Breeding meat birds question!

[smoore7489]

So this year will be the first year I'm wanting to raise birds for their meat. Im not a fan of Cornish X so I've been looking into other types and what they're bred with. I currently have Orpingtons and Wyandotte. The roos i have are mixed breed with the top roo being HUGE and a cross between barred rock, orp, and Rhode Island red. Other roo is his offspring from a orp mom. The other two are just mixed Easter Eggers... but have to say they are bigger than most Easter Eggers I've seen (idk the mix, just that the mom was EE)
With these breeds in mind, if I hatched this barnyard mix, do you think I'll be able to produce decent looking meat birds? I'm hoping to sell so the "looks" will mean a bunch.
I was hoping to shave some pennies and hatch instead of buying mainly chicks.
I can post pictures if that will help more. And can keep up to date if there's much interest in this. (Still will probably hatch 25ish chicks as an experiment but I was wanting to know some expert opinions on what to expect)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

See how skinny my 22-week cull Australorp cockerel was?

I think I have that crockpot, actually.

That's a very reasonable amount of fat around the heart, good color to the fat at the edge of the keel and along the inside of the thigh. Smooth, glossy, consistent liver color. I'd be proud to serve that bird up as one of mine. Looks quite healthy, apart from the fact that its headless and disrobed.

 

[3KillerBs]

See how skinny my 22-week cull Australorp cockerel was?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

So this year will be the first year I'm wanting to raise birds for their meat. Im not a fan of Cornish X so I've been looking into other types and what they're bred with. I currently have Orpingtons and Wyandotte. The roos i have are mixed breed with the top roo being HUGE and a cross between barred rock, orp, and Rhode Island red. Other roo is his offspring from a orp mom. The other two are just mixed Easter Eggers... but have to say they are bigger than most Easter Eggers I've seen (idk the mix, just that the mom was EE)
With these breeds in mind, if I hatched this barnyard mix, do you think I'll be able to produce decent looking meat birds? I'm hoping to sell so the "looks" will mean a bunch.
I was hoping to shave some pennies and hatch instead of buying mainly chicks.
I can post pictures if that will help more. And can keep up to date if there's much interest in this. (Still will probably hatch 25ish chicks as an experiment but I was wanting to know some expert opinions on what to expect)

NO.
See my culling project.

EE are mixes. Mixes of mixes are the genetic blender. Entirely unpredictable results ensue. My experience with Wyans has not produced large birds, while Orps (I understand, have not owned) are a lot of feather though they do get quite big.

Setting that aside, nothing is as feed efficient, or get so large so quickly as a CX. They dominate the industry because nothing other than another line of CX can compete with them. Other birds, eventually, may get as big as an 8 week CX - but the longer time period adds cost, adds risk, adds flavor, and greatly detracts from tenderness.

Also, you say "huge". WHAT DO THEY WEIGH? I have a huge Roo, "Ugly" who is a one year old barnyard mix with Brahma (themselves not small birds) and a large Roo, "RUG" (Rooster of Unknown Genetics). I weighed him yesterday. 6.3# Yet he visually is much larger than heavier birds. They eyes decieve - its the feathering.

Do run your 25 bird experiment, and capture the info on a thread for us here - it would benefit the community.

/edit and for what its worth, I've had a few CX, never again. I know what I'm giving up, and I'm ok with that.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

NO.
See my culling project.

EE are mixes. Mixes of mixes are the genetic blender. Entirely unpredictable results ensue. My experience with Wyans has not produced large birds, while Orps (I understand, have not owned) are a lot of feather though they do get quite big.

Setting that aside, nothing is as feed efficient, or get so large so quickly as a CX. They dominate the industry because nothing other than another line of CX can compete with them. Other birds, eventually, may get as big as an 8 week CX - but the longer time period adds cost, adds risk, adds flavor, and greatly detracts from tenderness.

Also, you say "huge". WHAT DO THEY WEIGH? I have a huge Roo, "Ugly" who is a one year old barnyard mix with Brahma (themselves not small birds) and a large Roo, "RUG" (Rooster of Unknown Genetics). I weighed him yesterday. 6.3# Yet he visually is much larger than heavier birds. They eyes decieve - its the feathering.

Do run your 25 bird experiment, and capture the info on a thread for us here - it would benefit the community.

/edit and for what its worth, I've had a few CX, never again. I know what I'm giving up, and I'm ok with that.

What I was getting at ^

 

[3KillerBs]

I hatched this barnyard mix, do you think I'll be able to produce decent looking meat birds? I'm hoping to sell so the "looks" will mean a bunch.

In a word, no.

There might be a niche market for pasture-raised "ranger" type meat birds in your area or there might not. There is only very rarely a TINY niche market for dual-purpose cockerels raised for meat in certain ethnic enclaves where they have to have a more mature bird for traditional specialty dishes.

The general market, even those who want a locally-produced bird, isn't going to want a skinny, undersized dual-purpose cockerel who cooks up tough because he's older than the usual 5-8 weeks of the grocery store Cornish X.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

It doesn't really matter the looks of the bird. If they are meat bird they just need to dress out respectively. Just because a bird is huge doesn't mean he is a good meat bird. I had a giant back legshan rooster.. awful meat bird.

 

[3KillerBs]

I think I have that crockpot, actually.

That's a very reasonable amount of fat around the heart, good color to the fat at the edge of the keel and along the inside of the thigh. Smooth, glossy, consistent liver color. I'd be proud to serve that bird up as one of mine. Looks quite healthy, apart from the fact that its headless and disrobed.

Oh yes, nothing wrong with Yellow in terms of health and vigor.

He was just very bad type for an Australorp and didn't sell as a lawn ornament.

 

[Ridgerunner]

With these breeds in mind, if I hatched this barnyard mix, do you think I'll be able to produce decent looking meat birds? I'm hoping to sell so the "looks" will mean a bunch.

I'm mainly going to agree with the others. The CX are the ones you buy in the store for a reason. They grow fast and have a great food to meat conversion rate. The carcasses are what many people expect a meat chicken to look like. They are butchered so young they can be cooked with any method though they may get "mushy" if you use certain slow moist cooking methods. As fast as they grow to butcher age you can grow more batches of them. You get a fast turnover. You can't breed your own.

The Ranger types are sort of like the CX. They also grow fairly fast and have a decent food to meat conversion rate but they are not up to the CX standards. They can be butchered young enough so you can cook them any way but may have a bit more flavor or texture because they are a bit older, especially the cockerels. Maybe butcher at 12 weeks instead of 6 to 8, so half as many batches. Breeding your own is extremely challenging and not usually that successful.

Dual Purpose chickens are going to grow fairly slowly compared to the others and they will not get nearly as big no matter how long you wait to butcher. The carcass will most likely be mostly dark meat, not the nice breasts the others can develop. To get much meat in them you have to wait to butcher so you may be limited in how you can cook them. The pullets are going to be really small compared to the cockerels. With the CX and Rangers the pullets are smaller than the cockerels but can still be decent sized. You can breed your own dual purpose. I personally like to raise and eat dual purpose but I'm not raising them to sell.

If you are planning on selling meat, you cannot compete with the professionals. Theirs is a finely tuned mass-production machine, from laying eggs to hatch to marketing. You can't meet their prices. You need to find your niche so you can charge prices to support your operation. Marketing may be your biggest challenge. You also need to know the laws and regulations for selling meat where you are. Your operation is probably going to be too small for the Feds to be interested but each state, city, or county may have their own rules. If you know the requirements you may be able to design your business to avoid many of those.

Still will probably hatch 25ish chicks as an experiment but I was wanting to know some expert opinions on what to expect

I strongly agree with trying it yourself so you can see what you are dealing with. Don't trust some stranger like me over the internet, see for yourself. And trust yourself.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The closest you will come to the CX are the Ranger types. A few years ago the alternate were all called Rangers but it seems some hatcheries are now offering others often called some type of broilers that are Ranger types. Those Ginger Broilers look interesting.

If you can my suggestion is to raise a few different broilers and rangers side by side. Try to raise them under as much the same conditions as you can. Same time of year, same food, same housing, same butcher date. Your conditions and methods are unique to you. Your results will be different from mine. See which ones work best for you.