Whats the best chicken and age to butcher and eat?

[XL506]

Hey family!
I am getting ready to order chicks from McMurray. I was wondering, what are the best type of chicken ( Best tasting ). And also when is the best age to butcher them to eat them? Please help so I can order soon today! thanks

 

[Alaskan]

HA! no one replied!!!

What did you end up getting?

In all my chicken reading it seemed like (if you were going to go with something non-cornish cross) that the Dorking and Speckled Sussex were supposed to be especially tasty.

Anyone do a breed taste test?

 

[silkiechicken]

If you do some searching, the only meat bird like the ones in the store are going to be the cornish x's meat birds. Dress out at 8 weeks for good meat. If you go "dual" purpose, it will be i12-16 weeks for a bird half the size.

 

[unionwirewoman]

I have butchered many breeds of chickens..and in my opinion they all taste the same . I look at it like this.....how much do you want to pay for chicken . You can get it in the store on sale for 99cents a lb , but it tastes like crap . We raise cornish cross (2 different breeds) one takes longer than the other to dress out at a decent weight . The longer you feed them to bulk them up...the more expensive the meat becomes . Cornish cross breeds are ready in about 6-8 weeks . Dual purpose take about twice that long to dress out at 4-6 lbs . Depending on the breed . I butchered a BR at 12 months and she dressed out at 3 lbs . It all depends on how much you want to put into it . Wait too long and all you have is chicken noodle soup . Personally I'd go with an actual meat bird , but I'm frugal . I end up spending more on my meat birds than I do if I would have bought "organic natural" chicken at the store . Just my thoughts .

 

[dangerouschicken]

I prefer 14 to 16 week cockerels to CC, only because they are older before butchering and the taste is more flavorful to me.

 

[tiki244]

In the McMurray catalog it says that Lakenvelders forage and have large breasts and dress out to be like a nice little game bird; otherwise the cornish crosses that take a couple more weeks to grow, I think process at 8-10 weeks

 

[Kelly1955]

Most chicken taste the same, I have discovered that they seem to get more tasty if you slaughter later. With most breeds i try to keep the birds until 12 or 13 weeks old. But the longer you keep them the tougher the meet gets, you wouldn't want to keep a white rock until it was 13 weeks, you'd be chewing on rubber. Over the years i have settled on 8 weeks for most birds and i get a nice compromise of flavor and texture. I have to say, of all the different breeds I've ever slaughtered, the Cochin is the best flavor, and you can slaughter much later without the worry of tough meat.

 

[kidsbme3]

We have bantams, and just killed butchered 7 roos. They were from last spring.... definitely think we waited too long! I know these arent meat chickens, but its what we were given. We just ordered 12 R.I.R. eggs egg layers, but do they make good eating?

 

[1muttsfan]

I wait until 20 weeks or so to process my dual-purpose birds, otherwise they are very small and not very meaty. I find good-quality Delawares to be excellent for both egg laying and meat production - Sand Hill Preservation has very nice Delawares for both.

 

[kidsbme3]

Have you ever dressed Orpingtons? If so what age do you suggest?