Can I keep meat-birds as pets?

[Poultlove]

I have three BB whites, I want to keep them on a low/no treat diet, with a decent amount of exercise when they are feathered and are ready to go outside.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

It won't hurt if you want to keep them as pets... I don't raise meat-birds so I wouldn't know

 

[Molpet]

Mine was a heartbreaker, I had to put down at 18 months. ... wasn't tough so not all was lost

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Wait, do meat birds live for a shorter time??? I didn't know that- just thought they were normal birds

 

[chickentrains]

@Weeg

 

[Molpet]

Wait, do meat birds live for a shorter time??? I didn't know that- just thought they were normal birds

They are meant to be harvested at 16 to 20 weeks for BB turkey and 6 to 8 wks Cornish cross chickens.
The turkey breeders are starved and AI is used. ... The CX chickens are a terminal cross that comes from 4 grandparents flocks, which produces 2 parent flocks, which produces the CX broiler chicken

 

[Weeg]

@Weeg

Thanks for the tag.

@Poultlove, its so cool you want to try this project like I am! I have a thread on my learning curve, that answers every question I had about keeping two Cornish X as pets. I'll post a link, but that should have all the info you need. If there are any questions after you read the thread, feel free to ask!
Experimenting with a few meat birds as pets

 

[Weeg]

Heres a link to a thread for Cornish X owners who keep them as pets. Feel free to join in! You don't have Cornish X, but you can still share you experience!

 

[Eva2020]

Wait, do meat birds live for a shorter time??? I didn't know that- just thought they were normal birds

I would say it depends on the breed and how they are bred. They can live shorter than some other breeds but I'm sure with some research and monitored diet you can extend their healthy life. Meat bird breeds are bred to grow very quickly so they can be "harvested" quickly. Sometimes if they aren't killed at a certain point like they are bred to be they have trouble since they are so large and grow so big their hearts can't keep up and they can die a slow death.

 

[Poultlove]

Thanks for the tag.

@Poultlove, its so cool you want to try this project like I am! I have a thread on my learning curve, that answers every question I had about keeping two Cornish X as pets. I'll post a link, but that should have all the info you need. If there are any questions after you read the thread, feel free to ask!
Experimenting with a few meat birds as pets

Thank you! I wish you good luck, I think that they are more than meat-birds.