I want meat birds but I'm not liking the idea of them being genetically enhancedI want healthy happy birds, what are my options?
You do realize that pretty much all breeds of chickens have now been "genetically enhanced" through selective breeding, exactly how the meat breeds have been, don't you? The CX have not had any genetic modification of any kind other than very selective breeding to produce a particular type of bird and that's all. The same as the leghorn and the RIR production birds have been all these many long years to produce more eggs.
The CX can be happy and healthy if they are raised much like one would to keep a happy and healthy dual purpose laying bird....they are only unhappy and unhealthy because people raise them in small pens and feed them up like pigs simply because they have a fast metabolism and are born hungry.
This is what they can be if given the chance....
Your options are much what they've always been....raise dual purpose cockerels until they are 5 mo. old and kill them or raise meat breed birds until they are 2-3 mo. old and kill them...the meat breeds will have more meat on them at 3 mo. than the dual purpose birds will have on them at 5 mo..or even 10 mo.....in fact, they will have twice as much or three times as much meat on them than the DP birds. One is bred for one job and the other is bred for another.
Or, you can capon dual purpose cockerels at a young age(2 mo.) and raise them to 10 mo. of age to have a more meaty bird, though caponing is something one has to learn to do and do well in order for this to be a success. They still won't finish out as heavy as a meat bird of the same age, though.
