had done something wrong.

I understand it ticks you off, but there was never any misinformation posted. Just an opinion.
I admit that what I have to reconcile is how the sustainable, old-fashioned DP model gives you that whole warm, fuzzy feeling, and the cornish x don't-but they pay the bills.

The most misleading piece of information you stated was that they die for no reason. I see this on here time and time again.​

 

[DanIndiana]

I hear ya bigredfeather. I like your style. I've read alot of your posts. You know what you're talking about, you get a bit riled easily, but you mean no offense. I can respect that. Neither do I.

 

[bigredfeather]

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How about we agree to disagree? Sound good? You're right, I mean no offence. I guess I just look at things differently then others.

 

[mama24]

Yep, have to agree to disagree. Where Dan and I see chickens who have been bred in such a way that their life is painful, you see chickens that are bred to be perfect meat makers. We're both right, but the short lives of these birds doesn't bother you. You are the right type of person to ethically raise these birds. Dan and I would most likely be happier raising chickens that are a little closer to a wild-type bird. Nothing wrong with either of those, really, I guess. I guess some people would argue the ethics, but I'm not going to. I eat meat, as long as the birds live as happily as possible (i.e. not in a warehouse where they never see the sun or a blade of grass) I really have no problem with it. I'd just rather not see a Cornish X (or more than one. lol) waddling around in my back yard. It makes me sad.

 

[JulieNKC]

My cornish x free range. They aren't as active as the rest of my chickens, but they are happy healthy birds. I only have 6, but I haven't lost one yet. They don't go as far from their tractor, but they forage and dustbathe and posture and play like any other chicken. I'm in the suburbs, I can't raise crowing roos for their meat so this is my only alternative. And I love my little fatties. Except for them trying to eat my toes they are sweet birds. And I'm sure they are going to taste good too.