Scary
birds
A month ago we bought some
new chicks to add to the seven hens we over-wintered. We chose 8 for egg-laying and 6 for eating. We had read about the Cornish Cross
breed that grows very fast and can be eaten at 6 or 8 weeks. They were all really cute and about the
same size that first day.
Very soon, the Cornish
Cross birds were eating crazy amounts and growing much faster than the
others. They developed large feet
and just lay around eating and pooping.
The other birds were trying out their wings and running around full of
life. When the baby fluff
wore off and the real feathers grew in, these big birds looked way more
scraggly than the others. They had
large areas of pink skin with no feathers. We thought they were being pecked, so we separated
them. It made no difference.
Then the first one got
sick. It just lay on the ground
and let the others walk over it.
Ray brought her into the house and put her on a heating pad and gave her
sips of water. Suddenly, she puked
everything up and died. Now
another one has died. A friend
said their hearts give out with
all the fast growth. (Did I
mention that they also stink very badly?)
These grotesque, pathetic
creatures are the chickens that people buy in the store. These poor creatures are why chicken meat is so cheap and so
tender and so tasteless. These
birds are the result of years of experimenting to create a breed that will
bring the most profit in the least time.
And, yes, we will eat them too, but we will never buy them again. I feel really disgusted by the whole
experience. Especially thinking
about the millions of these poor birds who have no pleasure in their short
life.
