I love chickens. Well I love all feathered creatures. I must admit that I have no idea why I love these creatures so much but I guess its because maybe they are fascinating.
In my house, I have turkeys, ducks, chickens and of course guinea fowls, They are my passion! I spend my early hours each day just watching and caring for them! I have gained massive experience from the years that I have been keeping these birds. You have to trust me because I have been doing this for FOURTEEN years. Of course you read right.
Chickens remain the favorite bird of most people. They are easy to raise and have a fairly balanced temperament making them ideal to keep as both pest and for meat. However like all other pets and farm animals, people tend to wonder when the creature will mature. When it comes to chickens and most poultry, maturity can be classified into two.
Sexual maturity: This is the stage that the chicken becomes sexually matured. At this stage, the sex of the chicken becomes quite obvious. The cock's distinctive comb will thicken and grow. They will also tend to pay more attention to the hens. This stage in the cock often happens around the age of 16-20 weeks. Crowing will follow a bit later after this stage.
The hen becomes sexually matured between the ages of 20 weeks to 28 weeks. Sexual maturation in the hen is characterized by the 'heat cry'. At that stage, they also start following the cock and will give the submissive squat when approached by the male. A matured hen will start laying eggs even if there is no male partner to mate with.
Meat maturity: After the sexual maturity stage, the bird will continue to develop in several other ways. The ultimate maturity is geared towards the production of a better meat. The older the bird, the better the meat. The minimum age of a matured chicken meant for the meat is 9 months. The meat is at the right texture at that age. However chicken can be consumed at 6 months but the taste and texture may be poor at that age.
