A Barbezieux Thread.

[Kev]

Oh finally a taste test comparison, nice! Have you tried naked neck? Very popular in France too..

Wild taste seems to come up a lot regarding barbezieux. Haven't tried any yet.. only have one cockerel and 3 pullets.

How was the breast size though? from handling and personal comments, they seem to be a "thigh breed" so far. Also how old were the birds at butchering?

 

[madriver]

i've only had two roosters one at 5 months the other at 6.
haven't tried a naked neck.
so far:

dorking roo, marans roo, bresse roo, isbar roo, dorking hen, bresse hen, marans hen, freedom ranger hen, cornish cross hen, alaskan pheasant and a few odd mixes that turned out to be roosters all around that same age.

by wild i mean darker and earthier (think mushrooms) vs sweet and white like a bresse or dorking.
everything else was somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.

i'm thinking if i crossed a dorking to a bx it would taste like a pheasant.
i have that cross in the incubator right now along with bx x bresse and bx x la fleche crosses.

on the roo, not a lot of breast meat, a few nice slices, but tons of leg meat and all the meat breaks down nicely for eating and doesn't require picking or pulling.

careful not to overcook or heat any higher than 325 deg.
rest covered tightly for a min of 30 min.
I don't salt until after cooking or use an fat except cavity fat to brown before roasting.
no garlic because it dulls your taste buds so you can't taste sweetness... just my pref.
serve in its own juice with a hint of dijon stirred in.

one young roo can make 8 quarts of stock too - 4 qts from the head and feet and 4 more from the carcass after eating.

 

[Cody A]

Oh that sounds great Madriver. The dark meat and big thighs sounds delicious. I'll be culling in the next couple months.
Thank you for sharing this great info and posting pics. Your birds look good and healthy also.

 

[cutipatooti]

I am growing out this breed. How big are the hens eggs and how often do they lay? Mine are very flighty and even on a high protein starter feed with food available all the time they still pick each other's feathers and eat them. Anyone else experience this.

 

[madriver]

I get eggs that are medium to large. I have a hard time telling them apart from Wyandotte eggs. I haven't noticed them being any more flighty than other birds (at least anything other than Cornish which are too heavy to fly even young). I keep a few other meat breeds too Dorkings, Bresse, Buckeyes, La Fleche.

I've also not had the same issue you are seeing with the feather eating and I don't have them on an high protein diet. I wonder if its a different issue? confinement? not enough space?

genetics? the gene pool for these is tiny so I had to do quite a bit of culling to create a stock I was happy with. Up until that point i saw quite a few issues with some crooked keels and leg issues. The best stock came from someone in florida selling eggs on ebay that doesn't sell anymore. I had to breed them back to what I got from other sources to get something I was happy with.

how old are yours? they are funny and very gawky as youth but grow into exceptionally nice looking birds.

 

[cutipatooti]

I get eggs  that are medium to large. I have a hard time telling them apart from Wyandotte eggs. I haven't noticed them being any more flighty than other birds (at least anything other than Cornish which are too heavy to fly even young). I keep a few other meat breeds too Dorkings, Bresse, Buckeyes, La Fleche.


I've also not had the same issue you are seeing with the feather eating and I don't have them on an high protein diet. I wonder if its a different issue? confinement? not enough space?


genetics? the gene pool for these is tiny so I had to do quite a bit of culling to create a stock I was happy with. Up until that point i saw quite a few issues with some crooked keels and leg issues. The best stock came from someone in florida selling eggs on ebay that doesn't sell anymore. I had to breed them back to what I got from other sources to get something I was happy with.


how old are yours? they are funny and very gawky as youth but grow into exceptionally nice looking birds.

Mine are from GFF. That are about 8 weeks. I guess it's a space, confinement issue. I'm waiting for the next nice day to put them in their new coop and run. Lots of rain here lately, so don't want to put them outside when it's wet, cold and dark. I have had other breeds be flighty like this, but my favorites are calm breeds. I only have 8 so I hope I don't have to many issues with them. I will be happy if a get a decent trio out of them.




 

 

[Kev]

22% chick starter then 16% layer often with scratch mixed in. Zero feather picking, even when they were relatively crowded in the juvenile stage before picking out the keepers and selling the rest.

They were very flighty, as breeding adults they are somewhat calmer but do get nervous fast if they think you are going to catch them.

Eggs look small-medium to me, especially from such 'big' birds.. but then my naked necks apparently lay very large eggs- person who incubates for me(and others) makes that comment now and then. So that may be a skewed bias.

Not the best layers.. kind of late to start, they do lay daily but, they often just suddenly stop for weeks. Have been getting eggs from only one hen but the others just have not been laying for couple weeks by now.

 

[madriver]

sounds like its a space issue. they are high energy and even young don't like to sit still for long.
mine run free from dawn to dusk even in winter within a 2500 sq foot fenced area per 30-40 chickens. occasionally they will fly over the fence (4 ft) but if they have plenty of grass and feed they stay put. pacific northwest, very wet here but not too cold (occasionally freezing in winter) even so, their combs are huge and sensitive to the cold. if i was someplace any colder i wouldn't choose these. few things sadder than seeing a comb lose points to frostbite. i do love the meat. it's on the opposite end of the spectrum from bresse or dorking (sweet white) rich, gelatinous and succulent young roosters are delicious so keep them till they crow if you aren't selecting them for breeding.

same experience as kev mentioned. very late to start laying.

you also might try buckeyes too. i haven't tasted tested them but am raising some now to compare they seem more docile and hearty in winter. neat history and supposedly delicious. good luck!.

 

[cutipatooti]

Thanks! They are still on 23% starter. Defiantly active and seem very healthy. I don't mind them not being the best layers if they are a good meat breed. When selecting your breeders what do you look for. I assume size in males and females. I nice comb. If they have any white in the feathers I assume they will gone by the time they are adult.

I have a white bresse pullet. I was so impressed with the growth that I plan on getting more. I will try breeding my pullet with a bielefelder male for now. I'm glad they taste good. We are a big family.

 

[madriver]

they can either have a big upright comb or a comical one both are ok, there is no standard. i love the hens with the big flopped over combs. similar to dorkings.
i look for leg issues and spine issue, with such long quick growing legs and bodies you want them straight and sturdy.
the males are especially awkward young with the long legs and can be injured easily.

i crossed a bresse with one recently will find out in a few months how it works out. also one crossed to an isbar and it came out beautiful. both will improve on their laying ability i think.

i also just started two on turkey starter for their first 9 weeks to see if it gives them a boost - friends have had good luck with this for 'wilder' birds like these.

also make sure when you process them to make stock from the head and feet separately. there is so much gelatin in them, more than any breed i have ever seen. you can get 4 qts from a head and feet alone (a little vinegar, cover with water, bring to boil then turn to low for 24 hrs). then another 4 from the carcass later.