What is a "Leghorn meat bird only"?

[BoE1987]

Uh oh... how badly did I mess up with buying 6 birds?

I did a bunch of research on different sites that stated leghorns were meat birds. Come to find out from a homesteading group- thats not correct, which was fine because everyone on my yard is for eggs-
However... one day before I knew the truth, about a month ago, TSC had these little chicks labeled "Leghorn Meat Only".

I've never owned a CX, or any other broiler breed etc, only egg laying breeds.
I'm at about a 99% thought that these "leghorns for meat only" are in fact a broiler under a wrong name.

sooo..
What breed could they be and can I even attempt to keep them alive without severe health issues to breed them for stock for the purpose or meat? What are some instant health issues I would find in a meat bird that would require cull outside of leg/weight issues?
If they survive to adulthood and lay, is incubation any different than the 21 day period?
Also... will their feathers come in on the bald areas? It appears their belly areas are all perpetually BALD.
Theyre heavier than all my other chicks by far.
Theyre on a grow out feed but not a high protein feed (because again I've never raised meat birds but was intrigued at the " Leghorn meat only" sign)

 

[Molpet]

Those are Cornish cross meat birds.

 

[MysteryChicken]

It'll be a tough journey to keep them as pets/layers. Cornish X can be kept alive for about 1-2 years on a restricted feed diet, & lots of exercise.

 

[Molpet]

I kept one CX pullet and most of my flock is out of her. She died right around a year old. That was with diet and exercise. Others have managed to keep them alive longer. Egg hatch the same.

 

[Ridgerunner]

TSC had these little chicks labeled "Leghorn Meat Only".

Just like every other chain, TSC has different people working at different locations. some of these people are more knowledgeable than others. I would not trust any advice I got on chickens from that one very much.

I'm at about a 99% thought that these "leghorns for meat only" are in fact a broiler under a wrong name.

I'd bet a lot of your money and a little of mine that you are correct.

sooo..
What breed could they be

I don't have any doubt they are Cornish X.

can I even attempt to keep them alive without severe health issues to breed them for stock for the purpose or meat?

You can attempt it, some people do. Some are successful, many are not. As others have mentioned you need to restrict their feed, which probably means housing them separately. You don't need to starve your egg layers. Most of the problems with developing Cornish X was not on the breeding/genetics side but on how to feed and manage them long enough for them to grow to butcher size and especially how to feed and manage the parent flocks to get the eggs to hatch. It's not easy.

I have not tried it but if I did I'd only keep the girls and mate them to a dual purpose rooster. You are not going to get Cornish X even if you keep and mate boys and girls but you should get a pretty good meat bird. I think this gives yo your greatest chance of success.

What are some instant health issues I would find in a meat bird that would require cull outside of leg/weight issues?

One problem is that they have a heart attack and die, not much warning about that. The other common problem has to do with their skeleton, usually the legs. They grow so fast their heart or skeleton can't keep up.

If they survive to adulthood and lay, is incubation any different than the 21 day period?

No.

will their feathers come in on the bald areas? It appears their belly areas are all perpetually BALD.

Their bodies are growing so fast the feathers can't keep up. If they live long enough they should fill in when body growth slows or stops.

 

[RUNuts]

You may have another issue. The one bird looking at the camera appears to be a cockerel. If they are saying meat only on the sign, you may have only males and they aren't know for their egg laying.

Plan for a butcher date. 8-12 weeks of age and I'd suggest closer to 8 based on the pictures.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I think Leghorn Meat only birds maybe a newer version of Cornish X. Like Cornish cross X Leghorn. For what purpose, I don't know, except for maybe stronger genetics.

 

[Geckolady]

I don't know why anyone would want to cross a Cornish x with a Leghorn. They're on opposite ends of the spectrum. Why not just get a dual purpose breed instead?

 

[BoE1987]

I think Leghorn Meat only birds maybe a newer version of Cornish X. Like Cornish cross X Leghorn. For what purpose, I don't know, except for maybe stronger genetics.

It'll be a tough journey to keep them as pets/layers. Cornish X can be kept alive for about 1-2 years on a restricted feed diet, & lots of exercise.

My current flock which is mix egg layer is free range but I'd like to do a day swap with this current flock of chicks that have kind of been raised together if at all possible. I have a pen these 6 birds can specifically keep if need be for free range but I dont know the benefit of free range vs specific feed. Length of life I am not too worried about as I equate that to keeping quail- get and grow/ incubate what you can.

 

[BoE1987]

I kept one CX pullet and most of my flock is out of her. She died right around a year old. That was with diet and exercise. Others have managed to keep them alive longer. Egg hatch the same.

Were you able to get any viable eggs to incubate?