"World's Biggest" Rooster Enjoyed A Good Life On Pasture

World s Biggest Rooster Enjoyed A Good Life On Pasture LIVESTOCK Miscellaneous Don and Sue Ritter have been raising big chickens for years but their rooster Big Boy outdid them all tipping the scales at 24 18 lbs He beat the previous world record of 23 lbs 3 oz set in 1992 The Ritters raise pastured poultry on their Sugarloaf Penn farm They purposely double some of their flock’s time on pasture to 16 weeks or more to raise 10 to 18-lb dressed “holiday birds” for some of their customers “When Big Boy reached 18 to 19 lbs we decided to keep him longer to see what would happen ” Sue Ritter explains “We weren’t trying to break any records He was just bigger than the others even though he was raised the same way ” Big Boy is a cross between a Plymouth Rock and “Giant” Cornish known for its large size He lived on pasture – moved daily – with supplemental feed just like the other birds Despite his large size he was healthy and got around just fine He was hatched April 3 2012 at Moyer’s Chicks of Quakertown Penn In September he took an hour and a half ride back to Quakertown to be officially weighed on a certified scale made by the Precision Solutions Inc scale company of Quakertown “Everything was documented with all the required photographs and video ” Ritter says It wasn’t accepted by Guinness however as they no longer monitor livestock weight records Big Boy achieved his potential adult size before he died when the nights became colder and the grass quit growing The meat breed is not meant to be long-lived Ritter notes Big Boy’s extreme weight may be unusual but the Ritters have created a successful market raising larger size birds for the holidays They personally prefer chicken instead of turkey One Thanksgiving when a daughter insisted they follow tradition with a turkey the family had an informal taste-off comparing it to a 16-lb dressed Cornish-Rock cross chicken the Ritters raised “The flavorful Thanksgiving chicken won ” Ritter says “It’s more moist has more yield and much more white meat in comparison ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Sue and Don Ritter Absolute Pastured Poultry 572 W County Rd Sugarloaf Penn 18249 ph 570 788-1044; www pasturepens com/world-record

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