3 week old Easter Egger Rooster??

[MysteryChicken]

Oh, wow ... I got Cutie and 3 others at Tractor supply, they were all supposed to be Easter Eggers. We don't eat our birds, they are pets. Is there a reason why I can't keep a meat bird with the others?

Did you see my previous post?

 

[PatStacey]

I see 1 Gold Laced Wyandotte, & 1 Easter Egger.

Ok, well I guess I got a mix of whatever was on hand at Tractor Supply ... we shall see We have (3) older chickens and (7) ducks. Hopefully these will grow into healthy chickens regardless of what kind they may be.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Ok, well I guess I got a mix of whatever was on hand at Tractor Supply ... we shall see We have (3) older chickens and (7) ducks. Hopefully these will grow into healthy chickens regardless of what kind they may be.

Okay, with meat birds, they need to be on a restricted low protein diet, & lots of exercise. They can live upto 2 years depending on how they're cared for.

 

[NatJ]

Oh, wow ... I got Cutie and 3 others at Tractor supply, they were all supposed to be Easter Eggers. We don't eat our birds, they are pets. Is there a reason why I can't keep a meat bird with the others?

If you try to keep a meat bird like a normal chicken, with free-choice feed, they will eat too much and have problems. The most common problems are dying of heart failure, or getting so heavy they literally can not walk.

If you want to keep a meat bird as a pet, you will need to limit its food, so it cannot have enough food to get big and fat. But it will still need enough food to grow and stay healthy. I believe you're looking for stunted growth, but only the right amount stunted, if you want it to be as healthy as possible, for as long as possible.

It's not good for one chicken to live alone, it's not good for the meat bird to have constant access to food, but the other chickens really should have constant access to food-- so it's hard to figure out the best way to meet the different needs of the different kinds of chickens.

 

[2ndTink]

I understand you wanting to keep the meat chick around, we accidently ended up with one last summer and we decided that as long as it had quality of life we would let it live out its days as a chicken. We saw her losing her quality of life at 19 weeks so decided to take her to freezer camp. If I had to do it over again I would have either sold her off as soon as I found out what she was, or bought 10 or 12 more and raised them with the intent of consumption and not raising her as a pet. But you alone can pick which course is right for you ❤

 

[RosemaryDuck]

So sorry but I have to agree with the others. Meat birds live really miserable lives. They're bred to gain weight extremely fast and after a certain point they can no longer walk or function. Even on a restricted diet and with exercise you're really just dragging out the inevitable. I tried desperately one year to keep a cornish x rooster alive because I didn't know any better. Many vet visits, we even did water therapy. His life was very poor and he could only move a few inches while the other chickens ran circles around him. He eventually passed but I would never do it again. It was a mistake on my part. Keeping a meat bird as a pet only ends in tears.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I agree the white is Cornish X, and Pecan could be a boy - pretty pink in the comb.

 

[PatStacey]

So sorry but I have to agree with the others. Meat birds live really miserable lives. They're bred to gain weight extremely fast and after a certain point they can no longer walk or function. Even on a restricted diet and with exercise you're really just dragging out the inevitable. I tried desperately one year to keep a cornish x rooster alive because I didn't know any better. Many vet visits, we even did water therapy. His life was very poor and he could only move a few inches while the other chickens ran circles around him. He eventually passed but I would never do it again. It was a mistake on my part. Keeping a meat bird as a pet only ends in tears.

We had the conversation with our 10 year old this evening. He seems ok with having to let Cutie go. Thanks for you help and advice!

 

[PatStacey]

I agree the white is Cornish X, and Pecan could be a boy - pretty pink in the comb.

Pecan is a bit of a jerk already, so I was thinking rooster . We don't have any boys in out little flock, so we'll keep him if that is the case.

 

[PatStacey]

We had the conversation with our 10 year old this evening. He seems ok with having to let Cutie go. Thanks for you help and advice!