- Jun 15, 2008
- 4,654
- 93
- 251
Like others have said layers are lighter and meat birds are heavier. Butchering layers will hardly give you any meat. Layers will also grow much more slowly. They won't be a large enough size anywhere near as fast as the typical meat birds. You also won't get many good eggs from 1 year or less hens. If your aim is maximum egg production you want to keep them through their 2nd and possibly 3rd year before butchering and replacing with new layers. Otherwise you'll be butchering them just as they start to reach peak egg production. If your aim is meat it just makes sense to get breeds designed for that which will be all straight run because you butcher them before they are old enough to lay, mate, or act like roos. Broilers are ready to eat in about 8weeks while layers aren't full size and laying until about 6months. It's not economical or smart to purchase layers just to butcher young.