Meat birds

[NH Homesteader]

Dorking, Dark Cornish, Dominique are our primary birds. We have a roo/hens of each. We're super into heritage/rare breeds. Then we let DD choose a breed out of the catalogue and she picked White Orpingtons. They're pretty solid birds so we'll cross them in there also. We only have hens of that breed.

It's DH's pet project. That and our heritage turkeys. But I am a list maker, experiment designer, number cruncher type so I'll keep records for his ADHD self lol!

 

[NH Homesteader]

I've never kept track of egg production. I think I would be depressed lately, lol!

 

[NH Homesteader]

Cool! We had intentions of a meat bird experiment this year but the way things are going I don't see it happening. Plus a couple key birds died. Might do Cornish crosses again this year. We'll see. Might have to focus more on turkeys this year!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We walked into TSC today and the manager was having a CCX meltdown. She told us to take as many as we wanted, they were FREE! She said she had another shipment coming and they had to GO. So we took 20......got 30 more shipping tomorrow (Wednesday), should be here Thursday. I am officially an idiot.

I gotta kick this pig pen/Hawg Hut building in the butt.....and get busy on chicken tractors.

Dang it! I walked into MY TSC (I'm sure this store is rated the worst in the state - it's AWFUL) this afternoon too. When I first walked in I asked one of the cashiers to send someone back to get chickens. I go back and I waited, and I waited, and I waited and she never called anybody and anybody never bothered to come and ask me if I needed any help. So, I walk to the doors that go to the back and opened one and yelled back to some guy if he could find someone to help me. He never even turned around to acknowledge that I'd spoken to him.

At that time I noticed another guy back in the corner, that I thought was a customer, give me a nasty look. Turns out he's the manager and makes me feel like a heel for wanting some stinkin' chickens! AND, another guy, obviously a chicken virgin wants to buy Cornish chickens for egg layers. I politely told him (cuz the manager wasn't gonna!) that Cornish are meat birds and they likely wouldn't live long enough to ever lay an egg! Manager gives me another dirty look. Geeze louise! The other customer asks what I recommend and I notice they have some Barred Rocks and some Barnevelders so I recommend the Barred Rocks as the better layers of their most awesome selection of layers. At the same time I told him the Barnvelders lay really pretty dark brown eggs. The guys thanked me, and told me if I hadn't spoken up they'da gotten screwed, lol. Then they decide to go to the other (independently owned) feed store in town and buy some layers there. That got me a REALLY dirty look from the manager. I couldn't help myself...I had to tell him that's why people don't like his store. I did it diplomatically...got me the dirtiest look EVER....and I didn't get no FREE CHICKENS.

But, I did buy a dozen of them nasty critters.

CONGRATS BAY!

 

[NH Homesteader]

That story was kind of awesome, lol. Not how you get free chickens though! I have 2 TSCs near me, neither Is great but I do really like the manager at one she seems to know her employees suck!

 

[NH Homesteader]

Buff Orpingtons are supposed to be absolutely delicious dual purpose birds. I don't know about the rest. I would try some orpingtons as well as some orp/barred rocks personally.

 

[Mini Horses]

IMO we have to adjust our thinking on "size" compared to those huge ones at the grocery now.

All heritage breeds will grow out slower than the "meat birds" you buy and last 2 months. The trade out is usually the taste & not truly the size. Oh, I'm good with a 5-6# bird. You can always cook 2 of the 5 pounders to get more on the table. The crossed ones you hear in the 8-10 wk kill range do have big breasted features & often health issues.

A lot will have to do with feed, time of year, patience & what you expect. If you want 10#, you may be disappointed with your flock. If you just want a really good chicken, you have BO, RIR, BR....any of which are nice dual birds, if yours are the original "type". ( Many hatcheries have bred out some of the once cherished features .... size, broodiness, etc.) Choose the largest & best featured to cross for eggs to give the optimal chance for success.

I have some Marans and have read that they are very nice meat birds. Don't know. But, I know my roos are quite large, probably 11-12# live. In a while there will be some Marans crosses to be freezer camp boys. I'll report back, LOL. Mine are free range, also.

Beekissed has White Rocks, I believe and has said their meat is very good.

 

[Beekissed]

This pic will give you some idea of the difference. On the left is a whole carcass of a 3 yr old BO/RIR rooster and on the right is half carcass of a 5 yr old White Rock hen. He's not much bigger than the hen and her breast filet is not only longer but is fuller and that golden color in her meat shows the fat marbling within the meat fibers.

He's got her beat on size of his thighs, but as far as depth of meat fibers, she's got him beat...he's lanky at best.

Not only that, but she got all that meat and fat on 75-85% free ranged, foraged feeds and very little grain feeds, whereas the rooster had been fed on bagged feeds for most of his life.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

It's kind of a hard time of year to be a chicken around here...mine are just coming out of a molt and not at their best just yet. I've got some roo's and older hens that need to move on...I'll be giving them a month or so to get over the molt.

 

[Chic Rustler]

So maybe there's 3. I got all my buffs from that batch as well.

They seem pretty much the same as the buffs and br in size.