A Little Experiment: Part 2

Here's a visual on the difference between White Cornish X and Red Cornish X chicks. They're about 5 days old in this photo.

This year's batch of chicks didn't arrive all on one day like last year's did. Last year, we ordered our chicks from Lazy 54 in Hubbard, Oregon. Although we wanted to raise Red Cornish X already last year, we also wanted to order our chicks from as close to home as possible. Although Hubbard isn't exactly "local", we felt mollified that we didn't order from somewhere in Iowa or Pennsylvania, or even Arizona. Anyway, Lazy 54 didn't carry Red Cornish X chicks, so we went with the traditional White Cornish X variety.

This year, we got all set to order again from Lazy 54, only to discover they had gone out of business! What a sad thing for anyone raising poultry in Oregon -- no more local source for chicks, ducklings or poults. Milan spent several evenings online looking at all our options, as not every hatchery has every type of bird or has the right number available at once, etc. We decided to order our chicks through Grange Coop, our local farm/garden/pet store. The way it worked out, not all the White Cornish X are even the same age, and the Red Cornish are nearly 5 days younger than the older Whites. It makes across-the-board weight gain and growth comparisons pretty impossible. But, even at this point, it seems pretty safe to say the Reds are generally smaller, slimmer and not as fast-growing as the Whites. They're more active and light on their feet, and as you can see from the photo, quite a bit more colorful.