So, I think I REALLY got duped. Went for eggs and think I got meat!!!

[Sunny Side Up]

If that chick is growing at a much faster rate than the other chick then it probably is a Cornish X Rock, a hybrid bred to grow to butchering size in 8 weeks. Real fast food. They may require a different type of care & feeding schedule to keep them healthy & growing properly.

 

[sourland]

You may have really gotten "meat." Those chicks look seriously like cornish-rock X.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

Don't feel bad, I wound up getting 4 Cornish Rock chicks last year from Tractor Supply (because they mixed ALL the chicks together

). Two turned out to be cockerels and had to be re-homed. Two were pullets. One died when she was about 6 months old.

The other is in the run right with all the layers now, happy and healthy, and will be a year old on the 17th of this month. I love her, she is wonderful... great personality AND she lays eggs!

 

[PeepsInc]

I found it amazing how you can purchase 50 St. run chicks at Tractor Supply out of a bin of 300, & end up with 50 roo's.

I dont think I'll be doing that again.

 

[PotterWatch]

Yep, that's a meat bird! I once got 10 red broiler chicks at the feed store (I had special ordered them), and I ended up with 8 broilers and two red EEs.

At least the EEs lay nice bluish eggs!

 

[mylittlezoo]

Yes, I'm afraid they look an awful lot like my Cornish X. BUT! She is a great, friendly bird and lays a ton of eggs

 

[Goose and Fig]

Quote:
Oh my god! I'm sorry- but it is tragically funny. I bet the bin was marked wrong. Doesn't seem like they really know what they're doing- but they probably have seasonal employees that aren't used to dealing with chicks on a regular basis.

 

[ConchRepublic]

Yep, Cornish X Rock it looks like. I hear they are good layers, but most of the people around me use them as meat because they get bigger than their structure can handle if not cared for right.

 

[Egg_newton]

We butchered about 25 cornish X's last fall. As a matter of fact got one cooking in my roaster right now. We will probably butcher these too when they get big enough. Gonna keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't being aggressive with the layer chicks or silkie chicks. But being with the layers they seem to be a lot more active than when we just had 25 Xs in the brooder.

 

[BoerneChickens]

Quote:
I originally went to Tractor Supply to get chicks but decided to go ahead and order them from MPC (my first time with chickens - they arrive the week of the 15th) - reading your story I am very glad I did that - I have no idea how I would manage to rehome so many roos! I had to talk my mom into taking any that I mistakenly get in my little order of 7 but 50?! Yikes that would be hard.