Are hybrid chickens still 'all natural'?

Then I guess I agree with your uncle.
lol.png


I'm not against small operators and backyard folks raising them. They do have their pluses. Just not the pluses that would make them appeal to me personally. And they don't fit my personal definition of natural.

They definitely aren't sustainable.
 
I think I will most likely go with the Buckeyes. I don't want to pay all the money for hybrid chickens that I have to keep buying every year. I want something that I can keep breeding myself and get the 'same' chicken out of it, and save myself alot of money. Figure it cost about $2-$3 each for a cornish x and thats not including shipping. I'd save alot of money. I still want to do some reading and research, but I think the Buckeyes are going to be my pick.....that question was in another post of mine
tongue.png
 
Well you chose a good breed. But keep in mind that Buckeyes are nothing like cornish x rocks (the chicken you are used to eating). As far as money goes... in the long run you may be sustainable, have a "normal" chicken, but you will not save any money.

Broilers hands down are the most bang for your buck. Period... it's amazing how they grow and convert feed to muscle mass.

If your main goal is to save money... don't go with Buckeyes. They are a great breed, I have started raising them for meat purposes myself but for a total different reason other than money. I know they will fill a small niche in my neighborhood. They are easy to raise, reproduce, and very little work overall. Reason for eating them...Well they are a heritage breed... more fuller in flavor and an overall different appearance. They taste better in certain dishes compared to the cornish x rocks.


If you want a normal chickens that you can breed year after year... go with the buckeyes. If you want to save money... go with the broilers.


Good luck...
 
From what I have read, I think the Buckeye is a good choice. I'm going to try some this spring, myself. See how they stack up against my Dark Cornish and the hybrid birds I will be ordering in.
 
"Natural" is a term that means NOTHING. I can feed my birds old motor oil and still call them "natural," because there is no legal definition when it comes to food. However, hybrids can still be organic. I think people believe that there are some magic tricks that go into big broilers. Not so- nor are they exposed to radiation, fed chemicals or any other weird thing. It's selective breeding. And while Cornish X's are a hybrid, so are ALL chickens, technically. A chicken today looks a lot different than a chicken 1000 years ago.
 
Quote:
Sure it does. It just means different things to different people. I've defined what I mean by it, and I don't feel the Cornish X fits that definition.

And a hybrid is a bird that is the result of breeding two or more recognized breeds. If you breed a hybrid, you will get widely varying results. If you breed two birds of the same breed, your results will be fairly consistent within a particular spectrum for that breed.
 
Quote:
Sure it does. It just means different things to different people. I've defined what I mean by it, and I don't feel the Cornish X fits that definition.

And a hybrid is a bird that is the result of breeding two or more recognized breeds. If you breed a hybrid, you will get widely varying results. If you breed two birds of the same breed, your results will be fairly consistent within a particular spectrum for that breed.

Exactly- when a word means something different to everyone, it really doesn't mean much, and specifically, it is completely unregulated when it comes to food, so you can do anything to it and still call it natural.
 
Any breed of chicken will give you a typical consitancy as they have been selectively bred for certain traits. To create a hybrid meant as a terminal cross to be eaten , with certain desired traits one breeds selected breeds to obtain it. If one then breeds these crossbreds , one will get all kinds of wild results. For obtaining the Cornish X the scientists selected birds for the male line of desired traits ( for all intents and purposes a breed) and crossed them with selected female lines ( again for all intents and purposes a breed) of sertain selected traits. One can line up these Cornish X offspring by the millions and they will be very consistant. Too, if one breeds these crossbreds together , one will get wild results . The Cornish X is a terminal cross and meant to be eaten , not for reproducing. So, the same natural results therefore the same thing.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom