My Cornish X experiment

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duluthralphie said:
Therein lies the difference, I never moved my tractor, I kept it in e place to get use to where their home is. I thought if I moved it they would be confused.
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The tractor itself is home, not where it is placed. Besides moving a spot or two each day isn't far enough to confuse them. They usually stay close enough to it anyway. I only move it when they are in it so they know where to come and go from. Besides, my chicks surround my feet so much that I can't move it when they are outside of it. I would smoosh them all or trip and fall.
 
Great updates guys and gals. Still fun to have people to follow along with. I've been trying to get some pictures in here but it hasn't wanted to work. Hopefully it will this time. We're happy and healthy. The heat has been bad, but they dust bathe and look dead like you said yours are. They seem fine though. Always perky in the evening when it cools off. In the pics they were 4 weeks, now they're almost 5 and bigger. My daughter (1) had a blast putting grass and rocks all over their backs. They would go about 2 feet and shake them off. It was great! I think it will be the second pic from the bottom, you can see some grass on his back.


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It is so nice to see them acting like chickens!

Some of mine moved from the "scrap pile gangs" territory into the "lilac bush gang" and the "sand pile gang" areas. I was a little worried because those gangs are higher on the pecking order. They were following "brutus for a while so that may have given them status. Brutus travels between groups and is the dominant rooster. He takes no crap and all the others seem to be afraid of him. The chicks did not seem to know he was so tough.

We had to put them into the tractor early because it looked like rain. That was a chore they did not want to go into it. It is amazing how active they are for CX's. It may take me a few extra weeks to get them to butchering size, but I do not care they are so happy now. I am also sure my feed conversion rate is in the cellar, but again I do not care.
 
I was kinda thinking mine looked a bit behind on the weight chart. Don't care either, so long as they're happy and healthy. Still only doing occasional supervised free range, and 3 FF feedings per day. They haven't been eating as much because of the heat, I think. They're twice the size of our standard chicks the same age, and just as big as our newest bantam hen we got today. I call them big boys, meaty men, fatties. Haha.
 
This morning I feed the chicks, on the ground of course, and most of them went to the feed, like you would expect with CX's. However, a half a dozen by passed to food to go outside and free range. I was concerned at first because they were not eating, but decided if they were starving they would have ate instead of played.

They are all so healthy looking. They do not look as mutated as the last batch I overfed in amount and protein. I did spread some bird seed (Milo, corn, white, white millet, sun flower and oats) on the ground for them to forage during the day. I did notice one chick that seems smaller than the rest, I am thinking of marking her with a wire tie to watch her more closely. It could just be a runt hen.

Time to go watch Chicken TV. Write more later.
 
I am nearly in tears, I lost 6 chicks to a predator this morning. I feel like I could cry. I am so sad. I know there is a weird dynamics at play here. I know I will be killing them and eating them in a month. BUT I love my chicks.

This predator will not be back. I am going to drag his carcass out in the woods as a warning to others!

When I came outside it was so weird, There was not a chicken, turkey or guinea to be found. They were all hiding. Even the guinea were in my shed, and they do not like the building at all.

For some reason I did not let my dogs out as early as I normally do. DUMB ME!
 
duluthralphie said:
I am nearly in tears, I lost 6 chicks to a predator this morning. I feel like I could cry. I am so sad. I know there is a weird dynamics at play here. I know I will be killing them and eating them in a month. BUT I love my chicks.

This predator will not be back. I am going to drag his carcass out in the woods as a warning to others!

When I came outside it was so weird, There was not a chicken, turkey or guinea to be found. They were all hiding. Even the guinea were in my shed, and they do not like the building at all.

For some reason I did not let my dogs out as early as I normally do. DUMB ME!
Click to expand...

What kind of predator?
pop.gif
Sorry for your babies, but payback is a bi**ch.
 

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