Looks like my rescue chicks are...

[00 Turok]

2 weeks ago I discovered 4 newly hatched peeps

on a road side. A member here, who replied to my 1st post, sugested that I may have meat birds, because they are growing so fast. The 2 survivors are the size of softballs now. They look like softballs too; all fat & round

No plans on eating them though. Nope... they will live long happy chicken lives here & soon I'll have a nice fenced in coop in the backyard for them to run around in. Going to have to hawk proof it too.

Anyway, after browsing this site I think they may be Cornish Cross; since that is the common meat bird commercially grown the US. I'm hoping they are both hens, because I don't think I could handle roosters. I like sleep.

Added note: OMG they poop a lot

How can 2 little birds poop so much? I know they are growing fast, but DANG !!! I also noticed that there is no hint of ammonia smell, which is a good thing for my nose, but I find it wierd. I had a summer job, that lasted 1 summer... ONE summer... cleaning chicken houses on a neighboring farm. The ammonia was SOOOOOO intense I litterally had to wear a gas mask just to get within 30 feet of the structure. One that covered my whole face, because OHHHH my EYES !!!

So is their poo ammonia free, because they're young?

 

[missydcpc]

No, but there are only 2 of them so they don't make nearly as much as a chicken house full!

 

[RollinWithTheStones]

Just a thought, if they are cornish crosses they won't live long. I've read several reports where people said they tried to keep them alive for awhile, but they essentially eat themselves to death or die of heart problems due to their size.

I hope yours are not cornish Xs just run of the mill fattie birds

 

[ragerkid2]

If you have true meat birds, they will eventually die of a heart attack. They are bred to eat. They really don't act like normal chickens, they don't have the same mind set for laying and eating bugs and grass and normal chicken stuff. I should have told you this before. I thought you knew.. :/

 

[dragonmorgan]

Ive read that too. They say 8-12 weeks is all they are good for. After that they start to deteriorate. It would probably be a better quality life to consider eating them at the end of their healthy period. Or finding someone else who might want them. Any quality of life you give them will be loads better than what they woulda got in a chicken house.

 

[ragerkid2]

X2

 

[00 Turok]

@ ragerkid 2... No I didn't. Never raised chickens before so all this is new to me. Don't think I would have ever thought about raising chickens if I hadden't stumbled on to these peeps. I can't believe I even noticed them on the road at all. Talk about pure chance.

That's kind of depressing knowing they can't live long. I've read they get fully grown in 6 - 8 weeks, but only living to 12 weeks? Is that really their lifespan?

 

[ragerkid2]

Yes, I feel as it is inhimane to keep them alive any longer because they will weigh soo much that they can break their legs.

 

[dragonmorgan]

I did a little lookin and found some stuff out for ya. Im on my first ever batch of chicks right now and they are for eggs so I dont have any personal experience with meat birds.

Meat chickens, sadly, are kept along similar lines to egg chickens--most of those you see wrapped in plastic at the market are Cornish Cross birds, bred to live only a few weeks, during which time they eat constantly and gain weight quickly, so much so that if kept alive past 6-8 weeks, they get so heavy that their legs cannot support them and they 'go down on their hocks', meaning they cannot stand, or their legs or hips simply break, leaving in agony. Keeping a Cornish Cross alive past it's man-made, artificially-contrived lifespan is cruel, because there is no avoiding them going down on their hocks. If you raise this breed for meat, slaughter them on time. Many people choose instead to raise old-time dual purpose breeds (for eggs and meat), which take longer to reach maturity and carry less meat, but are generally easier to care for, cleaner and healthier for you in the end. But ANY time you raise your own birds for meat and/or eggs, if housed properly, their product will be leaps and bounds healthier for you and MUCH better tasting, to the point of it being astonishing to people who have never tasted home-grown eggs or chickens.
FROM: http://jackshenhouse.com/

Heres a thread from BYC that has some hopeful posts about cornish Xs livin and even some tips on things you can do to help them live longer. If your serious about keepin them alive I wish you the best and would love to know how it goes. You could always try it and then if you see that they may be gettin to the point where they are not doin good or starting to suffer then you can always send them to the freezer and know that you tried your best.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/551431/life-span-in-cornish-white-cross

 

[ragerkid2]

And mabye post some pics in the which breed is this later when they feather a little to be sure, (a week or so)