Broiler as a PET, has a broken leg! HELP!

[cassie]

The best and kindest thing you can do to broiler chickens is just eat them. I have tried keeping them as pets. Waste of time and effort. I now raise them strictly for meat. If you feed them properly (that means broiler feed), limit the feed to 12 hours on and 12 hours off, and add extra vitamins made for broilers to the water, you will greatly minimize leg problems. Then if you keep them they will keel over from something else. Like a heart attack. Out of the last batch of 25 broilers we only had one or two with leg problems and we processed those at once. We keep ours to 10 or 12 weeks of age because we like large roasters. Most people butcher theirs at about 8 weeks. Broiler chickens are bred for a lot of things but longevity is not one of them. We did keep one for several months once. He got HUGE. Then one morning we found him dead.

 

[threehorses]

A complete feed appropriate for their age will take care of that. I'm certain the issue is the legs not being able to support the weight - tendon and ligament wise. I'd just definitely avoid feeds made to grow chickens fast (like broiler grower).

 

[cassie]

Quote:
The first batch of broilers I ever had were given to me. I knew nothing about them and I raised them for pets. Fed 'em regular chicken feed. Had more health problems with them than you can imagine. The sole survivor lived about five months or so. He was about the size of a small turkey. We just found him dead one morning.

 

[kycklingar!]

Lots of good, compassionate advice on this thread.
If you're going to definitely try to keep her, the people saying "don't feed her broiler feed" are right - it's developed specifically to hasten her meat growth (not bones or any other important things like organs) and will exacerbate the problem. Give her layer feed and calcium supplement, vitamins like avitron in her water, and don't let her have free access to the food. I think the recommended limit to keep pet broilers from breaking their own legs and giving themselves heart attacks is only 10 to 12 hrs of access to formula food a day. Grass and low-nutrition forage the rest of the day.

 

[threehorses]

Oh yeah, that's wonderful advice on the limited concentrated/complete food and lots of nice ranging foraging. That's exactly how we handle the Broad Breasted turkeys (the turkey equivalent of broilers) that for some reason I insist on buying as pets!

Well they're so gentle. My boyfriend is crazy about the turkeys, and really they're just sweethearts and we can't resist. It's a trick to try to grow them slow enough without nutritionally causing problems - too little or too much. But it's worth it for th elittle life you're trying to save.

 

[al6517]

Not to sound harsh but just a fact of life. You said you RESCUED it but it has a broken leg, it sounds as though you have just decided to prolong it's agonizingly painful life. Broilers don't make very good pet's and with it's painful infurmity I feel you have made a very poor choice. So in this case you didn't resuced it, just say you are giving it a more long painful life. Sorry but someone must tell you the truth of the matter, if you are as compassionate as you think you want to be then be Humane, and do the best thing for both of you and process this young bird. Next time think carefully before you decide to RESCUE a injured animal. once again I am sorry for the obtuse post but it is the best way I know to help you and not sugar coat what you are doing to make you feel better when you need to think of the bird first.

AL

 

[threehorses]

Wow. There's a way to say things.....

 

[al6517]

Quote:
I know I wish i knew a better way, but the whole RESCUE thing seems to be the new black, with very little thought in the process.

AL

 

[threehorses]

It helps to just state the facts without the judgemental statements about the person. It's obvious that she isn't a long term chicken person and most people don't know about broilers and the whole leg thing.

She did what she felt was best, and didn't 'decide to prolongue' suffering. Her intentions were good, and this is how she'll learn - however this turns out. This is how we all learn.

The reality is that broiler breeds are also bred to grow fast. They aren't bred for quality of frame or conformation, as to-standard show poultry would be. They're not bred for longevity. They're bred for quick growth and quick slaughter. But we already told her that. She understands now.

It IS possible to try to grow a broiler more slowly so that it can live. Should she go buy more broilers to make pets? I doubt she will.

But in the mean time she has this commitment and she will do what she thinks best. While she's asking for help, we'll give that help to her obviously - even if it means advising her to euthanize.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

We were not all born knowing everything and I think the original poster is of school age being as she said she "rescued" it from a school flock.

If this is in fact the case, then the teacher should have never attempted to hatch out meaties to raise without having a proper plan in place and doing her research on said birds. If I am wrong, then I still don't think she INTENDED to prolong its pain. She simply didn't know that there are birds that can't be raised to maturity. We all live and learn. I am sure this is a very hard lesson for her to learn. I agree with what you say about not sugar coating things but I don't think I would accuse her of intentionally wanting to bring harm to this animal. Just my two cents.