Chickens often die shortly after mating. At least, the one I fucked did.
Comment on 4202 g
Mighty@lemmy.world 9 months ago
this chicken is probably less than 2 years old. chickens could live for 10years if they’d be left alone.
JustMy2c@lemm.ee 9 months ago
No. It is much, much, much worse.
I quote :
Broilers chickens are specially bred for fast growth and slaughtered when they weigh approximately four pounds, usually between seven and nine weeks of age. Birds between 12 and 20 weeks of age, typically weighing between five and ten pounds, are called roasters
eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
I don’t think chickens raised for meat live anywhere near 2 years. Yeah, a quick google shows around a 2 month harvest time for chickens raised for meat. That’s a big part of why chickens are such amazing creatures and make such an affordable protein source, they can be sustainably* harvested year round. (Sustainably as in without decreasing the size of your flock.)
Laying hens are productive for two to three years. They rarely make it into the human food supply though, after that long the texture and flavor of the meat changes and American consumers don’t prefer it. You can probably get them through a local butcher shop, though they might have to order it for you.
In a small and well managed flock, chickens can live 6 to 8 years. In the wild, I don’t think modern chickens would exist at all. Ask anyone who’s kept chickens, keeping the hawks and foxes and raccoons etc. out of them is a constant and eternal struggle.
CADmonkey@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Two things I have learned as a chicken weirdo:
1.) Get dark colored chickens
2.) Get a big mean rooster.
I haven’t lost a chicken so far, but I have seen my bigass stupidly brave rooster take on all comers, he has defeated squirrels, snakes, frogs, mice, and a gopher that was apparently pretty bad at making connections. I’ve watched him chase off a cat and a pretty good sized dog. Foghorn Leghorn is more accurate than I realized.
But more than his incredible dinosaur kung-fu is that he is smart, and communicates with his hens. He will tell them to shelter in the coop, and they will run and hide. A hawk isn’t going to want to deal with 15 pounds of land-bird standing in a small doorway.
For the color, a black or gray chicken will be harder to see against the ground than a white one. Also, I think they look cooler than plain white chickens.
Stubb@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
Surprisingly relevant lol
MeanEYE@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Ideal period is 7 weeks. Anything below that is not meaty enough, anything above is too old and stringy meat.