Re: Can meat birds get too big for thier own good?

gaholmes@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Hi, I have a few meat hens (the white kind) that someone gave me that
> I threw in with my layers and they seem to be having trouble. They are
> huuuuuge and seem to be having trouble even walking. I know they are
> bred for meat so I was wondering if they are having trouble becuase of
> thier size. Is it unhealthy/inhumane for them to be allowed to get
> this big? I raise the layers and keep them til they die die of old
> age and was going to do the same thing with the meat birds. These are
> my kids pets and, even though I raised birds for meat as a youngster
> don't want to kill them on my kids. Any advice is appreciated.

Your gut reaction is correct.
These birds are bred "designed" to be the end of their line and to be
processed at around 9 - 14 weeks old. With this in mind they have the
genetic ability to increase their weight to a viable table size in this time
but have NO viability beyond that.
Occasionally some folks have managed to get birds beyond - why eludes me as
there are plenty of good birds which will enjoy the life - but its usually a
matter of dreastically restricting food for the first weeks to restrict
their development
They will have increasing problems as their physiology is not designed to
cope with life and will give out -- frequently their hearts.
Meat birds are bred to be culled at an age when the meat is tender -- before
18 week - so yes I would say that it would be best to find some way of
dealing with these and replacing them with something that you can all enjoy
for years to come.
If you want a large meaty breed then look at some of the pure breeds that
were meat breeds in the past -- they are slow maturing and rarely have the
same problems. Depending on where you are there are a number of breeds to
choose from

--
regards
Jill Bowis AI news reports: http://poultryreports.blogspot.com/

Pure bred utility chickens and ducks
Housing; Equipment, Books, Videos, Gifts
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http://www.kintaline.co.uk

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