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Pet Cornish x Cross Meat Bird Care Sheet:

So somehow, you have gotten yourself some Cornish x Cross meat chickens, not understanding what their special needs are and perhaps you are freaking out because they are so much heavier than normal chickens. If they are not being raised for meat, there are several precautions you MUST make in order to keep them healthy birds. Before we go on, I want to stress that there is a difference between Cornish x Cross meat birds, which are raised for the production of meat, and other Cornish breeds (their needs differ). This document is for those who have the Cornish x Cross meat birds.

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We got our Cornish hen Liberty when we found her wandering our neighborhood on a cold December day. She was in terrible shape; badly infected wing, just all beat up and later developed a limp. We later found out she was one of the escapes from a truck hauling many of these birds to the slaughterhouse. Luck shined upon her that day for sure, and once again when we found her. I estimate she was about 3 months old when we found her, and I just remember when I picked her up thinking, wow, why is such a young bird SO heavy!? I knew nothing about this breed so like I always do when we take in a new animal, I scrambled to get educated. Now I get to pass that along to you.

Meat birds have been bred to grow exceedingly fast so that they can be slaughtered at a young age for the meat industry. They are generally ravenous eaters….Liberty acts like she is starving all the time, even with a crop loaded with food. Because of this, we felt we could not add her to our small flock of layer hens because that would mean all kinds of feeding issues for us as they are allowed to free feed all day long. That would have to change if we added Liberty to the group. Since we already had one house hen, we decided to keep her as a second……it’s worked well for us.

**If keeping your Cornish chickens sequestered away from other breeds of chickens is not a possibility, you must find a way to keep them from eating more than they should, which means keeping food available all day will not work because most of these birds will pig out all day long. You will need to offer food to your flock twice a day for a limited amount of time and then pick it up and remove it. If you find that the Cornish hens are gobbling up most of it and sort of pushing the others out of the way, offer multiple feeding stations or separate the Cornish from the rest of the flock and feed them separately. Remove all food sources once you let them rejoin the others. In our particular case, if I put food down for both Liberty and Emma…..Liberty will do anything and everything she can to devour as much as she can, her brain does not compute the concept of “sharing” or “slowing down” when it comes to food. I always feed her in her kennel separate from Emma each morning and then let her out….and again at night when they are tucked in for bed.

The key to maintaining these birds' health is a restricted diet and lots of exercise. Liberty is now appx 7 months old and only weighs 5 lbs. She should be anywhere from 8 to 12 lbs by now if she was being fed to slaughter. We are vegetarians here…..lucky for her, but even if we weren’t, I could not eat something I once knew when it was alive.

Here is the diet we have had Liberty on, and it has worked very well for her: These portions are for an adult bird:

Breakfast:

  • 1/2 cup commercial feed (under 16% protein)

  • 1 level TSP scrambled egg

  • 1 fresh cranberry or blueberry

  • Appx 2 cups chopped greens (romaine, turnip. Collard, kale, endive greens etc)

  • Glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM tablet crushed over her food (small dog dose)

  • 1/3 capsule powdered sternum cartilage (purchased on Amazon)

  • Small sprinkle of cinnamon

  • A pea sized ball of Golden Paste (helps keep inflammation in check)

  • ¼ tsp Omega Ultra Egg supplement

 

I might toss in 1 fresh/frozen cranberry on top 2-3 times a week.

The Glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM, and sternum cartilage supports their bones and joints which is VERY important in these large heavy birds. The cinnamon and turmeric were added because of her injuries as they are powerful anti-inflammatories…you may or may not use that, but if your bird injures her leg, it will help in the healing process.

The Omega Ultra Egg powder is just a good supplement that I give to our other hens and because Liberty’s commercial feed is limited, it provides a little extra nutritional boost for her.

Dinner:

  • ¼ cup commercial feed (under 16% protein)

  • 1 ½ cups chopped greens

That is all we give her, but during the day when she is outside, she is foraging for whatever she finds out there on her own. She gets no junk food…no scratch, seeds, mealworms (which are very high in fat by the way) or anything of that nature. I do keep lettuce in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and will occasionally open the door and let her pull out some of that.

We have a fun game we play that makes her exercise. I’ll cut up a bunch of collard or kale stalks into little bite sized pieces and then we will go outside where I will toss them across the yard, and she will run like crazy to get each piece and gobble it up.

Good Snack Choices: (There are many, but here is a few we use):

  • Eggplant (only 10 calories per cup)

  • Small diced up pieces of collard, kale, turnip stalks....toss and let them chase after these tidbits.

  • Celery (diced up very small) 8" stalk = 6 calories

  • Leafy greens (except iceberg lettuce)

  • Small bits of asparagus (20 calories in 1/2 cup)

  • Cabbage (1 cup = 21 calories)

We take Liberty up to Pet Smart once a month for her “weigh in” and I write the info in her chart so we can keep track of how she is doing.

The name of the game here is to keep them full of very low calorie but nutritious greens so they are not feeling deprived, exercise them, allow them to forage outside, and feed very little commercial food…….and no junk food or fatty snacks like other chickens enjoy (mealworms, scratch etc)

If you do not keep their weight in check, eventually their leg/hip joints will give out and they will become lame or they will succumb to a heart attack.

There are a few supplements that are very good for your Cornish and our Liberty gets them every single day;

  • Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM (bone/joint support)

  • Powdered sternum cartilage (bone/joint support)

  • Golden Paste (for inflammation)

Golden Paste Recipe:

  • 1/2 cup turmeric powder

  • 1 cup water PLUS 1 cup water in reserve, if needed

  • 1/3 cup one of the following oils: Raw (unrefined) Cold Pressed Coconut Oil, Flaxseed oil or Virgin/Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • 2-3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Bring the turmeric and water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until you have a thick paste. This should take about 7-10 minutes and you may need to add additional water along the way.

Add the freshly ground pepper and oil at the end of cooking, when the turmeric and water mixture has cooled down to just warm. Stir well to incorporate the oil and allow to cool.

The Golden Paste will keep for 2 weeks, refrigerated. This makes a fairly large batch, so I freeze mine in 1/4 cup amounts.

Dose:

For a bird with an injury, give 2 doses daily in their food: a piece the size of a small pea. Once their injuries have healed, drop the dose down to once a day for maintenance.

Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM:

Liberty gets a tiny pinch sprinkled on her wet greens each day. All you have to do is lightly crush a tablet and sprinkle on their food. This is a really important to help support their bones and joints, which is a huge problem for these heavy birds. I buy human grade supplements only. Look for a brand that is USP certified so that you know you're getting a quality product. IMPORTANT: Do not buy any brand that contain addition vitamins added (like D3).

Powdered Sternum Cartilage:

You can find this on Amazon and Ebay. It too helps support bone and joint health. I sprinkle 1/4 of a capsule on Liberty's food daily.

 

HEAT: What to do when it gets hot outside!

Another thing to know is these birds do not deal well with heat…..anything over mid-70’s and they can die of heat stroke. (That temp is somewhat subjective because each bird is going to have its own tolerance levels).  In our situation, Liberty will be brought indoors into our air-conditioned home when the temps rise. During the summer months, she will be able to go outside in the mornings and perhaps in the evenings, depending on how hot it is outside. Some folks provide wading pools and such to help keep their birds cool outdoors, we do that as well for the other hens, but to be honest our birds mostly ignore it. We also freeze large bowls of fruit and vegetables in water and serve them as giant ice cubed treats to the hens, but again, I would not count that as enough to keep your Cornish hen cool. A shady area is a must for ALL birds, but it still gets hot in the shade, so you must be prepared to bring your Cornish inside once the temps start to rise. Some folks add high velocity fans in their coops, which is by far the best way to keep your birds cool, although if they are not in the coop, it's not going to help them. When you bring them inside, you can set up an X-pen, or put a diaper on them to keep them from soiling your home.

Once your hen begins laying eggs:

Some meat birds take a lot longer to start producing eggs, and once they do, you need to make sure they are getting enough nutrition to support it. This is when I step in and add oyster shell to their meals and a product called Ultra Egg. It's important that they are getting enough calcium, which the oyster shell will provide. With some hens, you can just keep this available for them to eat when they feel the need for it, with others, they are so food driven, you might find them gobbling up and huge amount just because it's there and they want to eat-eat-eat! Liberty falls into that latter category, so I just add a sprinkling of oyster shell to her morning meal, along with a 1/4 tsp of Ultra Egg.

 

Last but not least, and I cannot say this enough; don’t give in to their begging! If you must give them something, make it greens! They really don’t care what you're handing them, trust me, they will inhale it regardless of what it is!​ 

 

Stress: Undue stress can cause these birds to literally have a heart attack, and stress can be caused by many different things; heat, fright, being chased, illness, even being picked up and held incorrectly. Because of their weight, never put a bird of this size on its back, not only is this an extremely frightening experience for them (think predator/prey), but it puts pressure on their heart and lungs. Hold these birds firmly but gently. Their wings can be harder to control then a regular chickens so be sure to hold them securely against their bodies. If possible, keep the bird low to the ground while working on them.  I wrap Liberty in a towel to help control her, but then she is so used to being handled that she takes things in stride……this will not be the case with a bird that is not used to you. If your bird is showing signs of stress, (frantic struggling, open mouth breathing) stop what you are doing, put them down for a while, give them a break and start again.

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Liberty at her monthly weigh-in at Pet Smart
Liberty had to be confined to this small cage for weeks while her leg healed, to prevent her from moving around much.
Once Liberty's leg started to improve, we moved her to a larger kennel. Here you see our other house hen, Miss Emma, paying her a visit.
To help ease her boredom, we allowed her some outdoor time in a small X-pen while she was recuperating.
Warm epsom salt baths helped the healing process and she absolutely loved being in all that warm water!
Here you see the chicken version of a "Snack Bar".  We keep washed greens in the lower shelf of the frig door for the girls to grab a quick bite or two.

Bumblefoot:

Emma has recently developed a condition called “Bumblefoot” and I am told some chickens are prone to this, but because of her heavier weight, the likelihood of getting small knicks and scratches on her feet put her at higher risk. Bumblefoot can develop when a bird gets a small scratch or cut on their foot, and bacteria gets in and causes the infection. We have been treating her as you would any chicken, but the other night my husband and I were discussing trying to design a shoe to fit her feet so that we wouldn’t have to go thru the process of wrapping her feet in gauze and multiple layers of Vet wrap on a daily basis. Imagine our surprise when we googled “chicken shoes” and found that these have already been developed!  Her first pair is on their way here as I type this.

It’s important to keep the wraps dry, which means keeping the bird inside. If the wraps get wet, the feet will be also, and that sets up a perfect environment for bacteria to flourish. (Imagine what would happen to your feet if you wore wet socks and shoes around the clock).

With heavier breeds of birds, there are a few things you can do to help prevent them from developing bumblefoot:

  • Padded roost, set maybe 2 inches above the floor. The padding eases the pressure on their feet and keeping it low to the ground prevents them from injury jumping when they jump down off of it.

  • Padded flooring in their cage or coops; in Liberty's case, since she sleeps in a large kennel in our home, we have about 2 inches of memory foam on the floor of her cage, that is protected by a waterproof covering (so she cannot soil it or access it) and then newspaper on top of that. This cushions her weight and therefore, takes the pressure off of her feet. We cannot use shavings, or straw with her, because she will eat it.....which poses a danger of her becoming impacted.

  • Check your birds feet frequently! At least once a week to make certain nothing is starting  to form. Caught early, bumblefoot is MUCH easier to treat.

In addition to bumblefoot, there are other conditions that can occur in this heavy breed.  They are prone to sores on their keel/hocks and the backs of their feet due to the fact that they spend more down time then other breeds. If not caught early, infection will set in, most commonly on the keel, which can spread to the bones, which will require surgery to remedy. To avoid these problems, use a thick layer of bedding or dirt, to give their feet the cushion they need. Washable rubber matting can be used as well.

If your bird develops a pressure sore, silver sulfadiazine works very well for this kind of issue, along with wrapping the foot in sterile gauze and Vet wrap.

*** Be cautious not to wrap their feet too tightly, or you will impair their circulation! ***

As you can see, one foot is worse then the other. What have I learned from this experience? Check your chickens feet frequently and make sure they are set up properly.
Feet treated with medication, wrapped in sterile gauze and then Vet wrap. Care must be taken not to wrap the foot too tightly or you will cut off the circulation!
Shoes designed to protect chickens feet (they make them for ducks and geese also)! A pair of these are on their way as I type this...... Purchase from:
http://crazykfarm.mybigcommerce.com/birdy-bootie-hand-made-in-the-usa/
Ok, so these bootties arrived but they are way too small for the Liberty's huge feet, so, Crazy K Farm has offered to make a pair to custom fit her. Will report on how those work when we get them.

Some Extra Tips:

*** If your bird should develop a limp for any reason, confine them to a very small area (like an x-pen) to prevent them from walking around much, soak them daily in warm Epsom salts baths and give them turmeric to help lessen the inflammation. Metacam should also be given. It can take weeks for an injury to correct itself. Liberty was confined for about 6 weeks before she completely healed up.

*** Do not allow these large birds to jump off of things; when they land, they land hard and injuries are likely to occur. Better to have no roosting perch, but if you do give them one, make it is at least the width of a 2X4 (we use a 2X6) and place it only 2-3 inches off the ground and I would highly suggest padding it because again, if they perch on a hard surface all night, your just asking for problems with their feet/keel/hocks.

*** Clip the flight feathers on one side to discourage jumping.

Can I keep my Cornish with other hens?

For most people, keeping Cornish meat birds with regular hens, simply does not work. This breed by nature, are eating machines, and they will gobble up far more then their fair share of the food, which of course will cause them to get too big......fast......and that will be the end of them. The other alternative is to only allow all your birds to eat for a few minutes in the morning and again before bed, but that deprives a normal hen as they generally like to peck at their food off and on all day long and might result in them not getting enough nutrition, especially if they don't have a lot of natural foods to forage on in between.

We have 6 hens ourselves. 4 of them live outside, and then we have 2 house hens. Liberty, our Cornish is one of them. She and Emma sleep in very large kennels in our office at night, wear diapers specially made for chickens when wandering around the house and generally spend all day outside (unless the weather is exceptionally nasty) in a section of the yard that is separate from the other 4 hens. This works out really well for all concerned. Liberty gets a measured amount of food for breakfast and again at night. In between she eats only what she can forage for out of the yard. This method has kept her weight way down, which is a must with this breed, to prevent them from becoming lame or suffering from heart attacks.

I highly encourage you to join my new Facebook page dedicated to the care of these birds. There you will met others who have experience with this breed and can help you on this journey. With a little work and extra care, this breed can make wonderful animal companions. They deserve so much more then to be raised in factory farms and slaughtered at such a young age. Here is the link to my page: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CornishCrossAsPets/

Questions? Comments?

Email me at; sshalimar16@msn.com

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