Anyone breed their own meat chickens? What rooster/hen breed? Why?

[cupman]

A friend of mine recently did a batch of cornish cross chickens and they came out very tasty. I am looking to expand my chicken hobby and was going to build a new coop and was pondering uses for my old coop. Yesterday we decided that it might be a good one for meat chicken breeding. He enjoyed the Cornish cross but said he wanted to try something else called a red broiler. I don't know if that's it's exact name but that's just what he's heard them called before. We are brand new at this, the idea being I would breed the chickens and hatch out 30-50 or so at a time, raise them for a week and then move them to his house where he would finish the job and we'd kill and clean together and divvy the birds up.

So my question is, which breed hen and rooster do you guys use for your meat birds? Is there any combination you would advise against? Any idea what a red broiler might be? Thanks!

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I don't think Cornish or Cornish X will breed naturally or live long enough to reproduce...I know some people that will just pick a "dual-purpose" breed, hatch out lots of chicks, eat the cockerels and keep a few hens...

Nothing will grow as fast as a Cornish or Cornish X....or be as freakishly large in a short amount of time.

 

[cupman]

Oh man, yeah I just looked at the information about Cornish here at BYC and it seems to be a lot more tricky than I was anticipating. I don't think I'm quite there yet on my chicken raising. Instead, can anyone give me good recommendations on dual purpose breeds that grow fast or that produce quality tasting chickens? I was looking at buff orpingtons but they seem to take quite awhile to grow. I have a flock of 12 birds right now, about 6 different breeds. If I just started hatching a bunch of mutts would they turn out very tasty or not so much?

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
I'm sure they'd all taste like chicken.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I've been meaning to try the "Freedom Rangers" but have been hesitant because of their combs--I'd like something I could overwinter a trio of....hatch out TONS of chicks in the spring & then let range until fall before butchering...

Then I was going for the Ameracuanas but only got one pair out of 30 eggs...then I was going to try RC RIR's but the person I bought the eggs them from had her hens all go broody and I'm expecting a baby within the next few weeks (our first) so I didn't want to deal with incubators & brooders and chicks while recovering from a c-section & a newborn.

Plus, my DH refuses to build me anymore coops and I've had trouble finding someone local to build me a tractor...

So I might just have to wait until NEXT spring before I try anything else.

 

[cupman]

That's funny. Well thank you for your help and good luck with the baby on the way!

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Dorkings! They are big, meaty, lay plenty of white eggs, go broody and raise their own chicks, calm and not flighty, great foragers and have the enviable reputation of being the best tasting breed.

I have a quad and an unrelated roo. My pullets have been laying me an egg a day till one went broody, I am very impressed with them. The roos are happily coexisting, are not inclined to fight and are gentle with their hens. I'll be setting up breeding pens in the next few days and I'm planing on hatching as many as I can this breeding season.

There is a thread on them here B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

 

[yinepu]

I'm working on it.. I have a mutt roo i am crossing with orpingtons.. and then going to add some delaware to the mix.. once we get the freedom rangers I am thinking of adding some of their lines in as well just to see what we end up with

my mutt roo.. he's a lot wider than he looks in this pic

 

[speedy2020]

I am starting on Dorking soon and like to cross with black copper marans.

 

[Oldfort_mailman]

I am hoping to try this new strain of light Sussex next year. The Roosters mature out at 13 lbs rather than the 9 lbs reported by the apa standard and my two four month old Roosters were both weighing in around 7 1/4 to 7 1/2 lbs. I am pretty excited to see what they are at five months old which will probably be my goal age.