Well I think this person dosent know how to weight... She said had large breed roosters that were 12 weeks old and dressed out 5 lbs, and were only on grower... Sounds fishy http://binghamton.craigslist.org/grd/1450844533.html what do u guys think?
I wonder exactly what breeds she has. I did have some huge cuckoo maran roosters, I didn't process him but he was very tall and very broad breasted. The woman that I sold him to could not believe his size, I sold her some big New Hampshire Reds too, they were six months old. I have no idea if it is the norm for these two breeds, maybe its possible she has some big breeds but 12 weeks still seems iffy for me. I have some 12 week old roosters out there now and only one is a big boy and the rest I wouldn't bother processing at all. I would get more info from her if you are interested. $5.00 is a good deal if you are going to process them yourself.
Maybe 5 lbs alive, but even heavy breeds don't reach their max weight till they are over a year old. If they really are 5 lbs dressed, they must be meat birds on the light side of the scale, or a ranger broiler type.
Maybe they meant 5 lbs dressed in heavy work clothes and thick-soled hiking boots. I think it would be worth a look anyway, $5 isn't bad for even a half-grown meat bird. Be sure to invite these folks to BYC so they can join in on our fun.
Maybe she meant that they were on medicated starter for the first 8 weeks or so and have been on non-medicated grower these last 12 weeks. 20 weeks would be more likely to give you 5 pound chickens.
Maybe the seller doesn't know what the word "assorted" means. She could have all broilers, Cornish X or that type, and just think "assorted" is the word you use when you have a bunch of them. Or she doesn't have a good scale, and is over-estimating the weight of the birds, maybe she didn't weigh any of them at all. We all know they look bigger until you get them plucked. Maybe you should call and ask her what breeds they are. They're probably all broiler breeds, if they really weigh as much as she claims.
My cornish x white rock broilers were well over 5 lbs dressed at 12 weeks one was nearly 8lbs. I am not sure what she means by "assorted", but meat birds are bred to grow fast. Some even recomend slaughter at as early as 7 weeks. We keep ours for 12+ and just butcher them as we eat them but these super heavy birds reach full size in a hurry.
I saw an ad on our local Craigslist this past weekend that is almost identical to this one, same thing, bought way more than they need etc. I think its just their way of being in business, oh look we bought 150 chickens and its just the two of us so we have to sell some.
I agree with happychickmom's assessment. I don't think these are 12 week old meaties, I think they really are assorted roosters and probably closer to 6mos old or more. They've just been fed grower feed for the last 12 weeks.
