MissMarple
Songster
Cornishes? I have 2 accidental buys; one of them is my avatar. They were labeled something else but as they quickly outgrew everyone, I realized I had 2 Cornish hens/roos. I've now had to separate them from everyone else (the rest of the older flock, 10, our slightly younger and smaller flock of 12 are in a different brooder as they still need added heat) so that they can eat correctly and won't be picked on/pecked at and their brooder can be more easily cleaned often. I've been preparing myself over these last few weeks for their imminent deaths and reading everyone's opinions on the best ways to cull them. I've pretty well settled on a method while the Chicken Man (my husband) has other ideas. But my question is; is there a certain age that is best or is it really better based on their size? The more I've read about them, the more concerned I get about their well-being up until their time to go and I don't want to wait too long. I don't want them to end up dying from some heart issue or something causing them to suffer. I'm fine with culling any of them no matter how sweet they are or how much I love them but I just wasn't prepared to need to do it this early on. They're 5 weeks old right now and, of course, huge. My intent wasn't to raise meat birds right off the bat but here we are. Thanks in advance for any answers and opinions!