Best tasting heritage breed meat chickens????

[Jenlyn9483]

Hi I used do Cuckoo maran roo over DC hens for my broilers- I was happy with that but didnt get to do it very long before having to sell due to moving. I am now starting my new Broiler project I have purchased a couple DC roosters (babies) so I can choose the best one that will be my large fowl flock Rooster.
I am going to include a couple different hens right now they are still growin up but I have SLW/RIR cross hen which is very round and breasty, RIR/ BO hen, Delware, GLW and a DC hen. I also have a blk sexlink and gold sexlink as well but I only want a small flock so Im only going to keep the best.

I want to add At least one ROck hen and a barnvelder or buckeye and cuckoo maran- Silver penciled or whtie so babies will be sexlinks. ALso the Deleware hens will have sexlink babies.

I hope by March to be hatching my own from these and I will be keeping logs to determine the best way to go.

 

[flowerchild59]

Anybody else breeding their own meaties????????

 

[sgoff]

I have a few black sex link (RIR/BR) chicks that are about 4 weeks old. Might keep a couple to add to the layer flock, but am leaning towards feeding up and eating the rest. I know they are probably going to be skinny compared to store bought, but I think I'll try feeding the game bird feed and adding oily treats to fatten them up. Anyone butchered sex links for the table? How'd they turn out?

 

[al6517]

I raise Pure SQ Cornish LF and although they do take longer to mature they still have much better meat qualities than some other birds I have had in the past. I have also crossed many other select breeds with these cornish and although they were large and white I found that it's just easier to wait on my color culls to mature and either butcher them or leave them as layers to replenish for more meaties.

However the same results cannot be acheived through hatchery stock Cornish which BTW the hatcheries have just ruined completely by crossing in some many different types of egg layers, as is their practice with so many other breeds. True Heritage is the only way to go, you save time and $$ and your resulting breeding birds will be great birds to own for a nice flock.

 

[Oregon Blues]

[[[[[[.......Anybody else breeding their own meaties????????.....]]]]]]]

I am, but they are ducks.

8 pounds (live) at 8 weeks, no leg problems, no heart problems, can live for many years with no health issues. Taste better, too.

 

[flowerchild59]

Anyone using Lafleche chickens as meatie crosses?

 

[al6517]

Quote:
I can't even say Lafleche, how do I hold my lip's when I say that fancy word LOL.

 

[draye]

Quote:
Anything I don't want to keep or sell turn out to be my meaties. All but 3 to 4 of my chickens are hatchery based, but that really doen't matter to me. When wee butcher we just preassureize the chickens and can it in jars for casseroles and dumpling and such as that. When I want fried chicken I go to Popeye's or KFC.

 

[gootziecat]

I'm interested in raising some meat birds next year and not Cornish X. I am also interested in a smaller carcass than say Dels, and prefer white meat. One person suggested Araucanas to me but they are difficult to obtain and a bit costly for meat chickens...at least for a couple of years until they proliferate. Has anyone crossed Welsummers with a meatie? What was the results? Just curious, I don't have them.
Any suggestions welcomed.

Thank you.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
I can't even say Lafleche, how do I hold my lip's when I say that fancy word LOL.