BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Turk Raphael]

Wouldn't you know it! After hours of pondering and finally placing our order with Cackle for 25 CX chicks now on their way to our house, Cackle puts them on special for next week for $2.00/chick.

Call the company. They will give you the discount. If the first person you talk to tries to refuse the credit, ask for her supervisor.

 

[dfr1973]

Quote:I've driven out to Luanne's a few times, and have seen all her birds in person. I was going to suggest her Delawares, but you beat me to it. Her barred Rocks are slow growing, but eventually get HUGE. As for her Wyandottes, I use her black phase BLRWs in my GLW project, as she is still trying to weed out the gold gene that keeps peeking through. Her NHs are pretty, but IIRC last time I was there, they were in the pen next to the Delawares, and the Dels looked better (to my eyes) for meatiness, and Luanne said she thinks the Dels are the ultimate in dual-purpose, based on her experience with her line.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Anyone have any info for me? Thanks

It's difficult to advise when there are so many choices and everyone has different expectations for their birds. It has to be your choice of which breeds you prefer that will do well in your climate, as well. Beekissed has white rocks that sound perfect, and those with naked necks are pleased with meat and egg production, and lpatelski has a line of very good meat birds. There are very good producers among many of the breeds, you just have to find a breeder who focuses on production.
It's far more important to find a breeder of a line of birds that was bred for production. That's going to be far more important than the breed itself.
You will never find a single breed that "Performs" as well as the commercial birds, bred specifically for meat and eggs. They have their issues, they are pretty well at their biological limits for meat or egg production. In a single breed of bird you have to choose which you prefer, meat or eggs, but a good meaty bird should be able to produce a decent number of eggs- my personal goals for my cross are around 200 eggs per year with a decent meaty carcass in 18 weeks.

 

[Turk Raphael]

It's difficult to advise when there are so many choices and everyone has different expectations for their birds. It has to be your choice of which breeds you prefer that will do well in your climate, as well. Beekissed has white rocks that sound perfect, and those with naked necks are pleased with meat and egg production, and lpatelski has a line of very good meat birds. There are very good producers among many of the breeds, you just have to find a breeder who focuses on production.
It's far more important to find a breeder of a line of birds that was bred for production. That's going to be far more important than the breed itself.
You will never find a single breed that "Performs" as well as the commercial birds, bred specifically for meat and eggs. They have their issues, they are pretty well at their biological limits for meat or egg production. In a single breed of bird you have to choose which you prefer, meat or eggs, but a good meaty bird should be able to produce a decent number of eggs- my personal goals for my cross are around 200 eggs per year with a decent meaty carcass in 18 weeks.

Speaking of good dual purpose chickens....you don't seem to realize just how fortunate you are by living in Canada. No, you don't live anywhere near Quebec but you have access. The WHITE Chantecler is likely the best dual production breed of all time, considering your weather conditions.

If you don't like white birds, cross them with good Buckeyes.

If I didn't love the the NNs so much for so many reasons that only those who have owned them can understand, I would likely have followed my own advice and before it's all said and done, there still might be some Naked Necked Chanteclers with a touch of Buckeye and a hefty jolt of Heavy Cornish influence waltzing around here.

I'm not interested in having chickens mature enough to eat at 14 weeks....If I did, I'd just raise my Dairy Goats and hogs and buy chicken from someone else. It would be a lot cheaper.

 

[DesertChic]

Anyone have any info for me? Thanks

If you read through the thread since your original post, I think you'll see that several people offered insight on some really good dual purpose breeds for you to consider, but as @CanadianBuckeye stated, breed selection is a very personal choice, and you may try out a breed or two only to decide that it's not what you were looking for. I'm not at all familiar with the breed your mentioned in your original post, so I can't offer any advice on them.

Beyond that, I'm not clear on what other information you're looking for. Butchering ages? That's also a personal choice. I'm really big on meat quality and flavor, so I don't mind waiting until 20 weeks or even later for the size and taste I prefer. Other people like the rapid growth of the standard or slow-growing Cornish Cross which can be butchered before 12 weeks of age. Just keep in mind that any bird at any age can be made to be tender and delicious with proper cooking techniques. If you want a little more info about butchering ages and prep requirements, PM me and I'll send you an article I copied/pasted into a Word document.

 

[ocap]

Anyone have any info for me? Thanks

If you have time.... another way to use BYC is to center on one person and their posts, find one of their posts and hover your cursor over their name, a drop down menu appears with one of the choices "all posts".....click on that and read what they have written
Yellow House Farm (Joseph)
Fowlman01 (Walt)
Beekissed

are examples of members that I admire

 

[Fluffyserama]

........................ Just keep in mind that any bird at any age can be made to be tender and delicious with proper cooking techniques. If you want a little more info about butchering ages and prep requirements, PM me and I'll send you an article I copied/pasted into a Word document.

that would be good info to have. I've never processed a bird before without the help of other folks who have done it many times before, both did it different ways and neither one used the ice bath I keep hearing about. it would be great to know how to optimize the prep.

 

[bramblefir]

that would be good info to have. I've never processed a bird before without the help of other folks who have done it many times before, both did it different ways and neither one used the ice bath I keep hearing about. it would be great to know how to optimize the prep.

Cooking heritage chicken means using old-fashioned cooking skills. After butchering the chickens should go in the fridge to rest for a minimum of 48 hours. Soaking the meat in a brine during this step is an excellent idea. I believe DesertChic soaks in the brine for 4 days (correct me if I'm wrong here). I also like to bring the meat up to, or very close to, room temp before cooking. Then when you cook it you need to keep in mind the age it was when you butchered.

• Broilers (under 12 weeks) and fryers (12 - 20 weeks) are well-suited to hot cooking methods like frying, bbq, and broiling. Most rapid growing egg production breeds (Leghorns, etc) are best suited to being broilers. Some of the more modern composite breeds like Rocks and Delawares fall into the fryer category.
• Next is the roaster (typically around 5 - 7 months old). They need to be cooked at a lower temp, for a longer time, with moisture. Brining is really a good idea if you want a tender, flavorful roast. Traditional roaster breeds include the Sussex and Brahma.
• The final age group is the stewing fowl. "Officially" these are chickens older than 1 year, but I would treat most anything older than 7 months as stewing fowl. As the name implies, they are best suited to soups and stews that can be cooked on low heat with lots of moisture all day long (or even longer). Their carcasses will create the richest, most flavorful broths and stocks while their meat won't melt into mush from the long cook time. They also tend to have more yummy fat on them too.

Of course, any breed can be butchered in any of the age groups desired. Just keep in mind the age of the bird when cooking!

 

[ronott1]

Cooking heritage chicken means using old-fashioned cooking skills. After butchering the chickens should go in the fridge to rest for a minimum of 48 hours. Soaking the meat in a brine during this step is an excellent idea. I believe DesertChic soaks in the brine for 4 days (correct me if I'm wrong here). I also like to bring the meat up to, or very close to, room temp before cooking. Then when you cook it you need to keep in mind the age it was when you butchered.

• Broilers (under 12 weeks) and fryers (12 - 20 weeks) are well-suited to hot cooking methods like frying, bbq, and broiling. Most rapid growing egg production breeds (Leghorns, etc) are best suited to being broilers. Some of the more modern composite breeds like Rocks and Delawares fall into the fryer category.
• Next is the roaster (typically around 5 - 7 months old). They need to be cooked at a lower temp, for a longer time, with moisture. Brining is really a good idea if you want a tender, flavorful roast. Traditional roaster breeds include the Sussex and Brahma.
• The final age group is the stewing fowl. "Officially" these are chickens older than 1 year, but I would treat most anything older than 7 months as stewing fowl. As the name implies, they are best suited to soups and stews that can be cooked on low heat with lots of moisture all day long (or even longer). Their carcasses will create the richest, most flavorful broths and stocks while their meat won't melt into mush from the long cook time. They also tend to have more yummy fat on them too.

Of course, any breed can be butchered in any of the age groups desired. Just keep in mind the age of the bird when cooking!

I have a pdf in my files with details:

 

[abbevilleoz]

We'll be doing 25 birds at one time. Do you chill the meat for 48 hours before freezing? Is this "resting" the meat?