I have 6 cornish X chicken which are raised with some Ameraucana chicken in the 3'X8' coop. Today I found the cornish feather is so messy. There is so many dirt on their feather. Also they don't have feather on their belly and the part around their vent and under their wings. However, my Ameraucana are very clean and their feather is shinning. So I opened the coop and let them free rang in my backyard. I hope they would get better soon. By the way, my cornish x are 4 weeks old and weight 4 lbs. Are they less weight?
LOL yeah nobody said they were not into the grunge look. Fact is they are just plain slobs, they lay Pa-Ta's the size of Mac trucks then just lay around in it. They don't prune, they don't wander around or do things other birds do to stay clean it's just not there thing. Rarely do folks mention to newby Meat bird raisers just how nasty it can be to raise them, and to be honest you have to plan for that. Just because nobody likes to process and eat a nasty looking bird on the outside, a mind thing ya know. Having them on that wire isn't helping the feather loss, it's contributing to it.
Hi my name is Juleigha. I'm new to the site, but love it already. I have 4 cornish/rock (hens i think), they were very dirty until I put them in a pen where they could get the little rain we get in Southern Mississippi. Now they are white and purty.
I kept mine on wire for the entire 5/6 weeks of their lives. They stayed pristine and pure white. Even the feet were very clean when I butchered them. All of the droppings and mess fell right through into big bins below, which I could take and empty into compost. So no, they didn't get to run around on the grass, but they also didn't wallow in their own filth.
Most folks tractor their CX birds. New grass every day helps keep them cleaner. You could build a small 4x4 tractor that would be easy to move, and keep them safe. That would be my suggestion. CX and fixed pens just don't mix.
Cornish X are eating and pooping slobs. That being said, clean, spacious quarters will greatly improve their appearance.
