The Araucana chicken is a South American breed that goes back to the Incas. We have a golden/black variety but the bird can come in a variety of colors, including a beautiful clean white like a Wyandot.

Their behaviors are slightly different than N American breeds and they usually have this cute little tuft of feathers at either side of their heads that makes them look like they have puffy cheeks or mutton chop sideburns.

We had a rooster (for awhile) and his comb was much more complex than our Rhode Island Reds (it had several rows and was much more ruffled) and he seemed to mature a lot quicker. Alas he had a bout with a grain truck passing by the farm and the truck won.

I have had some problems with an order of chicks I got from Mcmurry.

I had 2 orders, one from Ideal (lay hens of 4 different breeds) and an order from McMurry of cormish roasters. I have kept the lay hens separate from the meat birds the whole time.

I got the Ideal order about a week before the Mcmurry. Not one of the lay hens have died. Out of 53 cornish roasters I got I only have 30 left.

There was no big sickness sweeping through the flock. For the first couple of weeks all was well. Then they just started dropping dead. One would die every two to three days. Of the 30 I have left, maybe 5 are the size that they should be. Almost as big as the layers I got. Most of the rest are kind of pathetic and about 5 or 6 are what I'd call true runts. Is this normal???

I have heard that meat birds have a higher death rate but good grief! And whats with the not growing!!! This isn't my first flock. I know how to care for chickens so whats the deal!!!

Are these Cornish Cross (Cornish X) ?


http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/product ... rocks.html


They are notoriously hard to raise without the right feed. If you don't feed them right they sort of grow out of their hearts and die. They must have high protein feed.

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/articl ... Cross.html

Our local hatchery advertises the White Rock Cornish X as difficult to raise. Their problem is that their cardio vascular system cannot keep up with their rate of growth so they drop dead of heart failure.

I'll stick to the old dual purpose breeds, thank you very much.

Thanks for the input! They are the cornish roasters.

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/product ... aster.html

I got these because they said they grow slower that the jumbo cornish so don't have as many problems.

The wierd thing is that I though meat chickens were supposed to grow fast and get bigger. My Lay hens that are only about a week and a half older are MUCH bigger than the meat chicks. Heck, some of the meat birds still look like 3 week old babies and they are 2 months old! Bad genetics?

I also had fits with them getting heat stroke! I had them in the shade with plenty of water to drink, pen covered with a wet sheet, fan blowing over them, and STILL had them colapsing from the heat. I had to check on them every 2 hours and bring in any that were sick from heat and cool them off inside. Not once did I have to bring in a lay hen.

I had been feeding them the chick crumbles for the first six weeks then switched slowly to grain and pasture. (chicken tractor)

I'm just not sure what else to do. This is the first time I've tried meat birds. From now on its the old dual purpose for me too!!!

I tried to raise some Cornish X's last year (bought from McMurry). I had about a 30 percent success rate. Never again, those are the dumbest, dirtiest, laziest birds I have ever seen. They would not even stand up to eat. The ones that survived, got HUGE (13lbs and bigger).

My theory is those birds were bred to be stuck in tiny cages with no freedom or life. They are definitely not cut out to be raised in a chicken tractor.

Now I'm raising (I mean my hens are raising), mutts. I know they are all half speckled Sussex, (because that's what Mr. Speckles is), but no clue what the other half is. I have several varieties of layers that contributed their eggs. So far letting momma hen raise the chicks is a LOT easier.

Cliff (Start a rEVOLution, grow a garden)

Anyone find a better breed than comet?

good egg production with well fleshed out roosters too....

anyone have a fovorite breed that is better?

I have not tried Comet. I think my favorite so far has been Dark Cornish, though they have very loud unpleasant voices.

Second favorite - Dominique, for temperament, foraging ability, and looks. Didn't get great egg production, though. Lost my flock in a freak storm.

I have one Araucana who has been a fantastic egg layer for years even though she's had at least two strokes.

Least favorite - White Rock

I've also had Delaware, Black Australorp, White Wyandotte, Buff Orpington

I need a breed of chicken that can defend itself from the weasel, the raccoon, the bobcat... Oh wait! I need a Deinonychus, not a chicken...

I've heard and read good stuff about Rhode Island Reds.



That's probably the breed I'll try to get when I eventually get chickens.

Really? I'll have to look into those. I'll need something loud to wake me up in the morning when I won't be able to get batteries for my alarm clocks anymore!

Buff Orpington

reallly good mamas also...

+1

I have four raising chicks 15 chicks right now.

Depending upon your situation it can be a positive or a negative but they can be a bit passive (until they have chicks, then they become very protective). I have small children so this is a positive. But even when protecting chicks they knocked my 1 year old down but did not hurt him. This would not have been the case with a more aggressive breed.

A more aggressive breed, however, might take care of mice or chipmunks looking for a free meal from the feed tray. My buffs will share the tray with them.

Typical of orpintons...LOL they are good yard birds if you have a good fence and a guard dog...LOL


Comets are sex links that can be read in the shell, this makes for easier deciding which eggs to eat and which to slide over into the brooders ( We used a couple of banti hens that couldn't stop setting any egg in sight). The hens don't gain much weight and are small and fiesty... The roosters are more than average in aggression and unfortunately have the distinct impression that they alone call out the morning sun when they are tired of resting in the dark.

Training a good yard dog to defend rather than eat the chickens is a great investment in time.. ( I won't mention my own method because it is effective but will say that a friend of mine used one of those training collars and eventually it did work.)

Thank you to the moderator who placed my post where it belonged...

For those thinking of chickens, a hint a couple of adult geese will help both in training the yard dog to respect anything that wears feathers...(lol) but will also discourage most small preditors.... and even many 2 legged ones from raiding your yard. make sure you have a couple of females and one or more male gees and your guardian supply can double as a treat meat.

I would try the Rose Comb Brown Leghorns.

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/product ... horns.html