Is Raising Meat Birds Gross? What’s the most humane way?

[_-Captain BRM-_]

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!

 

[orloffer]

What breed are you getting? Only certain meat breeds bred specifically to grow extremely rapidly and be harvested at a young age (e.g. Cornish X) tend to get the problems you mentioned above. If you get a slower-growing meat breed, or a dual-purpose breed (one that can be raised for meat and/or eggs), I don't believe joint problems &c. should be much of an issue.

Note that I do not raise meat birds myself; this is simply what I have gathered from reading threads/articles on BYC.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

What breed are you getting? Only certain meat breeds bred specifically to grow extremely rapidly and be harvested at a young age (e.g. Cornish X) tend to get the problems you mentioned above. If you get a slower-growing meat breed, or a dual-purpose breed (one that can be raised for meat and/or eggs), I don't believe joint problems &c. should be much of an issue.

Note that I do not raise meat birds myself; this is simply what I have gathered from reading threads/articles on BYC.

They would be Barred Rock and BR mixes. Thanks for getting back to me!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

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.

 

[3KillerBs]

I question if your source has any actual experience, or just an agenda.

Just what I was thinking.

@Tre3hugger has some excellent articles about raising his "clean, respectable" Cornish X in vibrant good health.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-x-for-health-hardiness-and-efficiency.76068/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...inners-overview-setup-cost-and-results.75951/

Dual-purpose cockerels raised to the age that they become annoying will dress out skinny and very much unlike a grocery-store chicken, but they will be perfectly tasty when cooked appropriately for their age.

 

[Acre4Me]

Meat birds -aka Cornish Cross with the white feathers and double breast, have a special place in poultry rearing. Extremely efficient at turning feed to muscle. Butcher at 7-8 weeks looks like a supermarket bird. Raising them IS messier than regular birds. They eat A LOT...they drink A LOT...so, they poop A LOT! But, they don’t seek out activity quite like a regular chick (after about 3 weeks of age, in my experience). One trick is to provide feed snd water a distance apart, so the birds have to get up to walk between the two. Many find success in restricting feed access after about 3 weeks...usually 2x per day for a certain length of time, and still get amazingly large birds. Also, the strain of Cornish Cross can matter. Some have more leg issues, as an example, than others.

you are going to raise dual purpose. Usually they are butchered around 16 weeks bc the male hormones can cause tough and stringy meat if they are full grown. In your case, you can ID males fairly early, separate them to a bachelor pen to grow up to desired age/size. You could feed them a meatbird feed if they are separate, since you will butcher them before they are full grown, but the extra protein in meatbird feed can help them grow faster. How much faster, not sure, but have heard this advice from someone in the industry.

give any chickens more space and the less messy they seem!

 

[Ruby Rogue]

I've never raised dual purpose chickens for meat. It's faster, easier, and better for me to raise a Cornish cross. They are clean and healthy when processed between 6-12 weeks. I would never keep or restrict one from living it's normal life through diet or exercise. These are the best meat birds, and unless you want a truly duel purpose for duel purposes, I couldn't recommend them higher.

A barred rock or duel purpose likely will never grow to grotesque proportions, so you're probably good.

 

[Isadora]

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!

Raising meat birds can become gross, but it's more how they're raised, not the fault of the birds themselves. Cornish cross are the usual bird to raise for meat since they grow the fastest. We are raising freedom rangers and we have them outside in the chicken tractor that we move daily. They are all beautiful birds.

 

[Parront]

They would be Barred Rock and BR mixes. Thanks for getting back to me!

Those birds will not be like what you are calling a meat bird. I raise heritage Barred Hollands, smaller than Barred Rocks. You do not have what are referred to as "Meat Birds" here. Your birds will not need to be feed restricted to be healthy. They will be smaller, but tastier! Any chicken can be eaten, your dual-purpose Barred Rocks will taste great at about 14 weeks old. Here is a 14 week old Barred Holland, smaller than yours will be. He was about 2 1/2 pounds live wt.