Do I have meat birds???

[minnehaha]

the last one

The little one is one week old, the meat bird is 2.5 weeks old.

 

[minnehaha]

The chicks will grow really fast and not have many feathers if they are.

I am fairly certain these could not possibly meat birds. They are now 3 weeks old and weigh only 5 ounces!!! If they were meat birds, what would they weigh at 3 weeks old? I am now thinking they may be white foghorn pullets. Stupid feed store!!! I needed meat birds, not more layers!

 

[dannyisforreal]

What kind of chickens are they supposed to be. The cornish cross are so posed to take 8 weeks for the dressing weight. Freedom rangers take 12 weeks. My chickens that i breed for meat take around 12 weeks. They all take different times. Though it is likely that it is not a broiler do to the 5 ounce thing. I hope there not though!

 

[dannyisforreal]

I mean i hope they are broilers, not a normal chicken.

 

[GuineaFowling]

My broilers at a month old were very fat and large, like small turkeys. From your photo I am not sure they are broilers because when I bought home my broiler chicks they were really fluffy fat chicks, whereas yours look lean like leghorns.

 

[dannyisforreal]

My broilers at a month old were very fat and large, like small turkeys. From your photo I am not sure they are broilers because when I bought home my broiler chicks they were really fluffy fat chicks, whereas yours look lean like leghorns.

agree with you ^^^^^^^^^

 

[minnehaha]

Thanks so much for the replies! My friend has Freedom Rangers who are 5 weeks old and 4 pounds each. She looked at them yesterday and immediately said "Those are NOT broilers!"

As they get older I'll update with pictures, so we can see what they turn out to be. But Leghorn does seem to be a dead ringer.

I guess time will tell, and in the meantime I'll start trying to figure out what to do with them. I already have many many layers. I actually do have room for them though. I have an 8 X 16 hen house plus 4 other coops. I Just did not want to be this big. I would keep a few though because one of my daughters will only eat white eggs! This is the same kid who hunts and has shot many deer, a wild hog, turkey, alligator...and dresses them out. She is 14 years old but won't eat a non-white egg....hahaha.

 

[minnehaha]

Hi everyone, the mystery was solved today when I paid a visit to the feed store. I have 16 Leghorn pullets. I was not the first customer to come in and say that they had purchased meat birds that were not meat birds, and then there was the customers who came in and said that their Leghorn pullets looked like meat birds. Apparently, one of the managers (who has been fired) mixed up a couple of bird boxes. I was given a full refund and either keep the birds or they would take them back. Since I've fed them for 3 weeks, I chose to keep them. I may sell the majority as started pullets on Craigslist eventually, but I'll keep a few and add them to my layers. I'm pretty burnt out for the year and doubt I will get meat birds. The feedstore offered to order them in for me, and I told them I would have to think about it.

Thanks to all the comments. So, for now we will call them Leghorns and I will update this page if anything changes.