Best meatie other than Cornish X?

[greyfields]

Quote:
Any purebred chicken will hit slaughter weight at 15+ weeks; but don't expect a carcass like you'd get from a broiler.

If you're really a foodey, then you need a 12 month old rooster to make coq au vin.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
They'd taste fine! But...if you eat all your layers you'll be stuck with icky store-bought eggs.

Any chicken will taste fine. Some are not considered to be good for meat, but it's not because they taste bad. It's just that there's not a lot of meat there on some breeds, like the light-weight layer breeds such as leghorns.

Even a roo that grows so slow he's 6 months old before there's enough meat to bother with, will be yummy and delicious cooked in the crock pot until tender, and makes terrific sandwiches, dumplings, shredded BBQ, enchiladas, chicken salad, etc. I'm not much of a soup eater, but for those lacking in imagination, they make good soup, too! If I don't use the broth in whatever dish I'm making at the time, I freeze it and save it for gravies, sauces, stuffing, or anything else one might use broth in. I never use boullion cubes, and seldom have to buy canned broth. The home-cooked is so much better.

 

[sandspoultry]

becky3086 wrote:
One more question. When do you butcher marans? How old?

One was about 6 months old and the other was 16 to 18 months old.
Both tasted great.

We like to wait until they are around 6 months for the Buff Orps and
the Marans gives the breast time to fill out.

 

[becky3086]

Very interesting. I have marans eggs in the incubator and of course, you have to do something with those extra roos. Thanks.

 

[Daycare Mom]

I raised slow white broilers from Welp hatchery. They are slow, but I didn't lose one bird. We butchered the roosters at 11 weeks and the hens at 13 weeks. They were still a little smaller than I would have liked (between 4.5 and 5.5lbs each). The cost was to raise them was $1.30 per lb. I still can't decide what ones I will raise next. I am afraid to raise the cornish because of all the problems I have heard about. Good thing I have until spring to decide.