There are various opinions about hybrid poultry. Some people like the fact that they are: efficient, tasty & convenient. Others consider hybrids to be: unnatural, unhealthy and cruel. Often the truth lies somewhere in the middle so we are going to find out for ourselves what it’s really like to raise these birds! Throughout their 8-10 week life on our homestead we are going to carefully observe and document their growth, issues, health, behaviours .. the whole nine yards.
One thing that has proven true so far is that they really do grow quickly. Their growth is fascinating to watch. Here is the first week in photos focused on weight and feather development over the week. To read about this project and to get our observations on what the first week has been like check out:
We will keep on shooting and weighing daily so check back for further updates along the way!
Day 2
Weighing in at: 2 ounces. No notable feathering.
Note: We skipped day 1 to give the chicks some time to recover from their travel from the hatchery to the feed store and the feed store to our house. What a way to start life eh?
Day 2: 2 ounces no notable featheringDay 3
Weighing in at: 2.4 ounces. Feathering on tips of wings
Day 4
Weighing in at: 2.9 ounces. Further feather development on the wings
Day 5
Weighing in at: 3.4 ounces. Feathers on wings filling out nicely.
Day 6
Weighing in at: 3.8 ounces. Further development of feathers on wings but not noticeable elsewhere yet. They are getting taller and more assertive.
Day 7
Weighing in at: 5.2 Ounces (a few are a whopping 6.1 ounces). I checked the scale to see if it was broken but it wasn’t. About 1/3 are showing the beginning stages of developing tail feathers.
To follow this story keep checking back, we will post regular updates on the website and on facebook. You can also find our observations of the poultry for the first week here:
