Breeding for meat qualities in a sustainable dual purpose breed

[TimG]

Quote:
Yes, I read a bit about them. From what I read, they mature a bit early and are close in size to the New Hampshire and Delaware. They are obviously very cold hardy. They don't seem to be quite as good at egg production as the NH Red and Delaware and they appear to be rather hard to find.

If the project takes me down a purebred path, the Chantecler would be of interest. But, I think I'll be doing some mixing to breed in some traits, especially size and growth.

 

[saladin]

I'm at a loss if I broke the rules.

TimG,
As I read your post you are basically wanting to recreate the commercial poultrymans meat strains utilizing heritage breeds. Your strain might not grow as fast and hopefully would not have the health problems that plague the commercial poultry industry (meat producing side). Did I read this correctly?

Let me know and if I'm correct I'll make more responses.

Krys,

Glad you thought the name interesting.

Yes, I raise all heritage/ancient breeds of fowl. I generally keep around 500-750 birds: mainly Games and dual-purpose breeds.

Ryu,

Most exhibition Cornish are rather slow growing. However, not all of them. Back in Jan I was at the Lake City, FL show. A fellow from VA (can't remember his name) had brought Danny Padgett some of his Dark Cornish. They were 5 months old and HUGE. I mean fully mature. This man had been raising them for over 25 year. They were the best Std. Cornish I had ever seen.

I raise White Laced Reds and mine do not mature as quickly as his did (thought about buying some, $50 each, just to put into mine). However, my males do breed at around 6 months of age. Pullets also begin to lay at around 26-30 weeks.

saladin

 

[TimG]

Quote:
Yes, that is correct. I would like to be able to breed and raise my own meat birds. In my limited experience, the typical dual-purpose bird does not make a good roaster (either too small or too long to get up to size).

I want to raise a healthy bird and understand that this means I will not be harvesting my meat birds after 8-10 weeks. That's fine (and good) as long as it is not so old that it must be slow cooked in order to be eaten. Still, the quicker the better -- I do not mean to ignore financial considerations.

My interest is in sustainability. I'd like not to have to buy meat chicks every year. Not because I think it will be cheaper to breed and hatch my own, but because I like the idea of being self-sufficient.

Tim

 

[saladin]

Tim,
Forgot to add birds that you DON'T want to use in your project as they grow way to slow:

Jersey Giants


As to the use of Malays: yes, over 150 years ago Malays were used to add size to breeds being used for the market. However, todays Malays are not the healthy vigorous birds they once were. As a matter of fact, they are the exact opposite. There are a few good breeders of Malays in the States that are trying to bring the breed back to its former glory but that is going to take time. Personally, I wouldn't use the current Malays in any breeding scheme.

saladin

 

[Happy Chicken Mama]

Quote:
You did NOT break the rules!

Someone else did.

Great thread! I am finding your findings very interesting.

I am also interesed in creating a beautiful mutt of a dual purpopse bird.

Keep it up.

 

[mjjobbins]

If you could get a line of naked necks that was pretty heavy, they would have the advantage of not wasting energy growing extra feathers. Naked necks grow about half the feathers of most breeds. This is also true of madagascar games. Could mean a savings because of a better feed conversion ratio. Just a thought, you know.

 

[TimG]

Quote:
That is a good thought, but they are so ugly!

How do the necked neck breeds do in cold climates?

 

[mjjobbins]

I know they use them in eastern Europe for dual purpose and it can get pretty dang frigid in those parts. You know, the Madagascars have a pea comb, if that helps.

 

[yotetrapper]

I never really understood dual purpose breeds. My wyandottes grow huge, but slow, and by the time they are big enough to eat, to me they require a crock pot.

 

[mjjobbins]

I think I do. I really like the idea of having a flock on my land that perpetuates itsself. I do not really like being dependent on some distant hatchery to produce creatures that couldn't live to maturity even if they were allowed to. To me, it seems like something is wrong with that. That's only my opinion.