[westview]

Hi there, I am brand new to keeping hens (and this site)and could really do with some advice please. 

I'd been planning and preparing for the arrival of my lovely exbattery hens for a couple of months then a month before their arrival my hubby surprised me with a couple of very young 'broilers'??  Of course at the time he didn't know they were broilers, he thought it was a kind thing to do as he saved them from imminent death. Anyway to keep it short these two birds have been with me for 4 months now and they're more like huge white turkeys - plus one is now a very handsome cockerel!! So I have 2 questions.... 
1.  due to the size of my very amourous cockerel (AKA Harry), is it advisable to permanently keep him away from my batties (which are now in situ and separate from the broilers) ?
&
2. My poor broiler hen is getting all the amourous attention from Harry & she now has a nasty gash on her side as a result..... should i keep him separate totally???
As a serial softy I don't think I can bring myself to eat either of my broilers.... help me please!!!

[JayG]

Hi Westview; I moved your other thread from the "Welcome" forum and then noticed it is the same as this one so I've deleted the duplicate. 

[joyfull]

he would squash and injure the banties I'm afraid (think of a sumo wrestler and a size zero person  - now quickly wipe that thought from your head  ) so he will need to be kept away from them. Also owing to his spurs damaging the other hen he either needs his spurs removing or being kept on his own for a very long time. You could try the hen with the banties though - but keep a close eye on how things go either that or get the cockerel a few more girls to share his affections (after either clipping or removing his spurs of course).
As you call them broilers I assume you are from over the pond (we call them meat birds  ).

[westview]

Hi Joyfull, thanks for that.... As I feared he will never be able to get his wings on those exbatties of mine.  He peers at them longingly through the fence.....
I assume I'll have to get him to a vet to get those spurs removed, I think once that's done he'll be fine with his lady friend as they've been together from day one and are always together.   I'm not sure how long they'll live for as someone did say their legs give way in the end?? They have become a bit renown in the area as they're so huge... I'm from Wiltshire and thankfully have a large garden with few neighbours as Harry has a good set of lungs on him!!

[joyfull]

for some reason I read in your post banties instead of batties  (senile moment I think  ), anyway I still think he would be too big and heavy as they could have brittle bones owing to their previous cramped life. Yes meat birds do tend to go off their legs as they are bred to eat and grow as big as possible in a short space of time. You may find that you will have to do the deed (or get someone else to do it) sooner rather than later. Somebody on here tried to restrict the food intake of a meat chicken to keep it's weight down but this ended up with the bird having a heart attack bought on by the stress of not getting it's feed - genetically they need to sit and eat.

[Sassy]

for some reason I read in your post banties instead of batties  (senile moment I think  ), anyway I still think he would be too big and heavy as they could have brittle bones owing to their previous cramped life. Yes meat birds do tend to go off their legs as they are bred to eat and grow as big as possible in a short space of time. You may find that you will have to do the deed (or get someone else to do it) sooner rather than later. Somebody on here tried to restrict the food intake of a meat chicken to keep it's weight down but this ended up with the bird having a heart attack bought on by the stress of not getting it's feed - genetically they need to sit and eat.

Stongly agree!

[westview]

I've had these 2 birds since mid april this year, I assume they were approx 4 weeks old when they arrived.  I don't want to cut short their lives unnecessarily as the female actually produces a lovely egg every 2-3 days plus I am really quite fond of them now.  Although I would not keep an animal for my own benefit if it was in anyway suffering.  I do restrict their diet to approx 4.5oz food each per day plus they get some corn in the afternoons and a small bowl of their food for supper in their coop (I spoil every animal I get my hands on!).  Think I'd have a queue outside my front door to do the deed if they thought they could have them for the table afterwards - would anyone out there have an idea of the approx timescale for these birds ?
Thanks for all your help guys.... much appreciated... this forum is fab!

[joyfull]

I think Grannie Annie culls her meat birds usually anywhere between 12 and 16 weeks, hopefully she will come along shortly to let you know more 

[GrannieAnnie]

I thought my ears were burning!  Yes, Joy is right, ours get culled now between 12 and 16 weeks, but even without withholding food from them, you still get some that die of heart attacks. 

I'm sorry Westview, but meat birds are not bred for egg laying or living a long life!  Joy saw ours this afternoon.  They are 5 weeks old and nearly as big as our hybrids!

My Brian said do the best thing and eat them!  I know you say you love to spoil your animals, but with these meat birds, keeping them alive for too long is cruel!

[Casey76]

I have a a couple of meat hybrids which are over a year old, and Rosie was even a mum this year... however they both have good legs, and are classes as a "slow maturing" type.

UK broilers are a bit different and if you have a fast maturing type you are more likely to have problems with legs and heart failure.

[westview]

thank you so much everyone for your help..  Unfortunately the Hen sustained a nasty injury (from the cockerel) the other day so I separated her.  Then when I got home last nite I thought a fox had got at her as she was bleeding from her bottom and when I looked it was like a 3 inch round circumference of missing skin/feather and all purple and maggoty??? She smelled so bad.... Upon reflection if could of been Flystrike??  I couldn't leave her like it so called a friend of a friend who put her out of her misery.  Feel dreadful about it - but the Cockerel now has the whole coop to himself.  Will he be ok on his own or should I really be looking for a couple of big hens to keep him company?? 

[westview]

I'm still completely grief stricken about losing Sia (the hen) eating Harry is just not an option I could face.  Never would of imagined how attached one could get to a chicken!!!

[Casey76]

Sounds like your hen got flystrike.

Flystriek doesn't need a wound.  the flys lay their eggs on a dirty feather, so feathers near the vent are a prime target and then the maggots hatch and start munching.

Unfortunately with meat hybrids, they aren't too agiles, and keeping preened is difficult.  I often have to bath my two as they can't reach round to clean up properly.