Accidentally purchased meat bird, now what?

[TheChickenGirl16]

Hey y’all,
In May, I bought 3 Leghorns.
By the time they were 5 days old, I knew this one was different.
Looks like she turned out to be Cornish Cross.
You can see right here, that she is already bigger than the others:

Here she is at 4 weeks old:

Here she is eating across from her “Leghorn sister”, same age:

 

[TheChickenGirl16]

Now, she is HUGE. Probably well past the processing date, and I don’t think I can cull a girl.
What I am looking for, is you guys to tell me how much you think I can sell her for on Marketplace.
She is 16 weeks old, and 14ish pounds.

 

[ChickenChick46]

Are you comfortable culling her? If not, unfortunately your best bet is probably going to be finding someone to take her that is.

I've seen threads here discussing how to help a meat bird live a longer life, but I don't know how long it's possible to keep them healthy, even with a restricted diet.

It'll of course be your decision, but the kindest thing is probably to cull or rehome to someone who will when she's of age to do so.

If you decide you want to try to keep her, I know there was an active thread on here yesterday about extending the life of a Cornish Cross. I'm sure it would be easy to find.

I wish you luck, whatever you decide.

 

[ChickenChick46]

Now, she is HUGE. Probably well past the processing date, and I don’t think I can cull a girl.
What I am looking for, is you guys to tell me how much you think I can sell her for on Marketplace.
She is 16 weeks old, and 14ish pounds.

Sorry, I didn't see this before I replied.

Honestly, I don't think you could sell her for much at all, if she's beyond processing age. There just isn't going to be a market for a bird no one can do anything with.

I'm sorry if that sounds cold or insensitive, I don't mean to. But if a person can't use the bird for meat or eggs, and she can't sustain a normal life as even a pet, I just don't think you'll have a lot of luck.

 

[TheChickenGirl16]

Sorry, I didn't see this before I replied.

Honestly, I don't think you could sell her for much at all, if she's beyond processing age. There just isn't going to be a market for a bird no one can do anything with.

I'm sorry if that sounds cold or insensitive, I don't mean to. But if a person can't use the bird for meat or eggs, and she can't sustain a normal life as even a pet, I just don't think you'll have a lot of luck.

Thank you!
I actually don’t know the proper time to process….
If it was supposed to be 8 weeks, than she is twice that age.
Do you know what would have been the appropriate age?
I guess I could always google it…

 

[ChickenChick46]

Thank you!
I actually don’t know the proper time to process….
If it was supposed to be 8 weeks, than she is twice that age.
Do you know what would have been the appropriate age?
I guess I could always google it…

A book I've got says 7 to 10 weeks, about 5 to 7 pounds.

 

[ChickenChick46]

A book I've got says 7 to 10 weeks, about 5 to 7 pounds.

That isn't to say she couldn't still be processed, but I'm not sure how the meat quality might be affected. I would think the meat could still be used for stew or something similar where it could be shredded and be more tender, but I'm not sure.

 

[TheChickenGirl16]

That isn't to say she couldn't still be processed, but I'm not sure how the meat quality might be affected. I would think the meat could still be used for stew or something similar where it could be shredded and be more tender, but I'm not sure.

Ok, thank you.
I’ll still post her and see what happens.

 

[kattabelly]

If she's mostly been free fed and not had to forage too much, she's probably still pretty tender. CX are naturally lazy birds usually.

I've processed broilers at that age and only noticed a difference in taste with the cockerels.

There isn't really such a thing as "too late" to process a bird for meat unless it's actually been dead too long for the meat to be safe, or dying of something that makes it a bad idea to eat it. At worst, you might have to cook it low & slow to avoid the meat being too tough.

 

[theoldchick]

14 lbs?! She's huge!