Meat bird as pet

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alessadry

alessadry

Songster
8 Years
Mar 3, 2011
231
54
151
I got a meat bird ''fryer or broiler'' as they call them- from a friend whose son got at school out of an incubator project...I am keeping it as a pet, but it is true I will only enjoy this fellow for only a year? Is it true it will eventually get so fat that it will get deformed legs or die from a heart attack? is this due to genetic modifications? my dad had meat birds in europe and he has never heard of them having orthopedic problems of growing so big as birds here in the US..yes, they did not have much meat but they were all healthy and capable of walking and their meat was the tastiest thing ever.. what can I do to make mine live a longer life?
 
Are you sure it is a meat bird (Cornish X)? I guess I have never heard of them being incubated anywhere, but the hatcheries.

It is true that they can have leg problems or heart problems. I do raise mine for meat, but have never had any of those problems. Some people on here have raised them for a year or two on restricted diets. Basically, don't feed them like you would a meat bird. I have read that some people give them aspirin (I think) once they get a little older. It's great if they can free range, too. If it is a Cornish X, they are friendly little creatures -- way more friendly than most my layers. Maybe it's a White Rock or White Leghorn? Those are both regular laying type birds. The White Rock is the larger of the two breeds.
 
My friend said it is not a cornish but a white fryer/broiler..so not sure exactly which one of the two white ones may be.. I am wondering if I could feed it as my layers?
 
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You might get lucky and have the bird for 18 months or so if it is a CX. Freedom Rangers would do better, but as stated if it was hatched at a school from an egg, it is likely some other breed. That is, unless someone got a hold of some CX eggs from one of the main breeding farms. Could happen.
 
The Cornish X is the white broiler meat bird. I guess I should say Cornish cross. It is a hybrid meat bird that grows fast. There is a regular Cornish breed that is not a meat bird. That may be what your friend is speaking of. Do you have or know of someone else who has chicks to compare yours to? I am wondering if it is a White Leghorn or White Rock or some other kind of layer. A Cornish cross will grow extremely fast when compared to a layer. So if you did have regular layer chicks to compare it to, it would be helpful.
 
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You could try contacting the school. Perhaps the teacher running the program could clue you in as to what breed they hatched. It would be helpful to know so you could determine how to feed it for best survival time.
 
They are white chicks and are growing extremely fast... I had 16 layer chicks grow in the brooder, and these three are now already almost snug!!!!!.. I am giving them away tomorrow to this Amish lady that has a farm.. I know they will eventually be butchered but I guess they simply are not meant to live long.. I prefer a quick death rather than a debilitating heart problem or organ failure due to me trying to extend their lives..they also smell seriously like raw dead chicken, my 16 layers never smelled that bad! They are also extremely hungry, eating non-stop and are even becoming food aggressive...my layers never had a fight and they were 16 in the brooder! Also, their feathers on their chest are rough, and their skin is very pink, showing through the feathers, they just seem like chicken nuggets on legs..lol!
 
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Yikes! Yeah, I had to debate on how I wanted to go about my chickens. I decided on dual purpose and just eat the roos. It just doesn't seem right to have insanely fat chicks growing astronomically fast.

I'm not knocking it, I just wanted to enjoy it "the old fashioned way".
 

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