Will Cornish X live normal lives if you don't kill them ever?

[Campine Lover]

Ok, Ok, Ok, i'm going to admit outright that I could never kill my chickens, and I show all my poultry. But I still have a question about Cornish X's.
The County Fair is comin up, and with that means all Meat 4-h'ers are preparing their meat cornish for (winces) slaughter. I am such a softie, I really really really want to rescue one from death. But I have heard rumors that their hearts, like, explode, or something. Is that true? Would they be able to live their lives (and I mean for years and years) without dying/ leg/ heart problems? I am just wondering......

 

[BirchHatchery]

read my post in this section callled breeding cornish rocks it can be done but u need to restrict their FEED! and let them run alot

 

[EweSheep]

From most of us having Cornish x's, they do not live any longer than a year at best. They were not bred to live long.

 

[Illia]

Technically no. If you give them less food and sort of force them to walk more just to reach their food (get them some exercise, etc. ) they last a little longer and don't have as much problems with weak legs, heart attacks, etc. But, really, the longest someone has had a Cornish X live is 2 years. Someone had a hen named Bertha I believe, who was of course still most likely in pain and moved kinda slowly, but she lived to be 2.

Personally I think that allowing Cornish to grow past their slaughtering age is more cruel than slaughtering them. They have SO many problems. I'd rather just get real Cornish, as they are also quite meaty (hence the hybrids based off them) but live just as healthy and happy as any other chicken.

 

[BirchHatchery]

as i posted and i am doin is restricting feed and they dont have these problems the only reasons they have those problems is because their bones heart cant keep up with the weight let their body internal organs catch up with the rest of the body and you wont have problems. When people say they wernt bred to live long is false its a chicken no diffrent than other chickens just bred to grow fast on feed. Restict their feed let em free range and you will have normal chickens and i think these make the best pets

 

[jaku]

It's likely that they won't live a long life compared to other chickens, but if you're doing it for the benefit of the bird, and you could ask it which life it would prefer, I'm sure it would prefer a somewhat short life followed by a natural death, as compared to having it's head chopped off and eaten- so you'll still be doing them a favor if you rescue them and they die early. Their lives aren't full of misery and suffering, as some would have you believe. They are very happy, friendly, active birds that you will enjoy rescuing.

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
You wouldn't be doing it any favors.

 

[BirchHatchery]

im curious have any of you let one live do u even no for fact that it wont work? Take my advice restrict feed the birds will be fine. I only keep my laying flock for a year these cornish im raisin will only keep a year gd luck to u

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
I'm not saying it won't work. It is a no win situation. They were bred to grow fast in a short amount of time and to be butchered young. If they weren't, somebody needs to tell the meat bird industry, because they have apparently wasted 50 years of intense genetic development to achieve just that goal.

Here is the dilemma... If you feed them normally the way you would a heritage breed, they will die a miserable death. If you restrict feed, you make them go hungry constantly. They may live somewhat longer, but what kind of a life is that?

I don't begrudge you guys for trying to raise them to adults for a worthwhile purpose, such as to create a new breed that has fewer of the problems of the CX. I'm just suggesting to raise them out in order to be humane by starving them when they will still die relatively young won't accomplish the stated purpose.

 

[Bossroo]

Hey Buster... how do YOU know that the Cornish X die a more miserable death than any other chicken?