Broiler Chickens as Pets: We Solved Our Awkward Problem

Fifteen healthy, active and bright-eyed broiler chickens were selected, boxed-up, paid for and loaded into the truck for the ride home. It's only a twenty-minute ride, not too far away.
Well, maybe it was just a little too long to have a twelve-year-old empathetic pescatarian sharing the back seat with fifteen cute, yellow, fuzzy baby chicks..
Elizabeth started bonding, picks one and says it's her new pet.
One down.
When we got home, Wendie chose her favorite, named it and cuddled it close to her heart. Now we're down two chicken dinners.
Ten-year-old Carolyn wanted her own, so she chose a puffy cutie and called it hers. The kids' friends came over the next day and what do you know, all said and done seven of the broilers meant for the freezer were 'saved', given names and markers and became destined not for the freezer, but the egg flock.
Ho, boy.
Can You Keep Broilers as Pets?
Yes, you can keep broilers as pets. We know this because of last year's late-summer broiler chicken order when only half of them went to the butcher. The remainder were integrated into the egg flock thanks in part to two September nights of a rampant raccoon that took four of our ladies.
We had nothing to lose, so we tried the broilers as replacements. Yes, they're heavy and slow, but not in an unhealthy, commercial meat-bird kind of way. They are a NH Red and RI Red cross, chubby and friendly. We did alright. They survived winter and are thriving as we speak.
But to be clear, broilers are not the ideal egg flock bird. They eat a lot, are a little stupid and to date, haven't bonded with any of us. Do broiler chickens lay eggs? Oh yes, they produce. Quite nicely, in fact. I would say they're easily on par with our old Asa Browns, with 8-10 eggs coming in daily from a flock of eleven ladies and Bruce, our big rooster.
Bruce, by the way, was also rescued from the oven in that same late-summer batch.
Broilers as Pets

I'm smart enough to go with the family flow, but how about some diversity? A few different breeds, you know, ones that are perfect for our purposes?
It's been three weeks, and the chicks aren't so cute anymore. They still have to be in the brooder, taking up space in my workshop for a further three weeks until they feather out.
Their heads are maturing, their soft, baby-cute down is scraggly and sparse, and they aren't peeping so adorably anymore. More like an eek eek eek. And most importantly, the markings put on them by Wendie and the kids are gone. The plan is to harvest between eight and twelve weeks. All of them.
Our Fool-Proof Broiler Solution
But then, what about the kids? The point of this whole story is that we tried something new and it worked. Kind of. Last year. It wasn't ideal, but things turned out for the best. This morning, Wendie and I did the feed and clean on the broilers and made a decision. No more broilers as pets.
A trip to the feed store after lunch saw us picking up straw for the summer coop and run so the broiler chicks will be comfy, picking up a chock block for the egg coop, a couple dog bones for Bailey, some sunflower and annual seeds as well as ordering 6 new birds meant for egg laying to replace the broilers we definitely weren't keeping this year. None of the kids will know, right? It's just like replacing a goldfish left accidentally on the radiator, right? Fingers crossed.
Also, No More baby Chicks. Probably.
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Comments
Best wishes with the new flock of pullets! That is a much easier way to go. I have fun with the chick stage and around here we don't have many people selling point of lay pullets. So I either hatch chicks or order them when I need new layers.
Thanks for sharing the adventures!
Thanks for stopping by, and thank you for the best wishes:) The same for you!
Saw this post on the You're the Star Blog Hop.
We've learned it has to do with the breed, really. Most broilers are 'engineered' to be heavy and meaty, and this makes them have a tough quality of life later one when they mature. They are unable to walk and suffer from easily broken bones- Sound like your might be related to ours:) Best wishes!