Belgian Cuckoo Malines - Next Generation

[farmerrick]

One of our young Maline Roos(16wks), became very lame for no apparent reason. So processed him @ 4lbs. OMG, the best chicken ever consumed!!!!

 

[ijon]

Chickens at Greenfire must be made of gold.

 

[Shellz]

One of our young Maline Roos(16wks), became very lame for no apparent reason. So processed him @ 4lbs. OMG, the best chicken ever consumed!!!!

How high are your roosts? Anything 2' or higher can be a problem for these birds. Just saying.

to you! Glad you had a great meal. They are awesome!

I had a roo late to get processed at 20 weeks, but he dressed out at just over 7 lbs, still tender & tasty!

We test-roasted a 28 1/2 week old roo as well & found that the meat was just starting to lose its tenderness in the leg/thigh areas.

 

[farmerrick]

I do have some roosts at about 30", I will address this.That was not my largest Roo out of that bunch, so will probably process @ 16 wks next year, These are now my bird of choice. We have 14 hens now, so should be able to put a nice number in the freezer next year. Bonus is they produce a huge egg.

 

[kiwijean83]

how many eggs per year do you get from this breed? I am so very excited to be adding them to our farm in the spring!! been searching for a good heritage meat/dual purpose bird

 

[farmerrick]

Ours have just started to lay, so can't judge as of yet. I will post when I see some consistency. I am sure you won't regret getting into this breed.

 

[A6chickenhome]

How high are your roosts? Anything 2' or higher can be a problem for these birds. Just saying.

to you! Glad you had a great meal. They are awesome!

I had a roo late to get processed at 20 weeks, but he dressed out at just over 7 lbs, still tender & tasty!

We test-roasted a 28 1/2 week old roo as well & found that the meat was just starting to lose its tenderness in the leg/thigh areas.

Do you recommend roosts for them or is it better not to because of their weight?

 

[Shellz]

They are a fair layer about 150-170 eggs/year. I find them to be perfect homestead birds for a small family.
I have 2 long roosts that are an even height of 15" tall. You could also get away with no roosts at all. Half of my flock prefers the straw anyway.

 

[A6chickenhome]

Thanks for the egg and roost info. They really do sound like the perfect barnyard chicken.

 

[Going Quackers]

I really do not have roosts for mine.. their is a low... like under 5inches board in their coop, they will often get up on my deck bench which i really don't like.. they are so big so that kinda of jumping down impact is best to be discouraged.