Best tasting heritage breed meat chickens????

[bigredfeather]

Buckeyes are a wonderful heritage breed to raise for meat chickens. If they are provided with a high protein diet, they mature quickly, 14 weeks for cockeral and 16-18 weeks for pullets. They have the largest breast of any dual purpose I've culled, and good sized leg quarters. They are also good Winter layers. Weather had been very cold the last few days, but for three straight days, all of my hens laid an egg.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
We had a person last spring that bought some of each with that in mind. But never heard back as to how the cross went.

Steve

 

[mstricer]

Does anyone cull their older chickens for dog and cat food? That is what we are planning to do when the decide to stop laying. We tried the BO's and are not fans.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Since the heritage breeds have been selected for egg production over meat for the past few decades I venture that there is littel difference in taste between them, provided they consume the same feed.

Since there has been no selection pressure for meat qualities: taste, tenderness, yield, etc. the type of diet and age of the bird will have a greater impact on the flavor and eating experience.


Jim

 

[sms1225]

Jim,

How will the diet change the taste of the chicken? So.. you are saying that the breed does not matter, but the diet is what matters??

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
Diet definitely makes a difference. We just ate some of our pasture fed, free range turkeys and they were the best I remember tasting in my life, yet they were the same breed that commercial growers use (Broad Breasted White).

But I would venture that breed does in fact matter. Our Leghorns ate precisely the same stuff as our White Rocks and were butchered at about the same age, and there was a definite difference in taste. I would be inclined to listen to someone like Steve of Sands Poultry on an issue like that, since they have raised a lot of different breeds for a long time. He speaks from experience.

 

[claud]

I've processed my extra roos over the years. I've had RIR and Cuckoo Marans. I thought the Marans meat was darker but I think taste was similar.

They take much longer to raise and the cost is a lot more than if you'd just buy meat at the store.

Maybe the Dark Cornish would be a better choice? I think I am going to try Freedom Rangers in the spring - it would be my first time raising actual "meat" birds.

 

[kenman]

I can't find the link, but a couple of months ago I read an article about a taste test comparing several heritage breed chickens with a Cornish X. All the chickens were raised on the same diet, on the same farm in Virginia, and were processed the same way (at 16 weeks, if I remember right, 8 for the Cornish x). The winner was a Dorking followed by the Cornish x. Of course, the Cornish was raised on grass in a tractor which would make a difference in flavor from a store bought bird. I've heard and read that the Dorking are excellent eating birds.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

But I would venture that breed does in fact matter. Our Leghorns ate precisely the same stuff as our White Rocks and were butchered at about the same age, and there was a definite difference in taste. I would be inclined to listen to someone like Steve of Sands Poultry on an issue like that, since they have raised a lot of different breeds for a long time. He speaks from experience.

The breed does make a difference in taste. All of ours birds are fed the same feed. One of my fav ways to cook them is boneless skinless breasts on the grill, just a dash of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, no BBQ sauce so you can really taste the chicken. Also there is a difference in the meat itself from one breed to the next, like the Dark Cornish the meat is finer grained than the others.

Steve in NC​

 

[sms1225]

Steve,

Which of the breeds you raise for meat is in your opinion the best tasting. Maybe not just one breed, but several that you really like?

Thanks,

susan