Broiler cockerels crowing?

[jamayy]

Hey everyone I have two gorgeous 7 week old broiler roosters that I intend to keep as pets can anyone tell me what age they might start crowing? And what age can big broilers live until I was told they ussually have heart attacks around 6 months old

 

[LindaB220]

Hey everyone I have two gorgeous 7 week old broiler roosters that I intend to keep as pets can anyone tell me what age they might start crowing? And what age can big broilers live until I was told they ussually have heart attacks around 6 months old

Don't overfeed them. In am feed as much as they can eat for 15 min. then take away until late afternoon and feed again. Keep feeders and waterers high so they can stand up. Have a place for them to roam. In other words, treat them like normal chickens. If you haven't done this already they may be too fat and will die shortly. Fluid gets in their hearts. Good luck

 

[jamayy]

@LindaB220 yup got them on a diet so far

they just grow so quickly it's incredible! They are literally 8 times bigger than the easter eggers I have the same age

 

[bowhunter862]

I processed my broilers last Saturday. They were 7 weeks and 3 days old. I heard crowing from the coop that morning. It's the first time I've ever heard broilers crow. I process them at that age routinely and was surprised to hear crowing, albeit a poor effort to crow, but crowing just the same.

 

[SIMZ]

My daughter's 4-H roasters were crowing around 8-9 weeks. I also rarely hear mine crow, but they're usually processed by 7 weeks.

 

[DelcoChix]

My daughter has raised broilers for 4-H for the last 6 years and every year the boys begin their sad attempts at crowing (cat coughing up a hairball-ish sound) right between 6-7 weeks. They are exactly 8 weeks old for fair week so it's easy to remember their different stages..

Good luck raising yours--it's a bit challenging from everything I've read but I've heard success stories too, some living to be a year or two old.

 

[jamayy]

Thanks everyone! They started their poor attempts at crowing at 10 weeks so I moved them on to a rooster sanctuary. it is actually an woman who saves roosters and they all live their days out at her place down the south coast!

 

[PalmRoyal]

Unfortunately, most people I hear that try to keep Cornish X broiler chickens as pets die around a year old. Rarely they live to be two years old. I have been told that it is a very sad, miserable life for them to live and all of the ones I see people raising for the fair lay around and refuse to move. However, mine are six weeks old right now, still fly extremely short distances (about 5-6" off the ground and for about one foot), jump up to eat on a their feeding platform (it is just 5" above the ground) and love to run and play. Heck, they still love to play with the baby turkeys through their enclosures. So, I am not sure if the difference is how you raise them on how lazy they are, but but it is food for thought.
Another idea that is food for thought, is to keep an eye on them. If they become where they do start to look miserable and it is getting entirely too hard for them to move around, it may be more humane to butcher them or have them put down. I always say to treat all your animals alike. My poultry and fish are treated just as good as our family dogs or kitties and given the same amount of attention. Heck, I stand by this so much, even my fish are taught simple tricks (like "giving kisses" or "dancing"). It really is just some food for thought so you choose the most humane decisions for them, whether that be trying to restrict their food and prolonging their lives as much as you can, or experimenting with them to see if exercise keeps them healthier, or something else.