Red Laced Cornish X and project talk (pics p. 8)

[SteveH]

I just love what the CX have to add to the genetics of a new dual purpose strain , so wide in the body they almost look like a ball with a head , neck , and tail attached . They are useing their new , heavier built , ground roost some but prefer to sleep outside on the ground at night where its cooler than the coop .

The smallest cockeral at 11 weeks , 2 days

Hopefully this 6 week old splash Ameraucana will be mature enough to use on the CX pullets this fall , my older one escaped and hasn't been seen since .

This hatchery version of a WLRC is up on legs more like the Cornish of old , and I hope the breast fills in with time . If I succeed in hatching some CX eggs crossed on the EE or Ameraucana roos I'll try the heaviest WLRC roo on them .

I've noticed the largest CX cockeral has these grey barred feathers coming in on his tail and the largest CX pullets have the same colour developing on their flight feathers [ flight feathers not really being too accurate on a CX

] .

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

looking good steve!!!

 

[SteveH]

Thanks Katy . Did you get the ground roosts built ? If so , what is useing them ? I've seen those pics of CX just before processing time with their partially bald , partially crap balled under sides and sure glad my CX have avoided that so far .

I discovered all of my chickens really like frozen , over ripe , cantelope ; quite a treat on a hot day

.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

No I haven't built your ground roosts yet, the big ones are still roosing about 2 feet up on the sides of the coop, which is not good. I'm thinking I will get to it next week. Culling and butchering excess roo this week then new pens and runs next week as we settle down with next years breeding stock - 3 breeds, 90 birds . . .

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Seems there's always something that requires time , energy , and $ isn't there ? I was just thinking today that I need another pen as a holding area for cull birds to grow to processing size or hold a few backup hitters as replacement roos . Plus nest boxes , an incubator , two more feeders , another waterer , a new electric line installed ...............

 

[SteveH]

I lost another CX breeding hopeful , the largest pullet , today at 12 weeks , 2 days . It actually appeared she might have died yesterday immediately after eating , but the flies had left her alone if so . Maybe the other chickens kept the flies away ?

They get just slightly more feed then it takes to fill their crops once , and I watched them eat their fill yesterday and do their immediate run to the coop for water afterwards before I left . Today I found her laying dead at the waterer . I gutted her and found both the crop and gizzard [ largest gizzard I ever saw , never even recognized it at first ] crammed completely full of chicken feed and the intestines completely empty . Her heart was very soft and weak walled . I assume she either crammed herself full , had a big drink , and then died of a heart attack ; or became blocked for some reason . Tomorrow I'll wet the feed in case the dry feed is swelling in their crops after they take that big drink .

She wasn't wasted ; I soaked the carcass in cold water for a few hours and fed her to my dogs .

I stayed and watched them today and after about 20 minutes of rest after the big drink they all came back out to clean up what little feed remained then went looking for grass , bugs , and the melon rind I tossed them . The CX always check the feeder on the second round searching for every speck of feed before they start alternately seeking shade in the coop and searching for natural foods . There was a heat advisory again today so its a wonder they don't all die .

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I lost two of my apx 12 week olds last week. both pullets. I have had zero issues with the roos in fact the 20+ week olds are already in breeding pens and going strong. and the older pulletts are doing great too. Only three losses so far, all pulletts and all around the 12 week mark (different hatch goups). They weren't sick and didn't flip, just panted looked sluggish and died at night.
Such interesting work isn't it?

 

[SteveH]

I haven't seen a thing in either pullet I've lost to indicate a problem developing or death coming . The one roo that's so large often has raspy panting and he's the one I figured to not last to breeding age or will be too big to use , but he runs to the feed and often runs back to the coop for shade and water so ...............

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

yeah mine just looked sluggish the day they died and that was it. I didn't autopsy, it was just to darn hot to sound like something I wanted to do but I am suspecting that their hearst just gave out . . . purely speculation though . . . although my husband will tell you I am never wrong

 

[MrChicken207]

There are some awesome stock going on here, makes me motivated to try my hand at some similar projects I have in mind when I get set up again.