will they get much bigger?

[tball]

hello, this is my first year for chickens. i was only going to have 4, hawk got one hen at 5 weeks, so thinking i could always loose another befor they grow up, i had to order chicks via mail, the hatcherys packing peanuts were Leghorn,(no surprise). I understand they are not very good meat birds, but i still was going to take advantage of "meat is meat". they will be 8 weeks old this coming friday. my older hens are 12 weeks ,i notice they seen very stand-offish and stay on the highest roost. Like they are ticked off! Today i let every one out for a while and noticed the roos coming up behind and hiting them behind the head!

And those little buggers are gettin on my nerves, will they get much bigger is worth waiting? THERE ARE 10!!!!

 

[Farmer_Dan]

yes, 8 weeks everything will still be babies (even the cornish x's really, though they are big enough to eat). You can always kill em and eat em at any age (look up balut if you don't believe me, really ANY age) however, if you wait til about the 6 month mark, you'll have a more mature and bigger bird.

 

[tball]

OMG........

6 MONTH

They hog the food , they bully all hens and are very un-freindly!!!!

 

[Oregon Blues]

Then butcher them. You'll get little Cornish game hens, just like you'd get at a banquet. Individual serving chicken. They are lovely on the barbecue.

Because Leghorns eat a lot of food for very small gain in weight, you aren't gaining much by keeping them until 6 months.

If it is possible to separate them into a bachelor yard, they won't drive you so crazy. If you can't, and if they are bugging you, off them.

 

[Bossroo]

Now you know why the hatcheries sex the egg layer chicks and destroy the males at hatching, or palm them off as packing peanuts. I would off mit their heads and make chicken noodle soup out of them sooner than later as there is or will be only a small amount of meat on their bones ( they will never reach the plump and meaty Cornish game hen's ( at 35 days of age ) amount of meat in 6 months or even longer, but they will cost many more $$$ and headaches than what they are worth. Enjoy your soup !

 

[Tracydr]

They will make a great pot of chicken stock now or in a few weeks.