Americaunas as DP

[irf1983]

Does anyone have experience raising americaunas for meat? Any photos of a cleaned carcass? How long do you wait for butchering? Are the roos aggressive? I like the egg size for baking and the carcasses seem big enough, at least under the plumage.

 

[Buschie's dozen]

Roos are OK some friendly and others like leghorns flighty mine are all flighty but i did have one that was like a dog or a good barn cat would jump on your lap and everything; as for meat Ive never butchered a Americana.

 

[ChickyLaura]

I swear I read on one of these threads a long time ago that Americaunas were good eating. I don't have any personal experience, though.

 

[anthonyjames]

I have heard they taste similar to quail. I have some as layers but are only 16 months old. Not quite ready to eat yet.

 

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

I have a batch that I am raising to learn caponizing. I have several 'slips' (ones I know that did not get fully castrated) that I will probably be getting processed at the end of March. Will let y'all know.

 

[chickenaddictntn]

They make good fryers, I've got 4 in the freeze now but I do like the rocks best.

 

[averytds]

I've never had quail. Our extra Ameraucana roos have all tasted like chicken to me. Just free ranged regular like until we decide which ones to keep. I'm gonna say usually we decide around 20 wks and they avg around 3 lbs. This is say summer to fall, so mostly ranged from 4-6wks old and not as much feed. IDK whether or not I'd chose them as our DP breed of choice, but they're comparable to the excess roos I process from our hatched replacements for our mixed flock. DS breeds them for show and it's just easier to eat the culls.

 

[Illia]

Okay, are we talking about REAL Ameraucanas or Easter Eggers?



Real Ameraucanas are okay, they're better than your average hatchery laying hen, but not super. They only come up to about 7 lbs at full maturity, and don't have the breast meat like Araucanas do.


Easter Eggers are pretty good, though they vary. I've had a 10 lb cock before from Murray McMurray, and after 2 years of having a troubled hen, she came out to have a lot of breast and leg meat. Very nice birds. But, each hatchery and each bird varies. Some EE's are pretty small, and just as good as dual purpose as your run of the mill "Rhode Island Red" (I call 'em production red though, - nothing dual purpose about them anymore)