Experimenting with a few meat birds as pets

[Weeg]

So true for cornish!


Poor Doodle I hope her leg heals soon!

Me to! Its been such a long recovery, I feel so bad for her. Its that food drive man, if she thinks she can ninja into something, she doesn't care of her leg hurts, she's gorging that food.

 

[Weeg]

To keep food available to the layers, can you put it up somewhere they have to jump to get it? My most athletic Cornish cross couldn’t jump up more than a couple of feet max.

Ya, I've definitely considered that for the other chickens, but i'm having a really hard time figuring it out for the ducks. Most duck breeds don't fly well, (thats all of my ducks other then the 2 mallards) and a hut with odd sized door wouldn't work as ducks are bigger then Doodle and Smudge. I'm at a loss.
Then only way I could think of to keep them out of the food is to let them out at different times. The duck run is pretty rocky though, we put it in a bad location before I knew about rocks and ducks. So the ducks really prefer to be in the grass as much as possible.

 

[NatJ]

Ya, I've definitely considered that for the other chickens, but i'm having a really hard time figuring it out for the ducks. Most duck breeds don't fly well, (thats all of my ducks other then the 2 mallards) and a hut with odd sized door wouldn't work as ducks are bigger then Doodle and Smudge. I'm at a loss.
Then only way I could think of to keep them out of the food is to let them out at different times. The duck run is pretty rocky though, we put it in a bad location before I knew about rocks and ducks. So the ducks really prefer to be in the grass as much as possible.

Do the ducks have longer necks than Cornish Cross? Maybe you could use wire fencing that ducks can stick their heads through, and put a feeder far enough from the fence that a Cornish Cross neck cannot reach.

And then you could do something that involves flying or small doors for the smaller chickens.

 

[Weeg]

Do the ducks have longer necks than Cornish Cross? Maybe you could use wire fencing that ducks can stick their heads through, and put a feeder far enough from the fence that a Cornish Cross neck cannot reach.

And then you could do something that involves flying or small doors for the smaller chickens.

Its funny you mentioned that. I've been trying to think of a way to make that work, and your idea is perfect! Thats a great idea! I'll see if I can get that to work out.

For the bantams I think I'll do small doors, and flying for the standards. Thanks so much for the ideas everyone!

 

[saysfaa]

If Smudge and Doodle are this desperate for food... have you considered that they might rather have a shorter life if it meant being comfortable. And maybe happier (between the food and the going in and out of their flock.)

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

If Smudge and Doodle are this desperate for food... have you considered that they might rather have a shorter life if it meant being comfortable. And maybe happier (between the food and the going in and out of their flock.)

Most chickens would eat a whole bag of mealworms if they could, and it would probably make them happier, but that doesn’t mean it’s cruel to stop them from doing that.

 

[Weeg]

Most chickens would eat a whole bag of mealworms if they could, and it would probably make them happier, but that doesn’t mean it’s cruel to stop them from doing that.

My point exactly.

 

[Weeg]

If Smudge and Doodle are this desperate for food... have you considered that they might rather have a shorter life if it meant being comfortable. And maybe happier (between the food and the going in and out of their flock.)

Doodle and Smudge are still happy. They get to run around, be with other chickens, and before they figured out how to get into the other food and got themselves fat, they spend a lot of time foraging in the bushes.
I think if they understood me when I told them that eating other food would kill them, they would gladly trade longer life for food. Lol I know, I talk to my meatbrids! Hahahaha!

 

[FuzzyCritters]

If Smudge and Doodle are this desperate for food... have you considered that they might rather have a shorter life if it meant being comfortable. And maybe happier (between the food and the going in and out of their flock.)

The lethal conditions in chickens caused by being overweight are not good ways to die. Egg binding and prolapse aren't very comfortable either. Eating does make them happy, but the result isn't just a shortened lifespan. It's pain, discomfort, and then death.

Doodle and Smudge can still be very happy even when they aren't eating all the time. They will be much more comfortable without health issues, even if they don't get the instant gratification of being able to eat a lot.

 

[saysfaa]

The lethal conditions in chickens caused by being overweight are not good ways to die. Egg binding and prolapse aren't very comfortable either. Eating does make them happy, but the result isn't just a shortened lifespan. It's pain, discomfort, and then death.

Doodle and Smudge can still be very happy even when they aren't eating all the time. They will be much more comfortable without health issues, even if they don't get the instant gratification of being able to eat a lot.

I envisioned meaties being something like Prader-Willi sydrome. A member of my close famy has something similar although that has not been diagnosed and it probably isn't exactly that. He has been diagnosed with something similar. He has enough will power to not eat all the time but he is never, ever not hungry. Like really, literally- not just the way that phrase is used for teen agers. It is not pleasant at all.

Maybe there is some other explanation for why meaties eat so much. What might that be?

I agree egg binding and prolapse wouldn't be comfortable either. But as I understand it, those aren't the only two options. There is also keeping other breeds for pets instead of trying to feel better about raising meaties for meat by picking a couple out to be the pets.