My son's pet cornish x Help!

Vamp-A-Billy Princess

Songster
11 Years
Apr 13, 2008
1,341
1
179
Indiana
This is my first post. I have a cornish x that is about 3-4 weeks old. My 1 1/2 year old son picked him out and named him Bo. I had no idea about the health problems and the imminent death of the "breed" at the time. I am worried about sweet, fat Bo. I can't deal with the idea of him dying. Any advice please?
 
Restrict his food so he can't eat 24/7. Someone on here has a cornish X as a pet but I can't remember who. Maybe they will see the post and can help.
 
Best advice is to restrict food and hope for the best. Hopefully someone with direct experience will come along and help ya out with specifics!

Good luck with your chick...
 
Put them on a laying crumb instead of grower. With the lower protein they will grow slower and have less joint problems. We have raised them for 4-h. Kept a few pullets after project was over with. When it is warm enough don't keep light on 24/7 they will eat less. The reason the cornish crosses the problem is because of the rapid weight gain their joint sometimes give out. Slow that down and the birds can live for a lot longer and happier. We have done this several times. Some of the eggs that they lay are double yoke. We had them as pet and they gave us eggs. They are also very docile.
 
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Oh no, now I am infamous!
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Here are some threads that others have started on this very subject:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=45681

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=40557

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=40423
 
I had a cornish cross hen....she passed away quietly yesterday. She was 1 yr old. As a young hen, restrict the feed to 2x's a day. at 8 to 10 weeks, I had her on layer pellets. Oh, she was huge, prolly 15 pounds..but she had a great life. She would go outside with the others, and peck around in the dirt..she dust bathed..and soaked up the sun. Its not impossible to keep them, just not very likely. They tend to have heart issues because they grow too fast. Im sorry your son picked a cornish cross. Maybe you can get another little chick for him....so when and if this one passes, he will still have a "friend"
 
Thanks for the advice. I am just going to give Bo the best life I can. At least here with us I know he is loved and gets hugs and kisses as opposed to him just being dinner if someone else had purchased him. I feel so bad for the entire population of the cornish x. I cant believe that the poor things have been so horribly engineered that even if they aren't butchered they can't live. I want to start some sort of awareness movement. I am going to end up a crzy chicken activist yet. Haha. I have only been a chicken girl for 3 weeks and I am obsessed. Chickens are so addictive. I had no idea. I love it though. I'm so glad I discovered chickens and glad I found this group. You guys are great.
 

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