Questions--never had meat birds before

[CPrendie]

I love that someone else finds their meat birds gross! My wife hates ours. We've got two roosters and a hen. They were straight run. The Roos are nearing harvest, but the hen is a little lean. They certainly are hard birds to get to like. They outgrow their feathers, are half bald, are bullies to the layers, poop like my Newfoundland, then sit in their own poop, lie at the feeder all day. I laugh. Hopefully all the foul behavior is worth it! Pun intended.

 

[55chev]

I love that someone else finds their meat birds gross! My wife hates ours. We've got two roosters and a hen. They were straight run. The Roos are nearing harvest, but the hen is a little lean. They certainly are hard birds to get to like. They outgrow their feathers, are half bald, are bullies to the layers, poop like my Newfoundland, then sit in their own poop, lie at the feeder all day. I laugh. Hopefully all the foul behavior is worth it! Pun intended.

That is a perfect description, and my exact feeling on my meat birds! I have 3 Cornish Xs (bought them to try out. Figured 3 was a good start), and they are exactly as you describe!

 

[what did I do]

I love that someone else finds their meat birds gross! My wife hates ours. We've got two roosters and a hen. They were straight run. The Roos are nearing harvest, but the hen is a little lean. They certainly are hard birds to get to like. They outgrow their feathers, are half bald, are bullies to the layers, poop like my Newfoundland, then sit in their own poop, lie at the feeder all day. I laugh. Hopefully all the foul behavior is worth it! Pun intended.

The nice thing about these gross birds is that you don't mind butchering them. They don't become pets. Who wants a pet that only wants you to feed it. I, also, think they give you a window into an extremely obese persons life.

 

[Beekissed]

I like mine! They are just like very hungry layer birds and they are real moochy and sweet if you take the time to get to know them. One hopped up on a bench between my mother and I the other day and let us pet him while he crooned a song. Then he settled down and nodded off while we kept petting him. It was like three old biddies just sittin' on a bench!

Here are a few pics of mine taken last week..they are 7 wks old.







See? Not gross...clean, fully feathered and just out there doing what other chickens do....grubbing for supper.

 

[SmokingPistol]

This isn't normal. You bought low quatlity birds and it shows. Heat is normal but a good quality broiler will have feathers that keep up with its growth. They all go through an ugly phase but black isn't good.

 

[chicks4fun]

I like mine! They are just like very hungry layer birds and they are real moochy and sweet if you take the time to get to know them. One hopped up on a bench between my mother and I the other day and let us pet him while he crooned a song. Then he settled down and nodded off while we kept petting him. It was like three old biddies just sittin' on a bench!

Here are a few pics of mine taken last week..they are 7 wks old.







See? Not gross...clean, fully feathered and just out there doing what other chickens do....grubbing for supper.

Are they cornish rock x? How old? What do you feed them? Please tell---I'm raising my first meat birds right now.

 

[chicks4fun]

BTW Beekissed= your birds are beautiful, they look happy & healthy

 

[Beekissed]

Are they cornish rock x? How old? What do you feed them? Please tell---I'm raising my first meat birds right now.

They are CX and they are 7 wks old. I feed them once or twice a day on fermented layer mash and whole grains...right now the extra grain is barley. They were started out from day one on fermented foods and mother vinegar in each waterer. I've lost none to health problems and they currently roost as high as 3 ft. in the coop but have been known to fly to the top of my cattle panel coop which is almost approx. 5 ft. 8 in. tall. They have been free ranged since 2 wks and they did have a WR rooster brooding them and ranging with them but he got a little confused and turned out to be a bad influence so he bought the farm. I was ranging them inside a sheep electric netting but they soon found they could walk right through that so they are totally without fences right now and we are surrounded on all sides by forest, so they find plenty of rich foraging opportunities.

 

[shadowmane]

There is a great thread on fermented feed that you can go to. Beekissed is sort of our resident expert on it. There's a few others who have chimed in on that thread who have been doing it a while, and I've been feeding mine the same way. But that's how Beekissed has gotten the Cornish Cross that free range.

 

[chicks4fun]

thanks to both, beekissed & shadowmane, I still have a lot to learn about chicken keeping

I keep mine outside every day in a chicken tractor. I have hawks & I want the protection. I need to come up with a way to give them more space, but safely. But I will start right away with the feed. I tried an organic mix but it was so powdery that they waste most of it.