Naughty, nasty birds earn an early trip to freezer camp

[PunkinPeep]

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No problem - good article, regardless.

And my husband and I have really looking at the birds and are wondering if we truly got Rocks. We are wondering if they are actually Rock/Cornish broilers or possibly Leghorns. They have that really stout look of broilers and have been growing at twice the rate of the other birds. My husband pondered the Leghorn possibility due to their bad attitudes (a la Foghorn).

Something is just off with these birds. If the other birds were acting as aggressively as them, I'd write it off as normal chicken behavior, but there is a distinct difference between these Rocks and the rest of them.

You should post a picture. Leghorns are kind of skinny, but it sounds like you might have the cornish crosses, which means you can eat them really soon.

 

[trase]

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I told him the same thing - I think he was just thinking of the Looney Toons character's personality more than anything else.

I'll try to get a photo of one of them today - they get riled up quickly so I don't know if they will cooperate for a photo shoot, but I will give it a try. Might have to wait until my husband gets home so I have assistance.

 

[Michele S]

My cornish x rocks are the most docile birds I have ever seen. They are practically like dogs. They follow me around and sit on my feet. Based on my limited experience, I think they've had the mean gene bred right out of them. They must be something else.

Here are what mine look like at a little over 4 weeks. Now does anyone know what that brown one is? I got that one for free for ordering 25 and that one is really mean and bosses the meaties all around.

 

[trase]

Michelle S -

That is *exactly* what my birds look like. I really wonder if that's what I have.

I don't know why these particular birds are so horribly tempered. We bought them as chicks from the same supplier, on the same day, and they've been with the others the entire time, who aren't anything like these nasty birds.

 

[SteveH]

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I think they might have a thrown a Dark Cornish in with your order .

 

[dancingbear]

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Trase, how much do you feed them? Do they have long periods during the day with an empty feeder? The Cornish Rock X broilers are usually very docile, but they're also very hungry. They can't help that, it's been bred into them. They burn through calories super fast, due to the ferocious growth rate. It sounds like they're attacking because they're hungry. They need a lot more feed than your normal chickens. If you keep the fedder full all day, I bet they'll calm down. Most people butcher then at 8 weeks, some s early as 6 weeks, other let some or all go 10 weeks, for roasters.

How old are yours?

 

[trase]

DancingBear -

Ours will be six weeks old tomorrow. All of our chickens have food available to them 24/7, and that's how it's been since we got them.

I am really starting to wonder if these chicks are brain damaged or something, because whether they are Plymouth White Rocks (as we were expecting) or Meaties, it sounds like others have the same breeds and have docile birds.

We were working on getting their waterer hung up better last night, as they were kicking so much pine bedding into it, it was rendered useless. It's better now - we used a length of PVC and some heavy gauge wire to suspend it within the brooder cage. Between that, running out to TSC for more food, and taking care of the rest of the flock, we didn't end up with the opportunity to take photos of them last night. I'm still going to try and get some pictures today and post them up.

 

[NYREDS]

They're your birds so it matters not to me whether you kill them or not. That said it continues to amaze me how frequently people on this board post about their outrage at perfectly normal chicken behavior.

 

[trase]

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So it's normal for the chickens to be so aggressive that they purposely draw blood from me? That was never mentioned in Gail Damerow's book or any of the other literature or websites I've read.

 

[scarter]

Post pictures so we can see what they are. Our Cornish X weren't aggressive at all unless their food ran out. They are hungry little things. I'd get them some meat bird food and see if that calms them down. It would be worth the wait if you get them calmed down. You're just a few weeks away if they truly are meat birds. I know what you mean about crazy birds. We also cull the more aggressive ones because of our little one. Our girls are sweet things and we love going into the coop or feeding them treats.