Best Double Purpose Breed?

[Coopacabana]

I want to keep the hens for eggs & use the roosters for meat. I was horrified when I found out what hatcheries do to the male chicks, plus I like how this is more self sufficient. I was wondering how various breeds stacked up in terms egg laying, taste, etc. I'm interested in helping out a rare breed if they aren't crazy expensive. I'd like to get SQ birds from a breeder, not hatchery birds. Thanks in advance!

 

[nicalandia]

you cant go wrong with the USUALs, RIR, Barred Rock, New Hampshire, Delawares, and their Hybrid crosses(gold sexlink, Black Sexlins)

 

[Coopacabana]

I really like Speckled Sussex, but I can't find a breeder anywhere.

 

[1muttsfan]

My favorite DP is the Delaware - especially the ones I have from Sandhill Preservation. The are great utility birds, personable, great layers and meaty boys. My personal favorite (socially) hens, speckled sussex, also came from there.

 

[3riverschick]

I really like Speckled Sussex, but I can't find a breeder anywhere.

Not a problem. Go to the Sussex Breeders of America website. http://americansussexbreeders.webs.com/
For show quality large fowl Speckled Sussex Tony Albritton in ID; Gary Overton in OH; Walt Reichert in KY and folk who bought birds from these three show strains.
For show quality bantam Speckled Sussex: Skytop Bantam' in PA; Gary Overton, OH; Adam Loeffel in KY; Rob Mongold in OH ...and folk who have birds from these strains.
Contact info on the internet and in Poultry Press newspaper. http://poultrypress.com/ Write to them for
a $3.00 sample copy.
Best,
Karen
and the Light Sussex in PA, USA

 

[Coopacabana]

Not a problem. Go to the Sussex Breeders of America website. http://americansussexbreeders.webs.com/
For show quality large fowl Speckled Sussex Tony Albritton in ID; Gary Overton in OH; Walt Reichert in KY and folk who bought birds from these three show strains.
For show quality bantam Speckled Sussex: Skytop Bantam's in PA; Gary Overton, OH; Adam Loeffel in KY; Rob Mongold in OH ...and folk who have birds from these strains.
Contact info on the internet and in Poultry Press newspaper. http://poultrypress.com/ Write to them for a sample copy.
Best,
Karen
and the Light Sussex in PA, USA

Thank you!

 

[Bullitt]

I want to keep the hens for eggs & use the roosters for meat. I was horrified when I found out what hatcheries do to the male chicks, plus I like how this is more self sufficient. I was wondering how various breeds stacked up in terms egg laying, taste, etc. I'm interested in helping out a rare breed if they aren't crazy expensive. I'd like to get SQ birds from a breeder, not hatchery birds. Thanks in advance!

Yep, you probably need to buy from a breeder to get show quality chickens. But why do you want show quality chickens if you just want eggs and meat? They will be much more expensive than hatchery birds, which usually lay more eggs.

You want a rare breed, so the Delaware mentioned would be a good choice. Buckeye or Holland are also good choices.

Java might be a good choice of a pretty rare dual-purpose breed. There are black and mottled varieties. The Mottled Java has yellow skin, which is usually preferred for meat birds.

 

[Bullitt]

I really like Speckled Sussex, but I can't find a breeder anywhere.

The Speckled Sussex is a pretty common breed.

You can see chicken breeds and how rare they are at The Livestock Conservancy website.

http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list#Chickens

 

[Bullitt]

I want to keep the hens for eggs & use the roosters for meat. I was horrified when I found out what hatcheries do to the male chicks, plus I like how this is more self sufficient. I was wondering how various breeds stacked up in terms egg laying, taste, etc. I'm interested in helping out a rare breed if they aren't crazy expensive. I'd like to get SQ birds from a breeder, not hatchery birds. Thanks in advance!

Hatcheries kill leftover chicks. Breeders probably also kill some of their chickens, particularly cockerels.

Chickens are also killed for meat. As long as it is done humanely I am okay with it. What have you found out about hatcheries?

This is from My Pet Chicken.
Q: What does your hatchery do with extra males and other chicks that are not adopted?

​

A: We do understand that other hatcheries may do things differently than we do--did you know that chickens are not protected by the Humane Slaughter Act the way other "food" animals are?--but we wouldn't be able to sleep at night if we engaged in those practices. The majority of the baby chicks that aren't adopted are offered up for auction near our hatching facility. A portion of the unsold chicks are humanely euthanized and we are currently working on alternatives for the 2013 hatching season.

 

[Coopacabana]

Hatcheries kill leftover chicks. Breeders probably also kill some of their chickens, particularly cockerels.

Chickens are also killed for meat. As long as it is done humanely I am okay with it. What have you found out about hatcheries?

This is from My Pet Chicken.
Q: What does your hatchery do with extra males and other chicks that are not adopted?

​

A: We do understand that other hatcheries may do things differently than we do--did you know that chickens are not protected by the Humane Slaughter Act the way other "food" animals are?--but we wouldn't be able to sleep at night if we engaged in those practices. The majority of the baby chicks that aren't adopted are offered up for auction near our hatching facility. A portion of the unsold chicks are humanely euthanized and we are currently working on alternatives for the 2013 hatching season.
​

I'm actually planning on killing and eating my extra cockerels. I don't see a problem with it if it is done humanely. However, I've heard of hatcheries grinding up live chicks. http://greenfirefarms.com/2012/08/the-case-for-inefficiency/

I know My Pet Chicken doesn't, but their chicks are also more expensive. So I'd rather just breed my own.