A Barbezieux Thread.

[KyPastures]

Hello to all that are raising Barbezieux.

This is an open discussion thread and is a work in progress for raising Barbezieux as meat birds.
Anyone is welcome to join in the discussion. I've only been raising chickens for a year so I'm a bit of a newb.

My plan is to eventually spiral breed also known as clan mating.

Hi Cody,
Do you still have some Barbezieux? I had some and would like to add to my farm. Predators got them. I got the predator. I bought my original from Greenfire.

 

[KyPastures]

I made an amazing discovery, I ate only the breast meat of the smoked Barbezuiex in the picture above and used the rest for a local favorite called Portuguese Bean soup. It was the best bean soup I have ever tasted. The smoked Barbezuiex replaces the smoke ham hock and chicken stock. I simmer the liquid until the Barbeziuex meat falls off the bone. The color of the cooked Barbezuiex meat is red, its unique in comparison to regular chicken meat color.

CNJ,
Just got a smoker, did some smoked beef, but haven't done a chicken yet. Are you still on the thread and do you raise Barbizieux still? How do you smoke a chicken?

 

[CNJ]

CNJ,
Just got a smoker, did some smoked beef, but haven't done a chicken yet. Are you still on the thread and do you raise Barbizieux still? How do you smoke a chicken?

I decided to give up on the Barbeziuex chickens, since I have limited space.

Instead, I bred a Cornish x hen to a Breese rooster and bred the chicks to each other after they matured. I kept two breeding roosters one had white legs and the other had steel blue legs. I bred the 12lbs white legged rooster to two white legged hens and the off springs had white leg and reached 5 to 6lbs dressed weight at 3 months old.

I haven't bred the steel blue legged rooster until recently. His eggs should hatch in about 5 days. I am hoping his off springs pull more on the egg laying Breese side, since my white legged line eat too much and are better meat birds than egg layers.

I am in the process of rotating my birds and will end up with 4 hens and two roosters. Right now my freezer is full of chickens and they eat to much. I will only breed them when I need more meat or better egg layers.

I use a hunter's brine I found on Field and Stream magazine a long time ago. 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup salt, garlic, black pepper, paprika and 1 gallon water, soaked over night.

I use the indirect method meaning the coals are spread to the side leaving the center empty. I pre soak hickory chips and put them on the coals as needed. I use a 3 inch strip of foil on the grill to deflect the heat off the side of the chicken, so it doesn't burn.

 

[MalSabreur]

Does anyone in the UK have Barbezieux please? I had some a few years ago but lost them to a fox. They are wonderful, big birds but I've not been able to source any more here.

 

[Perris]

hello @MalSabreur , welcome to BYC

Whereabouts are you and how far are you prepared to travel? There was someone with them near Hay-on-Wye.