Please help! We got the wrong chick!

[Rolive]

About two months ago we bought some new baby chicks for pets and from the start I knew we were given the wrong breeds but I didn’t mind because I’d love them no matter what. I’ve just come to realize we were given a Cornish hen, nothing close to what we had wanted and I’m very worried for her. She’s double the size of everybody else, waddles, and can’t stand for too long, and my family and I were not prepared to find out that she might not have much longer to live.

I was hoping that some of you may know some ways to help us keep her cool and to fix her diet! I’m honestly not prepared to lose her as my old chickens have just passed and she’s the sweetest thing ever!

Thank you so much!

 

[InterestingChickens]

Welcome to BYC!

How old is your bird? Provide feed for 12 hours and restrict feed for 12 hours each day. If you are feeding treats, cut down on them. As you may already know, treats should be less than 10% of a chickens diet (even less in this case). Best of luck.

 

[Rolive]

Welcome to BYC!

How old is your bird? Provide feed for 12 hours and restrict feed for 12 hours each day. If you are feeding treats, cut down on them. As you may already know, treats should be less than 10% of a chickens diet (even less in this case). Best of luck.

She’s just about 8 weeks old! Thank you for the tip on feeding, I’ll keep this in mind!

 

[Red Horse]

I would make sure she gets plenty of exercise outside every day, I read someone's thread that I wish I had the link for who said she had great success keeping free-range cornishes that were much healthier and didn't succumb to the weight problems they can get a lot of times.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Where are you located? Someone on BYC or Craigslist might be willing to take your chicken. It's usually suggested that Cornish X not live (be slaughtered) longer than about 10 weeks. After that, and sometimes before that, they can develop heart and leg issues and suffer a lot. There have been people who have kept CX past that time, but it takes a lot of work. I know it's sad but I think your best bet would be to find someone willing to humanely dispatch her and use her for meat, if you can't do it yourself.

But if you are willing to try, there is this article about someone who raised 2 CX as pets. It can serve as a sort of guide to you if you decide to go this route.

I'm sorry this happened to you! What a mistake someone made at the feed store made.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Unfortunately at the point you are at I think it's to late to restrict feeding. You can try but if it is hard for your baby to stand already then it's more then likely to late to give it a good life. Usually you need to start restricted feeding at day old to give them a chance. I don't want your baby to suffer, I apologize for the situation you have found yourself in. Sending hugs to you and your baby