Why do these new chickens smell so bad?

[aart]

Well, it's a bit late for that....

Never too late for lessons learned ...and warning to others.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Careful raising dual purpose. They take longer to get to the optimal size. Leaving more time to get attached to them. If you get the Cornish rock crosses offered at a lot of hatcheries, they only need about 8 weeks.

Thanks, but I keep my hens until they are about 3 years old and use them for soup and broth, making way for new layers each year. I'm not running a rest home for aging hens, I don't have the space or the budget. The cockerels I raise till they get obnoxious, they are plenty meaty for us by then. I am a practical woman. I enjoy my chickens but they are not pets. I have no interest in CornishX, chickens that will collapse under their own weight due to faulty genetics, poor things. But thanks for your interest.