New Chooks! And a Question.

[kimlove2]

Just got two new chicks from TSC today. they are cornish rocks. My question is Do I need to limit thier feed? Right now they are in with some older chicks (about 2 weeks old). everything seems to be ok, but then again, I've never raised cornish rocks. my others are aruacuna mix, and dominique.

 

[BarredBuff]

I gave them limited feed every 12 hours. I took feed away and then gave it back. I made my own broiler mix also.

 

[kimlove2]

thanx! I don't want them to have any troubles! If they are pullets, I'll keep them for eggs, but if they turn out to be roos...... I really like chicken for dinner!

 

[Marianne]

I have a friend that had 8 lb cornish hens in just a few weeks. But they had chow 24/7, too.

Rather freaked me out to see these huge, full size chickens with their little baby chick faces, knowing they were getting butchered the next day. Almost made me a vegetarian.

 

[FarmerJamie]

If they are CX's hens, you'll have to work really hard to get them to laying age. I know folks with much more patience than me do it, but you have to watch the feed regulation very closely.

 

[kimlove2]

You mean I have to keep control of their feed even after they are grown? I was planning on letting them free range once they got out of their 'chickhood'.

 

[Wannabefree]

Kim, yes, you have to watch their feed even after they are grown. being CX they may have weight and thus leg issues. I'd butcher, it is wayyyyy more humane than trying to keep them for eggs in my opinion. It is doable, but not usually pretty This birds are genetically designed specifically for meat, not meant to live a good long life like most chickens, but meant for the table REALLY early on.

 

[Mattemma]

I read those types are for meat.They grow fast and heavy.Older ones will have health issues if you keep them alive a long time.Always worth a try,but you might want to go pick up a different breed for egg laying.

 

[HEChicken]

Yeah, I hate to say it but.....last Spring I bought one Cornish X to raise with my layer chicks. We planned on it being eaten but I was curious to see what the growth rate would be if they were raised just like the layers. "It" turned out to be a he but I didn't know that until I was processing him and found the gonads - his comb didn't turn red like other boys I've had and I thought he was a girl throughout his life. Here's what I did and the results:

He was in the brooder with three layer chicks for approx. 4 weeks. He then went outside to my chick run for another 3-4 weeks. During all of this time he had free access to feed/water. (In the brooder this was 24/7 but once they were moved outside it was only during the day and they were locked in the coop at night).

After the time in the chick run, the four chicks were let out to free-range with the big girls. For the next 2-3 weeks he free-ranged my backyard, again with free access to food/water and all the greenery/bugs he could find. At this time he was noticeably bigger than the others but a long way from full grown. I think this is because he was raised on regular chick food rather than a broiler mix, and got a lot more exercise than meaties usually do. I will say that during this time I started to notice him having trouble keeping up with the girls. They had more energy and liked to roam long distances. He often straggled behind them but valiantly tried to keep up and always caught up to them when they stopped.

One day when he was 10 weeks old I looked out side and noticed him lying very still in a corner of the yard. At first I thought he was just asleep. It was only an hour or so before that I'd been outside hand-feeding some treats and he was right in there with them all getting his share. But when he didn't move for a few minutes I thought I'd better check on him and discovered he had died. I assume it was a heart attack. Not wanting his body to go to waste (and knowing he hadn't been gone long), I plucked and eviscerated him (this was when I discovered the gonads), and we ate him a couple of days later.

So there ended the great meatie experiment for me. One thing I will say is he was the sweetest chicken I've ever had. He loved humans and is the only one I've ever had that not only didn't mind being picked up but seemed to actually like it, and would hop around under my feet almost begging for attention. I was sad when he died (ironic since I'd bought him to eat in the first place) but glad he had a good life for the short time he was with us.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I never limit feed for their first 2 weeks. After that I may limit some, depending on what my budget is like. They normally go outside around 3-4 weeks, when they have sufficient feather cover so they won't get cold (depending on time of year). I then limit their feed, but don't really do a 12 on/12 off schedule. I feed them a set amount twice a day and when they run out they're out. Then they range for the rest of the day. I've never lost one due to leg issues. I've never lost one to heart attacks. I almost lost 3 to heat issues, and I was quick enough to cool them down and save them.

I did keep 1 pullet back from processing because she was small. She'll be a year old in June. She's HUGE and gets around fine. She lays every other day or so. I personally would not plan on keeping lots of them as layers though. Really, she isn't able to roost like the others, although sometimes she does manage to jump up on the laying box perch. I just don't really think it's fair to purposely keep them around because they're just so darn huge and I feel badly she can't roost as high.

Just as I wouldn't get laying birds for meat, I wouldn't get meat birds for layers.