How do Buff Orpingtons do as meat birds?

[ChickyLaura]

We just processed 4 BO's a few weeks ago, and they were very, very good.

They were a year old, so I roasted them slow. There was so much dark meat, and it reminded me of a cross between turkey and roast beef. Oh, so good! You should give it a try and see how it goes!

 

[Dogfish]

I have 13 BA and BA/BR cross chicks that are three weeks old, hatched from my own birds. I just got 68 CX from Welp today. I'll raise the CX to 10 weeks, and stretch the BA & BA/BR to 20 weeks, cull the roosters and see what happens.

 

[FarmerRob]

Quote:
I would go along with the above for the most part, however, I do have a strong preference for the Freedom Rangers. The extra time you spend raising the BOs or other heavy breeds translates into noticable extra food costs. The FRs grow out much faster and don't generally display the lethargy and health problems of the Cornish X as a rule.
I would keep my Heavy Breeds for layers and only cull them as needed to replace when their laying is diminishing. Then I would rest them, brine them, and slow-cooker stew them.

If you have the freezer space, doing it all at once has a strong appeal. It is a messy and nasty business and having to look forward to doing it every few weeks doesn't sound like much fun to me. Better get it over with. If you don't have a Food Saver to do a vacuum seal, it is well worth it to get one. No air in the package means no freezer burn and therefore longer storage.

 

[smauck24]

I have a nice little flock of Buff Orpingtons (plus an extra Barred Rock hen).


I'm debating either buying some Freedom Rangers (or other meat birds) to raise, or just getting an incubator and raising more Buff Orpingtons.


One concern is that we don't need *that* much chicken.  What am I going to do with 25 birds all ready at once?!


It seems (never having done it) that I could hatch six or so every X weeks and keep up with demand.  Then again, maybe it *is* easier to do 25 at once and just put it all in the freezer.


Thoughts?


Thanks, -Wendy

 

[smauck24]

Can someone help me on how to cut down on the cost of feeding these chickens. I always feed them all I can in scraps as long as it's healthy scraps and they still just devour the feed. Also, when do most hens quit laying? Thanks Steve.

 

[Foristers]

Thanks for the perspective. I think my numbers may be skewed because I free range my birds, and they actually eat very little (processed) feed total. I currently have a flock of 26 birds which go through a bag of feed ($8/50lbs) every six weeks - that's only $70/year, plus they pay for themselves well with selling eggs. By raising their chicks, I can sell the pullets at 10-12 weeks for $10 each, and eat the cockerels myself. I figure if I raise an additional 26 birds for 16 weeks, paying $11 for 50lb bag of chick starter, I only pay $33 for those 26 birds, not including potential profit on the pullets. If I ordered meat birds from somewhere else (which I have done in the past), I end up paying much more than $30 for 26 birds (CornishX) plus shipping. Then, those birds went through a lot more feed because they didn't get out and forage around like my DP birds do.

That's just my experience though, and it is probably skewed because my birds free-range as much as they do. I would be interested in the numbers you have come up with.

Same experience here as well. I raise BOs free range and have very low feed costs compared to what I hear about people paying for meat birds in just a 2 month period. I also have different paddocks for them to move too once the vegetation and bugs of one area have been nearly depleted. During the rest period for a given paddock I till in the good chicken poop and seed it with a mix of oats, buckwheat, vetch, clover, rye, wheat, collards, turnip greens, black-eye peas, soybeans, peanuts, etc. etc. - whatever is in season and whatever I have left over from the garden seed supply that is almost out of date. If a paddock is at rest during the winter months it will get seeded with something different than a paddock at rest during the summer. All of it provides extra food as well as a new home for new bugs.
I find that BOs, (because of their size, agility, and protective roosters(?) face fewer predators than a meat bird that are top heavy and sluggish in comparison. Just a guess though.
Also I very much agree that have a broody hen hatch and raise the next generation is so much easier than having to deal with an incubator and hand-rearing. It also costs much less and has a higher hatch rate and the new chicks learn quicker.
I also cull roosters (and older hens) one at a time and I can have it done (from alive to resting in the fridge - gutted and plucked) in less than 30 minutes and that is taking my time. I hear people say that the "set-up" for culling/butchering chickens "takes as long to set up with 1 chicken as it does for 25" but I can't imagine butchering 25 chickens in less than 30 minutes - one person.
I'll stick with BOs/heritage breeds for my little set-up. It works well for me still.

 

[Foristers]

Can someone help me on how to cut down on the cost of feeding these chickens. I always feed them all I can in scraps as long as it's healthy scraps and they still just devour the feed. Also, when do most hens quit laying? Thanks Steve.

Yes, very easily. First, read my post above and then the post of the person that I quoted. There are several ways to cut down on feed costs and I will go through a few: 1) free range you chickens if possible. They will find bugs, grass and seeds in a natural area to supplement their diet. 2) Ferment your feed. There are several posts on how to do this and the health benefits of doing so. It is also easy to do - just take non-chlorinated water (like rain water) and put it in a mason jar with a cup of feed and wait about 3-4 days. 3) Sprouting. Take whole seeds (like wheat, buckwheat, etc.) and scatter them in a tray and cover with a 1/2" water. When the seeds sprout feed that mass to your chickens. Like fermenting, it expands the food mass and enhances nutrient content. 4) Raise insects of some kind. Start a worm bin with tossed out coffee grounds, raise meal worms or crickets in a simple aquarium set-up of multi-tiered box. Google how to raise meal worms or crickets. Easy to do.
5) Grown your own feed if you have the room. I have a small corn plot and small soybean plot and I alternate growing wheat in the winter months. If you look at (almost) any bag of chicken feed the main ingredients are usually corn, wheat and soybeans. 6) Garden scraps. If you grow a garden give the chickens any tomatoes (and other veggies) with bad spots on them that make it something that you wouldnt eat. The chickens will pick around what they dont like. 7) Compost piles. I have seen Youtube videos of people that don't feed their chickens at all, but keep large compost piles of grass clippings, yard waste and kitchen waste. Not only do these piles attract bugs that Chickens love, but they also pick through the edible parts of the compost itself. Chickens love compost piles. 8) Oysters Rockefeller. If you live near the coast and like oysters go get some to cook. Here in SC I can harvest 2 - 5 gallon buckets worth in a day. So I make a day trip to the Charleston area and come back with enough oysters to last through the winter. I take the shells and crush them with the back end of a T-post driver and then screen it and the bits small enough become my calcium supplement for my chickens. 9) Offset the cost of feed by selling eggs. As talked about in the post I quoted from above. 10) Finally - shop around for a better price. People in this area are selling "16% all feed" for as low as $8 for a 50lbs bag. Good luck.