🐔Can you keep a Meat chicken as a pet?🐔

[Horserider77364]

Not sure if this is a dumb question or not but I'm still young and learning lol. I've always questioned this because somehow a meat chicken got mixed in with the Rhode Island Red bin at Tractor Supply(just my luck). At around 2 months old I noticed the meat chicken was really huge for a young age and was actually bigger than my fully grown hens!!! Then at around 6months, she became disabled and literally could not walk at all. I was thinking she was overweight or something, but we had our neighbor come over and she told us exactly what she was. They had to put her down, because of her bad conditions and we could tell her leg was in pain. It was really sad for me as she was very close and probably the most social chicken I've ever had. I'm not completely sure what was wrong with her leg or if it was supposed to happen. So do meat chickens get overweight at a certain point or certain age they have to be killed at?

 

[Molpet]

I kept a CX pullet with diet and exercise for about a year. She was found dead with purple, comb, skin... symptoms of heart condition.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Yes, they have to be butchered around 8 weeks. They just eat so much and grow so fast they're unable to stay alive. With an *extremely* restricted diet some people keep them alive for about a year at most, but it's not easy or in my opinion, fair to the bird

 

[marsmallowthesilkie]

if ur meat chickens are pets, make them exercise a lot because they will DIE

 

[Horserider77364]

Yes, they have to be butchered around 8 weeks. They just eat so much and grow so fast they're unable to stay alive. With an *extremely* restricted diet some people keep them alive for about a year at most, but it's not easy or in my opinion, fair to the bird

Oh, I feel so bad now, I didn't even realize that it would affect them so badly to keep them at that age. I don't know why she was put into a different bin. But at least I know a bit more about meat chickens, just in case something like this happens again

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Oh, I feel so bad now, I didn't even realize that it would affect them so badly to keep them at that age. I don't know why she was put into a different bin. But at least I know a bit more about meat chickens, just in case something like this happens again

Don't feel bad, you didn't know. Sometimes chicks get mixed up, so many look so similar at a day old. What matters is that you wanted to learn in case there was a next time

 

[gatrapper]

We kept one alive for around 3 years. She was a great bird and laid MASSIVE eggs. She free ranged with the rest of the layers and was rarely fed bagged feed. She went to the pot with the rest of that batch once their laying slowed down.

 

[Horserider77364]

We kept one alive for around 3 years. She was a great bird and laid MASSIVE eggs. She free ranged with the rest of the layers and was rarely fed bagged feed. She went to the pot with the rest of that batch once their laying slowed down.

wow omg 3 years, that's impressive!

 

[cluckmecoop7]

In my honest opinion, I wouldn't keep them past 8 or 10 weeks. It's not fair for the bird and they will most likely be in pain.

I don't like that people bred these birds, because it's so unnatural and hurtful.

~Jessa

 

[JacinLarkwell]

In my honest opinion, I wouldn't keep them past 8 or 10 weeks. It's not fair for the bird and they will most likely be in pain.

I don't like that people bred these birds, because it's so unnatural and hurtful.

~Jessa

Yeah, but without them, meat would once more be considered expensive