We will be hatching chicks soon and any males will become dinner. I was told that raising meat birds is disgusting and they loose their feathers because they just keep growing and their legs will break. Is this true? Is there a more humane way to do it? I understand that there is gross stuff but I don’t want my animals to be really suffering. And tips or (like I have mentioned a billion times) a more humane way to raise meat birds? Thanks, guys!
I question if your source has any actual experience, or just an agenda.
The fastest growing, most feed efficient meat bird in commercial use (and available to the home grower) is the infamous terminal cross, the "Cornish X". Left to their own devices, with food and water within beak reach, they will eat themselves to marketable weight, never moving in a brief couple weeks. That rate of calorie-fueled, exercise-free, growth takes a toll on a body - a body genetically selected for rapid growth without concern for long term health or even viability - the Cornish X isn't a breed, its a hybrid produced without concern about passing on their genes (the grandparent stock, however, are tightly controlled and closely monitored).
As with any potentially morbidly obese creature, a whole raft of perfectly predictable health issues can arise - primarily related to bone and joint health, muscle development, liver concerns. They can also spend a lot of time laying down, distributing an abnormal amount of breast meat relative to other avians across the ground, leading to the chest feathers being worn away, just as your leg hair would be if you spent your life in too tight jeans, or spent your life on your belly, feeding your face.
On a balanced, more feed restricted*, diet, with early vitamin support, and encouragement to exercise, Cornish X can lead a healthy, productive life - I've a one year old laying hen (she started about 7 months), over 11# in weight - who waddles like a duck and is missing some chest feathers, but is otherwise in good health apart from a single brief bout of vent gleet (her weight was a contributing factor). Her male siblings made good dinners at 12.8# and 13.4# respectively, both between 7 and 12 months of age and were in good health at the time of cull.
Would I expect them to live a dozen years, as some chicken breeds do??? Absolutely not, but they aren't Replicants ala Bladerunner with genetically programmed death dates, either
The further you get from that very specialized bird, the more "average" your birds will be in terms of weight, health, and lifespan until you go to the opposite end with commercial layers like the Golden Comet, another purpose-bred hybrid, producing massive and frequent eggs relative to body size, beginning at very young age. They, like their CornishX opposite, "burn the candle at both ends".
*contra the beliefs of some posters, I'm not talking about a starvation diet here, I'm talking about not offering your CornishX the equivalent of a 24/7 snack bar of doritos, sour cream, cheese dip, barbq, and beer at arms reach - rather I mean regular feeding times of measured portions appropriate to body weight and activity level.
There are uses for (loosely) "starvation" diets for some CornishX management - I'm told - but they are highly specialized and beyond my experience. Just as not feeding a bird for two days before slaughter can make the process less messy for the butcher.
