Fast maturing breed?

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Mrs. Mucket :

I am another Freedom Ranger fan (for fast growth and tastiness), but I've also heard that Delawares and New Hampshire Reds can be ready in 12 weeks. Anyone have experience with them?

This June was my first go at a meat bird and I too shied of the CornishX. After some research I decided to experiment. Mixing "dual purpose" breeds (5-RIR, 5-NHR, 5-Delaware, 5-Buff Orpington, & 10-SLW) I ordered 30 birds from E-fowl. There were two “packing peanuts” too.
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They were all fed a starter grower ration (20% protein) for 4wks. Then I switched to a meat making ration (23% protein) for 12wks.
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$$$$$$
In my experience none of these breeds were ready at 12wks. I butchered 3 SLW and 1 Delaware (all cockerels) at 13wks of age. Feather pecking on only these four caused me to get the axe.
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The DEL weighed dressed out at 4lbs and SLWs just over three pounds each. While the SLW weighed less they had more meat to their carcass. The DEL’s weight was mostly in bone.
In my experience the Del while a large bird and rather quick developing bird takes until +/- 20wks to fill in. And they do fill in. I butchered three more DELs at 21wks and got dressed out birds weighing 5.25, 5.5 and 5.5lbs. With a lot more meat on them than the 3 more SLWs and 1 Buff Orpington I butchered the same week. I still have 1, the biggest, of those DELs (Leo) and he goes over 9lbs strutting.
The NHR feathered the quickest with the DELs being a close second.​
 
To your first question Mrs. B, yes, i have eaten all the DELs. One I roasted in a slow cooker (crockpot) with veggies for about 6hrs. The meat had a firmer texture then any supermarket bird but was by no means tough. or chewy. The meat fell right off the bone. Another I boiled until the meat came off the bone and made an excellent chick & dumpling soup. The last one ended up in the roaster pan with a turkey breast and a duck as the chicken in our family's thankgiving take on "turducken". A side note, at thanksgiving nothing was said about the texture of chicken and that besides the explaining to ladies of the family "How could you kill something you raised from a baby?" the only other explaining I had to do was why such a large bird (DELs have alot of bone stucture) didn't have the amount of breast meat they were accustom to seeing on a chicken. (DELs aren't CornishX) I hope this answers your second question.
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I have 10 week old FR and they have been feathered out for at least 4 weeks now. Most are a buff color, but a few are almost speckled, I can't think of the word now....but pretty.
 
I ordered a bunch of dark cornish cockerels from Meyers as my meatie bird. Since I haven't gotten them yet, no verdict on weights at slaughter of course. I went with dark cornish rather than cornish X just because they are a meat bird and not prone to the variety of health problems as cornish X. Also, they are supposed to be good foragers.
 
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Just curious. What do you do with the feathers?

I make masks, hat/hair pins, and many other things. I am a costumer and a crafter. I have always loved feathers!
We butchered our first surplus roos at 16 weeks (rocks and wyandottes) and I was disappointed by the huge number of feathers that were only half grown. The wings and tails could have been so much more useful if we had waited longer. That is my biggest concern, actually. The meat will make a meal that lasts for a few hours before you're hungry again, my feather creations could last for decades!
Just a few examples here. More to come eventually:
29884_mexico_etc_002.jpg

29884_im003602.jpg

29884_im003597.jpg
 
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Thanks!
But I think what you mean is you need a reason to wear masks, not that you don't need masks!
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My motto is when in doubt, overdress. There are too few excuses to dress up in life... especially for those of us who spend most weekends in stained farm clothes with chicken poo on our shoes.
 
Quote:
Just curious. What do you do with the feathers?

I make masks, hat/hair pins, and many other things. I am a costumer and a crafter. I have always loved feathers!
We butchered our first surplus roos at 16 weeks (rocks and wyandottes) and I was disappointed by the huge number of feathers that were only half grown. The wings and tails could have been so much more useful if we had waited longer. That is my biggest concern, actually. The meat will make a meal that lasts for a few hours before you're hungry again, my feather creations could last for decades!
Just a few examples here. More to come eventually:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_mexico_etc_002.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_im003602.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_im003597.jpg

Those are awesome!!!
 

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