Leghorn chicks - Is this normal?

[1320]

I agree with Celtic Druid, could be Tetra's. Even though at this early age, they indeed have a meat bird appearance, we really don't know what adult Tetras look like do we?! Tractor Supply has sold plenty of them this year. My alleged Tetras from Tractor Supply are identical to yours, I wouldn't sharpen the knife just yet.

I still have to agree with the others, your birds look like and mine act like meat birds. The five in my coop are pigs and they often just plop down right by the feeder when they've finished eating. They won't have anything to do with the roosts in the coop, they sleep on the ground. They struggle to walk, can barely fly and comparatively speaking, they're very dirty. Each has a large tumor looking thing on the right breast. They would much rather dunk their head to drink than take water normally.

All of this might sound negative but I promise you, they are extremely entertaining to watch. As big as they are, they lose every chest bump match with the much smaller Golden Comets and White Leghorns, they look so confused when the small birds bump them. It's a barrell of laughs to watch them attempt flight and they waddle around like ducks. They are very tolerant of my two young sons and don't mind being handled. They still eat out of our hands and we can still pet them when they do. These five "Big Shows" are our favorites. (Big Show is a famous and rather large WWE wrestler).

I would also give a big thumbs up to Mamma Duck04 comments.

 

[Celtic Chick]

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean the cornish ones looked like tetras. I meant out of her other 3 that weren't cornish, the 2 whiter ones might be tetras and the redder one resembled some sort of red hybrid, either a sex-link or production red. But, I do have one production red that is mostly white........

1320, by your description, it sounds like you have some meat birds too. It sure sounds like what everyone is describing. I've never had them, so feel free to think I'm loony. But thank you for agreeing with me.

SouthernLady, I do not envy your predicament. It is ultimately your call, but I would consider putting an ad on Craig's List to see if someone would want to trade you for some laying breed chicks. It would be a shame if your kids became attached to them & then they passed on at a young age. But that is just me. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[harri]

Uh-oh, You all have me nervous now!. I got 12 pullets from tsc on 4/13.
Mine look like yours now, however mine are all the same size. I have 6 of what i was told were a cross between a leg horn and a ??,the other 6 are reds. My reds look like yours. My only hope is that my leghorns are the same size as the reds.

 

[jtr]

Quote:
Yeah they are probably cornish x i have some that are like that

 

[Celtic Chick]

Quote:
If you had any meat birds, there would be a size difference by now.
I think the leghorns might be about a pound lighter than the reds, so no huge size difference. But if they are a cross-breed, then they will most likely be all the same or similar in size.
Meat birds aren't generally all that much bigger than a standard chicken, they just get bigger much faster than a standard.

 

[Auscal]

Southern Lady, I feel your pain I bought 3 delawares from a local feed store at two days old - within a week I knew two were "monster sized", within another week I was posting here, with pics, and learnt I had two cornish-X. I read up on meat birds, read the positive posts about knowing where your food came from/butchering after a "good Life" etc, but, decided it simply wasn't for me. I gave these birds away at just over two weeks, and tried not to think about them anymore.... my other four chicks grew nicely, and I now have another delaware & a barred rock who are now 10 days ago, to replace the cornish-X. Good Luck with your decision, the only advice I would give is not to let your daughter get attached to those cornish-X - it can't end well.

 

[Anianna]

Regarding the Tetra Tints, there are several pictures of BYCers' Tetra Tints at various ages around the forums and I don't think they look anything like that. There is a breed thread for them in the breeds section that has various pictures and links to other threads with pictures sprinkled throughout. The Tetra Tints are advertised as better layers than the other chicks they sell, also, so should not fill out like a meat bird.

 

[mama24]

Those aren't tetra tints. I am 100% sure they're golden comets.

Tetra tints are usually all white, sometimes with a few spots of black or gray.

 

[featherz]

if they are growing gigantic and bald looking, eating like pigs, flopping down next to the feeder, etc - chances are good they are meat birds, and not tetra tints.

 

[SouthernLady]

Thanks so much for all the responses. I'm convinced now that ya'll are right and they are meaties. They are little pigs. I don't have anything at all against anyone who harvests their own meat, but it's not for me. I'll take care of them and we'll just take it day by day.