Jumping into the meat chicken arena

[srpchickens]

I've got 24 layers, and all are doing well. It's a mix of RIR, NHR, Cuckoo Marans, Tetra Tints, Easter Eggers and Black Australorps. Only my second year with chickens, having done 6 red stars last year. But, I've not lost one yet...have done well with eggs, have a nice tidy coop and run, and healthy looking birds.

I've built a separate run, with a shelter, and ordered 25 Jumbo Cornish Rock X birds.

I started using the fermented feed method on my layers a week ago, and it's been going well. So I am planning on doing this with the meat birds too.

I've got another batch of 25 scheduled to arrive 5 weeks after the first batch...so they will be in the brooder when the others are ready for the cone and plucker.

Are these birds really that much different to care for other than the faster growth rate?

 

[lollipopguild]

Yes & no.

What I mean is that they are just....weird. In my experience, they aren't nearly as hardy or efficient. Just like any other animal, they need feed, water, and shelter. That's about all you can really do for them and hope for the best. But, mine never really acted like chickens. When they are young, they are a little more active (1-4 weeks). After that, they just kinda stopped the usual chicken behavior. They stopped foraging, they stopped scratching, they stopped eating scraps. They would simply eat, sleep, and poop. They weren't interested in anything except the meatbird crumbles I would feed. They are more messy and smell worse overall. Keep them cool because they don't tolerate heat well. They seem quite dumb, too. I think by time the 6 weeks comes, you'll be more than happy to butcher them.

Now, this may come out harsh but I see people on here wanting to rescue these birds or keep them as pets. IMO, based on what I've read, seen, and experienced, you'd have to a bonafide idiot or simply ignorant to do that. I love these birds due to butcher times and their size, but....well...you'll see what I mean after 6 weeks.

 

[srpchickens]

I get it. I think my layers are all pretty cool. They are fun to watch. I let them out of their run every day for an hour or so at the end of the day, sit on the patio and drink a beer and watch them until they go in to roost. They all have personalities, and are very unique. I set up treats that hang from a tree, and make them jump or climb to get to them...little things like that. They are a riot sometimes.

It may be better that the meat birds are like that. It will make throwing them in the cone that much easier. And if they are aren't really active...well maybe I can shrink the pen/run a little and increase it for my layers.

 

[Bulldog6]

Lollipop you aint kidding about the meat birds. I have 10 right now that are 5 1/2 weeks and they are dumb. I have a big pen for them with roosts they would rather lay in their poop next to the feeders.

Was debating if I would do another round of them or not if they weren't ready to process so darn fast I wouldn't . But they are pooping machines for sure. This is my first experience with the jumbo Cornish cross but are they usually that lazy where they just lay next to the feeders and waters?

 

[Tricoglossus]

Lollipop you aint kidding about the meat birds. I have 10 right now that are 5 1/2 weeks and they are dumb. I have a big pen for them with roosts they would rather lay in their poop next to the feeders.

Was debating if I would do another round of them or not if they weren't ready to process so darn fast I wouldn't . But they are pooping machines for sure. This is my first experience with the jumbo Cornish cross but are they usually that lazy where they just lay next to the feeders and waters?

So if you were morbidly obese and had an insatiable hunger would you fancy jumping up onto a perch to roost? It would be a bit hard, wouldn't it?

Come on, these birds aren't necessarily stupid, or lazy; they are physically unable to jump up there. And being constantly hungry they like to be near their food.

Edited to add: Furthermore, you should not be encouraging them to roost on high roosts because the birds are carrying so much weight that they may break a leg if they jump down.