Before anyone steps into the ongoing learning process of becoming a backyard chicken owner, it is absolutely imperative that they do a little research first. After you have acquired a basic understanding of what it takes to raise happy, healthy chickens, you need to research chicken breeds.
I got a phone call from a complete stranger the other day that highlights why researching chicken breeds before buying them is so important. This woman called me in desperation. She had an assortment of different chicken breeds including Cornish X chickens that she acquired at the beginning of April this year, about 7 weeks ago.
She was nearly frantic about the Cornish X chickens. She told me, as I could have guessed, that they were much, much larger than the other breeds of chickens she had acquired at the same time. They were not active like the others, and she feared for their health after recently reading that Cornish X left to continue growing are prone to severe leg injuries and even heart problems because they have been bred to gain weight faster than ordinary chickens and to achieve a total weight far in excess of what most other breeds can ever reach. This strains the ability of their legs to hold them up and strains their hearts and other organs which have to deal with their rapid growth and very high body fat content.
She said that here 7 week old Cornish X birds were already about ten pounds in body weight. For most chickens, adult weight is less than that. She said she recently read about the potential for these birds to have health issues and wanted to sell them to someone who would use them for meat birds. She said she was constitutionally unable to butcher the chickens herself, even though she knew it was probably the most humane thing she could do for these particular birds.
Lest you think I am overstating the case, let me tell you that I have seen cases where owners of Cornish X chickens have let them get to 10-12 weeks of age. A significant percentage of these birds develop severe and painful leg problems. These problems include legs actually breaking under the bird's own weight and other debilitating structural injuries. Chickens are simply not engineered to get that big. While a careful feeding regimen can slow their growth and postpone some of these health issues, that's only a delaying tactic.
I could not take the chickens off her hands because I am using a strict quarantine policy now. In my first year of chicken keeping, I did add adult chickens from other flocks to my flock. In one case, after adding some new birds, I had a couple of them die mysteriously exhibiting symptoms of a contagious poultry disease. I could have lost my entire flock and ended up with the pathogens present in my soil for any future chickens I raised. Fortunately, that wasn't the case and the rest of the flock is doing fine. In any case, I resolved that I would not risk bringing in chickens from any other flock again. I simply can't know their health or the conditions under which they were raised. The risk to the health of the rest of my birds is just too high.
The woman who called me wanted to know how to sell her Cornish X broiler chickens to someone who would butcher them humanely for food. I suggested the Farm & Garden section of Craigslist. It is quite common to see chickens of various ages available for sale there and most buyers are fairly knowledgeable.
Taking the responsibility of raising and caring for any animal whether it is a family pet or a farm animal ultimately intended for the dinner table should not be taken lightly. Just as you wouldn't get a dog without knowing if it were a pit bull or a Chihuahua, you shouldn't acquire chickens or any other animal without first researching the specific breed so that you fully understand its needs and basic characteristics.
Cornish X (also called Cornish Cross) chickens are a hybrid breed specifically designed to be used for meat. They grow extremely fast and are not built to last into adulthood. While it is possible for Cornish X chickens to live into adulthood if raised under the right conditions, it generally requires special care from an experienced chicken owner who knows the specific inherent liabilities of the breed.
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