what is wrong?.

[ruchickn]

I have either a broiler or a cornish x. I don't know the difference. it's white and does nothing but eat and drink it's much bigger than the other chickens.It grew faster I'll say that it's about 4 months old, It pants all the time. because it is so hot now 'I thought maybe that was it but even when It is cool it does the same thing . I have put electrolytes into the water oh and it has a balled butt. its feathers from it's beak down it's breast is dirty . It makes a clucking sound a lot I know they are suppose to cluck ,but not at rest . I have tried to post pics.but can't get them to to upload on my page.I don't know what to do.

 

[itsy]

Eat it

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

Quote:
x2 or if you can't, try and find someone that will. No need in making the poor thing be even more miserable when they were bred to be butchered by this age.

 

[ruchickn]

My grand loves to watch them and she would miss it .I did get for the eggs , and since i've never butchered anything I don't know how

 

[itsy]

Unfortunately, this breed of chicken is created to grow very heavy in a very short amount of time. It's not impossible to have them live longer than a year, but it's not common, either. Even if living longer than a year - it would generally have a much shorter lifespan than the average chicken. You'd need to make sure it was fed a diet - and not have food available to it all the time like normal chickens. They are prone to heart problems and leg problems because of their rapid growth.

It sounds like your chicken is uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, it should have been butchered by now. It is not a chicken that is intended for egg production.

I'm sorry to give you bad news.

 

[MetalSmitten]

the broilers and cornish X (cornish X being a type of broiler, broiler being a generic term nowadays for fast-growing meat birds) are not bred to live long, healthy lives, or produce lots of eggs. with extremely careful management and feed restrictions, they can reach maturity, but they're not "supposed" to, and yours probably won't. their muscles literally outgrow their bones. at 4 months, your bird has already lived longer than most broilers do. i agree 100% with what itsy said... it is what it is.

this is a conversation you are going to need to have with your grandchild (or grandparent? sorry, not sure). given that your bird is already displaying health issues, your choice is to end its suffering now, kindly, and perhaps get a meal and a respectable lesson out of it; or let it suffer. =/


edit to add: if you look at the stickies at the top of this forum, there's some great threads about butchering your own birds and how-to guides. if you can't do it, sometimes you can find places that will butcher and process your birds for you (for a fee). you'd have to do some research in your local area. or you might try putting up a craigslist ad or something, tell your story and ask if anyone with experience might be willing to help you out. or you could give it away to someone who would butcher it for their own table. or if you can't find anyone to help process it, you could just put it down and safely dispose of the meat.

 

[ruchickn]

Thank you all for your advise I will try to get someone who knows what they are doing to do the job .