Can a broiler bird live out a normal, full-length life?

[Jennifer Cappi Williams]

I just read how to take care of Cornish Rocks and how EASY it is to accidentally kill them all because EVIL humans messed with perfectly good chicken genetics to make a breed that is short lived and easy to die. Its terrible....

 

[1cock2hens]

I grew up on a commercial broiler farm, chickens are raised from 6 weeks-9 weeks depending on the customer. There were always a couple chickens left behind when they came and emptied the houses and we would give them to my cousin, some would live happily for a year or two but most would start flopping around and die in the first few months// big difference with your bird and the commercial birds is it wont be raised the same way. on a farm they are given special feed to bulk up fast and are given supplemental lighting to encourage them to eat more.

 

[J.Bird]

I know the feeling of not wanting to end the life of a beloved pet, but I would highly recomend just doing away with her. If you are certain that she is a meat breed, then yes, it would be more humane to just get it over with. If they aren't butchered in time, they can mess up their legs or even break them. Also, it would be miserable to carry around all that extra weight. I know when we raised meat birds, just before they were butchered, they didn't move much and when they did it was a struggle. Good luck and I hope you make the right call for both you and her.

 

[1cock2hens]

meat birds can live a long healthy life, too much pessimism

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

meat birds can live a long healthy life, too much pessimism

X2 I had a Cornish cross pullet that I saved from slaughter live to be 9 months old before she passed.
Look at post 5 in this article https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/cornish-cross-meat-birds.476028/

 

[kinkachy000]

This is the only one I could find that gives specific instructions (you might have to download it to make it work):
https://www.farmsanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Animal-Care-Large-Breed-Chicken.pdf

Thank you so much!

 

[kittycat1356]

I had one die at 4ish weeks from not being able to stand.(he was a lone chick in a bin at TSC so I took him out of sadness)

I agree foraging would be the best option for keeping one alive though. My chicks at the time picked on mine really bad.

 

[Molpet]

I just read how to take care of Cornish Rocks and how EASY it is to accidentally kill them all because EVIL humans messed with perfectly good chicken genetics to make a breed that is short lived and easy to die. Its terrible....

umm .. it's the consumer that drives the breeding of fast growing inexpensive breeding..
well if people didn't want cheap chicken with big breasts and had regular chicken only for special occasions and paid the big price... they would not have breed them. back in the 1940's you didn't have chicken every week and it was expensive.

"... Chicken is cheap. The bird that was selling for 60 cents a pound in 1948 was down to 39 cents in 1968. In 1948, a 5-pound chicken cost $3 — which might sound inexpensive, but in today’s dollars it works out to $30 for a single bird. In 2015, a supermarket chicken will run you $7. Chicken today costs less than a quarter of what it did during the Chicken of Tomorrow contest...." from: https://nypost.com/2015/04/26/why-nothing-especially-chicken-tastes-like-it-used-to/

 

[Kes]

My neighbor accidentally ended up with a broiler too. She's about 8 months old now and still seems to be doing okay. She certainly doesn't move fast but she makes it in and out of the coop every day.

 

[Bonniebooboo]

meat birds can live a long healthy life, too much pessimism

That really isn't pessimism, it is reality. The bird is bred to grow fast, short life, as food. 9 months to a possible 18 months isn't a very long life, but can seem long if living in pain or going hungry to live longer. It is all up to the owner which way to go with the information she has received on here. My best wishes on whatever the choice.