Teenage Mutant Ninja Chickens – that’s what I am raising out in my pasture pens. There is something not quite normal about Cornish Cross chickens. Oh don’t get me wrong. They have their good points - they are fast growing, fairly low maintenance, and rather tasty – they’re just odd.
My laying birds eat to live. My Cornish Cross broilers live to eat. The voracious appetites of these guys can be a bit unnerving sometimes.
This is why I think of them as Teenage Mutant Ninja Chickens:
Teenage: because they eat like my teenage sons. However, my sons put every calorie to good use, whereas I wonder about the feed efficiency of these broilers. I mean they are always eating and yet they seem to be always hungry. It reminds me of American consumerism.
Mutant: these birds are not a naturally occurring breed, but are specifically bred for their fast weight gain and proportions. Mutations occur with a loss of genetic information and are usually not benign in nature. The overlarge breasts and legs of this breed may seem good for eating but cause some real issues for the birds. Lately, I have been more aware of the health issues that plague the species. I found a few large broilers that had stumbled on some uneven ground and fallen on their backs. They could not roll over to get back onto their feet. Some died in this position. I flipped one that was still alive onto her feet and she immediately skeedaddled over to the feeder, wild with hunger. Weird.
Ninja: There is an air of mystery about these chickens. They grow so fast you can almost see the weight gain happening. Chicken also makes really good oriental stir-fries.
Chickens: Well, they look like chickens and they taste like chickens. They somewhat act like chickens. They must be chickens.
Overall, I am satisfied with the end result of raising and selling these birds.
And yet, I can’t help but feel that there must be a better way, a better breed to try… some way that I can improve the pastured poultry model. I will keep trying new things, experimenting with different feeds, breeds, pens, feeders, waterers, etc…
I just won an Ebay auction for 6+ fertile eggs from Tim Shell’s rare Improved Corndell Cross breed. Another experiment is about to begin.
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3 comments:
Gil, The only problem I have with your 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Chciken' decrription is the Ninja part. When I think of 'Ninja' I think of physically fit, nimble and active. When I think of my Cornish crosses I think of fat and sedentary and on the verge of breaking a leg and heart attack.
I get the same feeling that their must be a better breed to try. So please notify me if you figure it out before I do. I wonder if there is a better way to manage the cornish crosses and their feed consumption to reduce health problems.
Hi Gil...glad to hear your farmer's market activities are bearing fruit!
We are raising a flock of a dozen Rhode Island Reds which we hope will be self-sustaining, providing us with both eggs and meat as they are a dual-purpose bird. I sound as though I know what I'm talking about here, but we are truly greenhorns in every sense of the word, so this is all experimental. I would like to not have to purchase chicks each year to have meat, and the tales of TMN Frankenchickens also make me hesitant. They just sound too weird. So we'll see how this goes with the RI Reds. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Cornish X's.
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