The chicks are 2 weeks old today and they’re just about to get to that really awkwardly ugly stage. For the most part they’re still pretty friendly and curious. If you go in and crouch or kneel quietly in the stall they will eventually swarm all around you and forget you’re there until you move or speak (or the camera shutter goes). And they’re still cute for the most part.
Shockingly they are all still alive, even the little Wyandotte chick (Tiny) I thought was a goner when I took her from the box and the little broiler I’ve named Teeny. I’m not sure what’s going on with him, failure to thrive is the best I can come up with. He’s less than half the size of his friends and really not getting any bigger very quickly. But at the same time he seems perky and he’s eating and drinking, so who knows. Perhaps we just got a banty broiler? 
I’m already not sure how I feel about doing white Cornish broilers, even if they are the slow 12 week kind. We’re not seeing problems per se, but these guys are just more industrial somehow, less chicken like. Plus we’ve got a few with twisted toes and that just kinda creeps me out. Google and my go to chicken diagnosis site assure me that twisted toes are genetic and not related to anything we’re doing, but still…
Maybe next time we’ll give the red broilers another try and see if adding another week or two to their stay gets them to a size we’d prefer. In the meantime, we’re looking forward to moving these guys, all 80 of them plus the 13 laying chicks still here (but all spoken for), to the new shed in 2 weeks.
*****
Possibly Related posts (newest to oldest):
I know what you mean. Marin Sun grown the Cornish cross for their meat birds, and they’re butt-ugly. They also seem rather dull and dim-witted, compared to their beautiful and diverse egg flock. I was a little taken aback when I saw them; I’m sure that’s why we saw the layers first!
When we had teeny animals, they tended to get more attention and then we couldn’t butcher them. They became pets then and we loved them more than any of the other animals.
Don’t you just love to watch when they are just learning to poop?! Ours would back up a couple of steps and put their butt down a little, like they were sitting on the potty. Oh it was so cute! None of ours have passed either, but they are getting out of the boxin the basement–they need to go outside–they are almost 6 weeks now!
So, did you get your birdies from Privett? The reason I ask, Laura, is that we kept one of our slow-growers (my daughter didn’t want me to slaughter her “friend”) and Chicken Patty is the biggest, most healthy, most curious chicken ever. All 20 of my slow-growers from there (white ones) were just perfect, well-fatted, healthy, gorgeous. Beat the snot out of the fast-growers I got: I lost maybe 8 of 25! YUCK!
I am glad to hear that all the chicks are doing well. We are really looking forward to picking ours up in about a month. We’ve had some great kitchen scraps over the past couple days seemed wasted in the compost pile.
Pasture-raised chickens are one meat we have trouble finding. We finally have one rancher who is raising them but they won’t be ready for slaughter until end of April. I can hardly wait. The difference in flavor from store-bought is amazing.
Anita :: Exactly! These guys/gals are still pretty cute. But they’re slower and calmer than the laying chicks and the red broilers we did last fall. Just a very different vibe.
Monica :: I’m pretty sure we’ll be ready to see the end of these birds in 10 weeks, at least that’s always been my experience. I can’t believe your chicks are already 6 weeks old!
El :: Yep! These are the slow Cornish from Privett. They’re very healthy looking birds, a few twisted toes aside. I wouldn’t fault them for these guys at all, it was awfully cold when they arrived and I suspect that’s what happened to Tiny and Teeny. We’ve had really good luck with their birds every time we’ve gotten them.
Mari :: I’m sure they’ll be excited to come to your house as well! You just let me know when you’re ready to pick them up.
Kathleen :: The flavor difference is most excellent! Technically these birds will be free range, not pastured. They’ll have a yard and grass, but we won’t be moving them every day because we’re just not set up to deal with our predator problems and the uneven ground in the back pasture. Maybe next year.
I am doing the frypan special from Cackle Hatchery. No cornish x’s there. Heavy breed mixed roosters. About .30 each. I bought 50 and got 51 healthy chicks in the mail. They are doing well and most are thriving. The RIR don’t grow as fast and I am just getting where they are starving all the time. Now is when they tend to kill each other. I have lost one and have one wounded. Good luck.