Are hybrid chickens still 'all natural'?

[Brunty_Farms]

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I don't know about browneyebuttafly, but for me those are two of the most important things.

As to saving money, if that was all that mattered I would buy my chicken at Walmart.

That's the same for me as money really isn't an issue as you can't even compare to those 59 cent / pound broilers in the store. It goes beyond price... but it depends how far you want to go.

Buster... I would try to breed some of the JM hatchery birds if I was you. Who cares if they are a mixed breed. They will be sustainable and the hard work is already done... just keep breeding for the traits you want... You never know... "Busters busty broilers" LOL...

 

[Smokin Silkies]

Yes, its always nice to save money, but there is also a line for me as well. I don't have to have chickens that are as large as the store bought chickens or as big as Cornish X either. I know Cornish X will give me more meat, but I would have to buy them year after year. Where as if I would buy the Buckeyes, I can breed my own and only introduce new blood line every so many years or whatever. I would still get a decent size chicken to eat for my family and wouldn't have to keep buying year after year. I am very new at this and appreciate all of the comments and suggestions. Thats why I started researching months ahead, so when Spring comes, I hopefully will know what I'm doing. I welcome anybody telling me I'm wrong or correcting me. It only helps me learn

 

[Smokin Silkies]

No matter what I choose, I'm sure they will be healthier to eat than the store bought ones I'm assuming?

 

[Ariel301]

If you're feeding them good and process them in a clean way, then yes, they probably are healthier for you than storebought chicken. Certainly it's probably healthier for the chicken than the way grocery-store chickens are raised, if nothing else. But that's just my own opinion. I don't eat any storebought meat anymore, and I think the homegrown meat, even if the nutrition is the same, just plain TASTES better. I just ate the best steak I have ever had a few weeks ago, from a Brahma/Angus cross cow that we butchered this summer. It was incredible, better than a $20 restauraunt steak.

 

[Buster52]

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That has been my experience. In fact, I'll bet home grown pasture raised Cornish X tastes better than that. I raised some Broad Breasted White turkeys on pasture this year, same breed as the industry. They were exponentially better than store-bought. We served them at various public functions and were told repeatedly how wonderful they were.

By the way, here is an article on choices for backyard meat birds:

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/4/4-2/alternatives_to_the_cornish_cross.html

Contains some misinformation regarding hormones, but other than that a very good article. Here is a paper on various meat alternatives, although a bit dated. Very detailed about the background for the Cornish X...

http://www.apppa.org/which bird.pdf

 

[Buster52]

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You know, Jeff, you may just have something there. Hmmmm...

After reading the articles I've been reading tonight I'm considering adding Delawares to my experiment. They were apparently the meat bird of the industry just at the time of the switch to the Cornish X. Maybe I will raise 25 of those instead of another batch of Dark Cornish.

 

[Smokin Silkies]

Thanks again! I know we are getting a little of subject here but thats ok. I read a thread on here a while back about Cornish X and how when they reach 6-8 weeks, they are eating a pound a day til butcher time at 16 weeks? Will that be the same with other breeds, like the Buckeye? See, I have a million things to learn...lol My feed around here is $13.50 for a 50# bag. If I order 25 (which is usually minimum) Cornish X....by the time they reach even 8 weeks, I will be spending $13 every other day on feed til butchering day which is????

 

[Buster52]

My 26 Dark Cornish didn't eat anywhere near that much per day even at 20 weeks, although I don't know exactly how much because they were sharing a bag at a time with my turkeys.

 

[dancingbear]

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There are several who have said they kept track of feed and raised dual-purp roos and Cornish X roos, to see what the costs were. Some of them said they ate about the same amount to reach X-weight, the Cornish X's just ate it a lot faster.

I have not kept careful track of my feed costs with different kinds of birds, because I don't separate them. It's not possible for me to know who ate how much.

It would seem to me that faster growing breeds that reach a reasonable weight (say, 4-5 lbs dressed) relatively soon would be best, but which breeds those would be, I'm still trying to find out. So far, none of my dual-purp roos get any meatiness on them until around 20-25 weeks. I'm hoping to hit on a cross of 2 dualies that will reach around 5 lbs (dressed weight)by 14-16 weeks. Time will tell if I ever get there. Meanwhile, my dualie roos are slower growing, but mighty tasty. Many are 6 lbs or more dressed weight. They seem to have a growth explosion between 18-25 weeks. They go from scrawny to huge very quickly, right about then. I have a bunch right now that were still gangly looking 3 weeks ago, that are now looking pretty hefty. Which is good, because they're now old enough to be a nuisance, so I'll be happy to get them in the freezer, the first day it's not too freezing cold to butcher.

You may already know about this, but here's a chart that may be helpful in choosing breeds to try out. I refer to this thing a lot. http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
Good luck to you, whichever birds you decide to try!

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Duplicate post....