2017 Meat Birds - 6 Weeks Old

Well, we had quite an adventure last night that bridged over into a good part of the day today.  This kept us from doing our normal "Wednesday Weigh-in" as I was unable to post last night.  Normally I don't post on the weekends, so I'll likely explain everything that happened in Sunday night's post.

So here we are a day late...  Without further ado, let's get this ol' boy up on the scale. He's a clean bird, with snow white feathers, huge feet and red comb.  He has a red wattle, too.  Do you know what the wattle is?  The wattle is the loose flaps of skin that hang beneath his chin.  It is said that the bigger the wattle is, the more hens are attracted to him.  I read that the rooster's wattle tells hens (somehow) that they have food they are willing to share.  First, I don't know how humans figured this out and secondly, I've watched these birds eat.  I am convinced that this guy is NOT interested in sharing food with any other bird!

Up on the scale he goes...

This rooster weighs in at exactly 4 and 1/2 pounds today.

Here are the results from Week 6:
*Week 6 2017:  4 pounds 8 ounces
*Week 6 2016:  5 pounds 1 ounce
*Week 6 2015:  2 pounds 9 ounces

To summarize, last week they weighed on average 2 pounds 15 ounces and this week 4 pounds 8 ounces. That means they gained 1 pound 9 ounces over the last week.  That is a substantial weight gain. They are still 9 ounces shy of where they were at this age last year, and almost 2 pounds heavier than what the 2015 birds weighed at this age.

I have to be honest and say that I'm surprised at the weight of this bird.  We aren't weighing the same bird, but I try to pick an average sized bird each week and always a rooster.  The hens are all smaller.  I don't know if I've told you this year or not, but we always try to shoot for a 6 pound bird as they yield a 4 and 1/2 pound carcass.  We find that this is the perfect size for our family.  It fits nicely into a gallon-sized Zip Loc bag and the meat is tender and tasty.

I zoomed in on a profile shot of this good looking bird.

It looks like with the weight gain we picked up this last week, we are well on target and back on track for a butcher date perhaps on Week 8, but I'd say more likely on Week 9 or 10.