Pet Cornish X chat thread

Hi! I'm totally new to this forum and also to chick rearing. I bought my first 6 chicks a little over a week ago. The dude at the feed store told me one was a buff orpington, but after just a few days it was apparently that she isn't! My guess is that they are not yet 2 weeks old, and Emperor Peepatine is well over twice the weight of my next largest chicks, which are Easter Eggers. I have a New Hampshire Red and a Barred Rock as well, and they are all growing like normal layer hen chicks. My guess is that Peepatine is a Cornish X, but of course I'm not taking her back at this point. She's a sweet baby just like the rest of them, loves being held in warm hands and massaged, and will fall right to sleep in my lap. She doesn't know she's a mutant, so she gets to be the lucky broiler who lives like a pet laying hen for as long as she wants.

I'm only annoyed because I was banking on having the babies inside for 4 or 5 weeks while they grow and feather out, and I've already had to separate Peepatine from her sisters. My husband and I are designing and building their coop and run, which won't be finished for weeks. We had timed it to correspond with their pullet stage, and Peepatine is seemingly on a MUCH more accelerated track. It's also sad to hear her call to her sisters when she's lonely in her box, so I take turns with the others putting one in with her as her "nurse bird" so she has someone to cozy up with to go to sleep.

Of course, this would be much easier if this wasn't my first time with chicks, but here we are. I'm not sure how much to restrict her food so young, but she's already too heavy for her own little legs. I make her exercise a little more when I handle them each every day, and she won't have access to free feeding after bedtime until I get up in the morning. I don't want to underfeed a growing chick, but she is an eating and pooping MACHINE compared to the others. Any opinions on what a good amount of food to offer her per day is without underdoing it? Also, I want to switch her off of chick starter and onto other foods that aren't designed for faster gains. I'm willing to make her food separately if it has to be scrambled eggs or crickets or vegetables or whatever... I'm just such a noob I don't know what would be a more healthy, slower metabolizing diet to provide.

I'm not sure if I will be able to cull her if/when the time comes, but I'm open to doing it out of compassion if it gets to that. I've euthanized fish, amphibians, and reptiles out of compassion before, but would be my first time for taking a bird's life. Doing it for a baby I've raised seems unthinkable to me right now though.
 
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Of course, this would be much easier if this wasn't my first time with chicks, but here we are. I'm not sure how much to restrict her food so young, but she's already too heavy for her own little legs. I make her exercise a little more when I handle them each every day, and she won't have access to free feeding after bedtime until I get up in the morning. I don't want to underfeed a growing chick, but she is an eating and pooping MACHINE compared to the others. Any opinions on what a good amount of food to offer her per day is without underdoing it? Also, I want to switch her off of chick starter and onto other foods that aren't designed for faster gains. I'm willing to make her food separately if it has to be scrambled eggs or crickets or vegetables or whatever... I'm just such a noob I don't know what would be a more healthy, slower metabolizing diet to provide.
Hi! Welcome to the thread! I have a thread on Doodle and Smduges journey, that has TONS of info on restricting feed, and how to keep them healthy. How old did you say she was? At 3-4 weeks of age, you shovels strat to restrict feed. She should also be on an 18% protein feed her whole life, less protein the better.
I'll post a link to my thread, but you should be able to scavenge all the info you need from that. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

You will want her to on a balanced poultry feed. I'm feeding Organic Purina grower/starter to Doodle and Smudge. Once she's 3 weeks old, start by figuring out if she's over weight. You can do this by feeling her keel bone, do you know were the keel is? If you feel fat around the edges of the keel, that is making the area flat she is over weight. You should be able to pinch the keel between two fingers if she's the correct weight. If she's over weight, once she's 3 week old, dont give her any food all day, then in the morning and evening, let her eat for 10 minuets, then take away the food. Once she's the right weight, let her eat for 15 minuets instead.
Will she have the option to free range as an adult? That is very important in my eyes for exercise. I'm so excited to hear about how she does, I'm so glad she came to you by accident.
 
Hi! Welcome to the thread! I have a thread on Doodle and Smduges journey, that has TONS of info on restricting feed, and how to keep them healthy. How old did you say she was? At 3-4 weeks of age, you shovels strat to restrict feed. She should also be on an 18% protein feed her whole life, less protein the better.
I'll post a link to my thread, but you should be able to scavenge all the info you need from that. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

You will want her to on a balanced poultry feed. I'm feeding Organic Purina grower/starter to Doodle and Smudge. Once she's 3 weeks old, start by figuring out if she's over weight. You can do this by feeling her keel bone, do you know were the keel is? If you feel fat around the edges of the keel, that is making the area flat she is over weight. You should be able to pinch the keel between two fingers if she's the correct weight. If she's over weight, once she's 3 week old, dont give her any food all day, then in the morning and evening, let her eat for 10 minuets, then take away the food. Once she's the right weight, let her eat for 15 minuets instead.
Will she have the option to free range as an adult? That is very important in my eyes for exercise. I'm so excited to hear about how she does, I'm so glad she came to you by accident.

Hi! Welcome to the thread! I have a thread on Doodle and Smduges journey, that has TONS of info on restricting feed, and how to keep them healthy. How old did you say she was? At 3-4 weeks of age, you shovels strat to restrict feed. She should also be on an 18% protein feed her whole life, less protein the better.
I'll post a link to my thread, but you should be able to scavenge all the info you need from that. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

You will want her to on a balanced poultry feed. I'm feeding Organic Purina grower/starter to Doodle and Smudge. Once she's 3 weeks old, start by figuring out if she's over weight. You can do this by feeling her keel bone, do you know were the keel is? If you feel fat around the edges of the keel, that is making the area flat she is over weight. You should be able to pinch the keel between two fingers if she's the correct weight. If she's over weight, once she's 3 week old, dont give her any food all day, then in the morning and evening, let her eat for 10 minuets, then take away the food. Once she's the right weight, let her eat for 15 minuets instead.
Will she have the option to free range as an adult? That is very important in my eyes for exercise. I'm so excited to hear about how she does, I'm so glad she came to you by accident.
I'll hop on over to the other thread, thanks! But to answer your question, she will be sort-of free ranging. I can't let them I to my entire garden for multiple reasons, but their run will be very large and be house under a mulberry tree with my compost system. So, lots of bugs and weeds to forage. My brother has already clued me in about making her mostly work for her food, so I'm figuring out the best way to do that with her 5 layer hen sisters while still keeping her safe from predators (we have them all!) and my garden safe from her.
 
I'll hop on over to the other thread, thanks! But to answer your question, she will be sort-of free ranging. I can't let them I to my entire garden for multiple reasons, but their run will be very large and be house under a mulberry tree with my compost system. So, lots of bugs and weeds to forage. My brother has already clued me in about making her mostly work for her food, so I'm figuring out the best way to do that with her 5 layer hen sisters while still keeping her safe from predators (we have them all!) and my garden safe from her.
Perfect! As long as she has plenty of room to move around.
I think my biggest hurtle with keeping Doodle and Smudge with other chickens, is going to be free feeding the flock, but restricting feed for them. I'm planning on making a hut that only the bantams can get into, since they will be with an all bantam flock, or since bantams fly well, making a barrier around the feeder, that the bantams can hop/fly over, were Cornish X are bad fliers hahah!
 
Perfect! As long as she has plenty of room to move around.
I think my biggest hurtle with keeping Doodle and Smudge with other chickens, is going to be free feeding the flock, but restricting feed for them. I'm planning on making a hut that only the bantams can get into, since they will be with an all bantam flock, or since bantams fly well, making a barrier around the feeder, that the bantams can hop/fly over, were Cornish X are bad fliers hahah!
Yeah our coop and run design is going to be entirely different than we were planning! That's a little annoying tbh but it's better that we haven't actually cut any wood yet. I think the trick is going to be how to make it so the layers can eat when they want but Emperor Peepatine can't see them, or hurt herself trying to get to the food.
 
Yeah our coop and run design is going to be entirely different than we were planning! That's a little annoying tbh but it's better that we haven't actually cut any wood yet. I think the trick is going to be how to make it so the layers can eat when they want but Emperor Peepatine can't see them, or hurt herself trying to get to the food.
You need one of those cat doors that only lets the cat in if its microchipped. :lau
 

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