Meat bird development (Week 9) - 10 lbs 11oz! Done. Whew!

[tomsgonefishin]

>>#1 What breed is this exactly? Is it a Cornish X like the poultry producers have?

Yes, Cornish X from Ideal Hatchery.


>>#2 I notice the feathering looks sparce. Is that because he is getting feathers in or what I am >>assuming is because of the massive growth?

I've read that they are bred to have sparse feathering for ease of processing.

>>#3 What are you feeding and what % is the protein?

Chick starter/grower 18% protien. I think I should be using more like 20% but they seem to be growing pretty darn fast. At 4 weeks = 3.6 lbs.

>>#4 Do you plan on continuing photographing the growth/weight of your birds and if so, for how >>long? I would love to see how the alternate caring of your bird varies from the "industry" birds.

Yes, I will continue to document and post this for the 8 weeks or so. They are well cared for and they enjoy dust baths, can stretch out under the heat lamp, and believe it or not, they seem to love the attention we give them. Sounds crazy but they like their breast rubbed.

>>Your bird looks very healthy. Makes me sad to think these rescued "broilers" (that I have) could >>have looked a bit more normal like yours (though I won't be eating them!).
Thanks.

We have Bob in the house right now due to a pecking issue (poor fella was getting picked on) and he is about 4 mos old and weighed 12 lbs last night.

 

[hooligan]

Awesome! Glad to hear that you will keep updating your pix and that your babies are so well taken care of! If something happens and I don't venture in this section again PLEASE send me a PM to let me know you updated

 

[blue90292]

Quote:
hooligan, you can click on the "subscribe to this topic" button on the bottom of this page and everytime someone posts on this thread, you'll get an email letting you know.

michele

 

[tomsgonefishin]

Hi,
I went out to look at my 7 meat birds and found one with a sore leg. He hobbles around when he walks. The leg doesn't have any obvious signs of tramua, it just doesn't seem to bend as much as the other leg. Seems to hurt him when he walks.

He is 5 weeks old and is about 3+ lbs.

Question is: Should I just take him early to keep him from suffering?
Is he ok to eat?
Will he no longer thrive if his leg is sore? I'm concerned if I
do nothing, he will slow down eating and drinking,
lose weight, etc....and suffer.

Any suggestions? I just don't know how "leg Problems" typically manifest themselves.


Thanks
Tom

 

[HobbyChickener]

Those look great! We are planning the same this fall.

 

[GwenFarms]

Quote:
If you are going to try to raise these as pets you will have alot of trouble and some pretty miserable birds. These birds aren't bred for longetivity. They are bred for the greatest size in the shortest time possible. They will develop very serious leg problems and organ problems.

Tom,
Go ahead and butcher him now, especially if he is suffering at all. It will be fine to eat. It's probably a pulled tendon, or something along those lines.

 

[TerrasCritters]

Awesome thread, I am going to get some soon to raise up for the freezer too!

As for your injured one, Cornish are breed to grow fast and large like you already know, unfortunatly they will eventually get so big that theyre legs wont beable to support them and they will evetually suffer and die on there own.
After about 12 weeks they begin to develope alot of fat this is why they are processed between 10-12 weeks of age some go longer and some go shorter.
Not all will die though and they will probably not reproduce on there own, you will have to AI becuase its like the meat turkeys BBB etc that they get to big in the breast they cant breed.

Are these going to be pets? I think you are going to have a hard time trying to keep them going if they are going to be pets.

 

[tomsgonefishin]

No, definitely not pets! They are for eating. I just wanted some advice for what to do with my chicken with the sore leg. I just weighed him and he is about 3.5 lbs. I lowered the feeder and he sat there and ate. With it raised up, I'm not sure how motivated he is to eat. He does seem to drink on a regular basis.

Tomorrow they will be 5 weeks and the largest is 4 lbs 6oz.

Tom

 

[FarmGirl01]

Go ahead and butcher him. I think it would be fine.

 

[jaku]

Quote:
I just read Joel Saladin's book, and he recommended feeding liver for leg problems in meat birds- I can't remember how much or how often, but he claimed it healed the birds.