Best meat bird?

[LauraSBale]

yes we keep our meat birds away from the egg girls, and we feed the meat birds, a feed that is made for Meat birds. if they eat egg girl feed they will not grow the well.

 

[vortec]

Best Meat Bird? Cornish X Rock! No doubt, we dressed a six week old and it fed a family of five. 6 weeks. We will wait a little longer on my next flock but that is just incredible growth!

vortec

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
I've raised both the Roasters and the X-rocks.To look at them side by side you can't tell them apart.The X's grow very fast and are ready in 6-8 weeks tops.The Roasters are alittle slower more like 10-12 weeks for a really perfect sized roasting bird.If you kept any large meat bird past their harvesting(what they were selected for) age you'll develop problems.Raising them together would be impossible to sort out at the proper harvesting time.I think it's better to raise each breed at different times depending on what you're are looking for in a meat bird.

As far as choosing a cornish , a freeranger ,or dual purpose for meat.Your best bet is to raise a bit of all three and then decide what meets your expectations. Going on peoples stories alone you may get conflicting info.

12 on 12 off means don't keep a light on where they can eat 24/7 ,use mother nature,so they don't eat after dark.

Meatbirds and layers are best raised separate from each other.

You are embarking on a new adventure, and a good one.Once you taste the meat you'll know why we do it.


good luck Will

 

[Crazy4cochins]

Thanks for the info,I had the same questions.

Does anyone have any ideas to keep mine safe in their tractor at night? I am going to make it from an old camper shell?
Thanks to anyone who has ideas.

 

[pringle]

If u want a good chicken breed for meat i suggest u get some dark cornish.they are exellent for ranging becouse they still have a natural instinct to gobble up any bug in there path.they are a very strong bird so you wouldent have to worry about health problems.and they still gain weight pretty fast.

 

[NorthernHarrier]

I had concerns like yours before I got 20 Cornish Rock X's this spring. Here is what I have learned:

If you are in a cool climate, don't get them too early in the year. They will do fine in a brooder, but their input/output is amazing, and the brooder will get stinky very quickly. I had to wait until mine were nearly five weeks old before allowing them out. Luckily my 'brooder' area was very large. I would like to have allowed them out earlier, but it was too cold. At about 5 weeks and a few days:

I have a hot wire high and low around my tractors, and this seems to work. I don't freak out so much when a dog visits. DOn't let it touch the chicken wire on the windiest days. The tractors for this breed just have fence wire strung every 4 inches on top as flight out isn't going to be a problem. My other bird tractors have chicken wire tops.

Listen to the advice of people who say to restrict their feed, particularly if you are using a >20% protein feed.

Allow more feeder space per bird. They are broad, and at about 2-3 weeks, where 25 orpingtons could feed, maybe 10 CRC's would fit.

When I restricted their feed a bit (even at 20% protein), they behaved much more like regular chickens - curious, interacting and have recently begun scratching outside. I would have liked to have 'tractored' them earlier, and will with the next group.

Their growth rate is amazing. I will definitely be including them for homestead meat production.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

My husband always grew up with white rocks. They have grown like weeds and are bigger than all of our other chickens that are the same age. He wants to wait until they are 10 to 12 weeks old before they go to the freezer.

 

[the_great_snag]

I would vote White Rock, Delaware, or White or Dark Cornish if you want trouble-free birds that will put on good weight with a minimum of fuss and bother. They will grow slower, but you will get great birds.

Cornish X Rocks are the obvious choice if you want max production in the shortest amount of time, but they are higher maintenance due to their different feed requirements, the need to restrict their feeding to avoid health issues, and their general messiness and space requirements.

I always had trouble getting them to feather out nicely before they got too huge. Restricting feeding helps with that, as does high protein broiler feed. Plucking a bird that is not fully feathered is a special sort of hell.... trust me...