Raise XC more than 8 weeks old

[chick_magnet]

I have XCs that are almost a year old. We got it from a commercial hen house that used them for egg and meat production. They guy gave us 8 and we have been raising them for about a year now. None has died and I know for sure that these are XC bird. are they suffering because I really dont want them to suffer. They do have stubby legs however

 

[CMV]

I am surprised yours have all survived this long. The thing about CXs is that their organs are mush. I had never done CXs until this year. I have always done dual purpose birds in the past. I was surprised when butchering at the state of the organs on the 9 week old birds. When gutting I reach in to the body cavity and then use the heart as a guide as to how much I pull out in the first swipe. The first CX I did I couldn't find the heart. I knew it had to be there, but I couldn't find it. A closer inspection of the organs revealed that I had indeed grabbed the heart, but instead of being the hard, compact, fibrous organ I was used to in the dual purpose birds, the hearts in the CXs were overly large and mushy as a bag of applesauce. I thought to myself at the time "No wonder they all drop dead of heart attacks with a heart like that." And all 30 of them had hearts like that.

Your birds are probably not actively suffering. You would be able to tell by their behavior if they were in pain. I would not realistically expect them to live very much longer, however. The fact they've lived this long is a testament to the great care they have been receiving, and a great deal of good luck, but I wouldn't expect the miracle to continue. Meat birds are simply not built for the long haul.

Good luck with them.

 

[al6517]

The cornish X birds I have are going on over 2 yrs now and everyday I see them alive is a miracle, I do not feel like they are suffering they seems content as any other birds, I think it's just like a great big fat human who is just struggling with daily task but still adapts and can deal with it. They lay fairly well in cycles with no visible health sign's except for that funny bald spot on their underside.

AL

 

[eKo_birdies]

they use cornish X as commercial layers?

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
That was my thought.

 

[chick_magnet]

Quote:
yes some commercial does that. They'll raise the bird for egg for so long. Then after they have passed their prime they are not meat bird. They get slaughter and are used for chicken that comes in can. they are mainly used for soup

 

[eKo_birdies]

well good to know!! thanks for that, you learn something new every day!

 

[cassie]

Are you sure your chickens are not white rocks? How big are they? At that age if they are Cornish X they would be in the neighborhood of 20 pounds. That is what mine weighed at 16 weeks because I had to delay slaughter.

 

[chick_magnet]

Quote:
When i first got them, they were about 12-15lb. Since i've had them they are probably around 8-10lb
Iposted pics of them when I got them and everyone said they are XC.

 

[chick_magnet]

Quote:
How big is ur XC of 2 yrs? I wanted to compare my and urs