Breeding meat birds

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

I've heard white rock are also a part of cornish cross lineage and ok meat bird in itself. I was planning maybe next year order some dark or white cornish and try to build a sustainable flock. First see how my CX go that will arrive in june.
One thing I've read is yes u can make a sustainable flock but if it dresses out at 12-16 weeks the extra feed makes sustainability more expensive. Nearly doubling feed costs and time to support the flock. Not to mention caring for a breeding flock and brooding equipment. So it is likely more cost effective to buy CX. Depends on your goals.

 

[Molpet]

How’s the breast portion?

Larger than heritage but smaller than CX

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

My White Leghorns are very small and I would not want to eat them even if I wasn't attached to them - they have almost no meat, except their legs and wings.

 

[Molpet]

I've heard white rock are also a part of cornish cross lineage and ok meat bird in itself. I was planning maybe next year order some dark or white cornish and try to build a sustainable flock. First see how my CX go that will arrive in june.
One thing I've read is yes u can make a sustainable flock but if it dresses out at 12-16 weeks the extra feed makes sustainability more expensive. Nearly doubling feed costs and time to support the flock. Not to mention caring for a breeding flock and brooding equipment. So it is likely more cost effective to buy CX. Depends on your goals.

Nothing beats cost effectiveness of CX, except store bought on lost leader sale. Hard to match 39 cents a pound at the store.

But most of us don't think we will save, just have better food

 

[RiverOtter]

@WhyDoILikeChickens , if you run the math, it is absolutely cheaper to buy meat birds and just keep a laying flock. Also, broodies are expensive, and I actually hate the trait, but I have some birds (again, surprisingly, mainly my Leghorns and crosses) who are hard-core broodies and we do agritourism and everyone LOVES to see a broody with her chicks, sooo.

But, to do the math, when a hen goes broody, it's generally on 2 weeks of eggs, so (for this we'll round down and say she lays 5 a week) , so you're out 10 eggs. Then the 3 weeks she's setting, and she won't start laying again until the chicks are about 6 weeks old. So you've lost 11 weeks, or 55 eggs worth of laying for, say, 8 chicks. At $5 a dozen, you can say "Well, those chicks only cost 2.88 each", but with an incubator, you could have gotten 45 chicks (figuring not all hatch either way) from that same hen.

And trust me, you're not saving any $ on not brooding, because if you don't put her in a broody pen with them, you're likely to lose a bunch, if not all, so you might as well plug in a lamp y'know?

Having said that, I'm expecting 15 Buff Cornish in 2 weeks with great anticipation. Not because they're going to beat the CX, but because they're beautiful, I like breeding, I enjoy history and keeping historical livestock, I have a kid in 4H, I like working with rare breeds, and I'll be able to sell hatching eggs in a few generations of improving them. And they're the only pure dual-purpose breed I've worked that actually deserves the name and is worth the work of butchering.

But straight economics? Keep good layers and CX. If you're near a feed store that carries chicks, you can raise a small batch every few weeks spring through fall.

 

[RiverOtter]

Oh, and I haven't raised White Rocks, but the Barred Rocks I've raised (from a few different sources) have been some of the scrawniest beasties I've butchered. I'd rather raise Quail.

 

[Molpet]

Last year mid March through April I had incubator running. This year I didn't and I just got the electric bill. It says I used 30% less electricity...

ETA and brooder

 

[RiverOtter]

Last year mid March through April I had incubator running. This year I didn't and I just got the electric bill. It says I used 30% less electricity...

ETA and brooder

Holy smokes!! What kind of incubator do you have??

I have a little table top one with no turner, and a tote with a lightbulb for a brooder, and together they're about the equivalent of 2 100 watt lightbulbs staying on.

 

[Molpet]

Holy smokes!! What kind of incubator do you have??

I have a little table top one with no turner, and a tote with a lightbulb for a brooder, and together they're about the equivalent of 2 100 watt lightbulbs staying on.

Just a table top with turner
But I don't use a lot of electricity
Refrigerator, freezer, well, wash clothes one load most weeks. Don't use the lights much. Charge the phone. Computer

 

[Circle cypress farm]

That's a big part of it. Also, they are light boned, so unlike some "dual purpose" breeds that get huge, they don't spend months building that big frame before fleshing it out.

But the biggest part is the proportion. Most dual-purpose breeds carry their weight in their thighs. They have scrawny little keely breasts. Leghorns carry their weight in their bodies. They race around on their thin little racehorse legs ... with all breast meat. And the majority of the male crosses have that trait.

When I first into chickens, I thought the idea of dual purpose was great, so I ordered several mixed cockerel specials to see which breed was the best for meat. The Red Sex Links (Leghorn parent) were far and away the best. No contest. I had also gotten several White Leghorn and California White roosters, and even though they were half the size at butchering, I was so thrilled to get something that at least resembled the chicken I was used to buying, instead of just stringy thighs.

I ended up keeping a couple of those roosters, mostly because I liked how they looked and felt like eggs were the way to go anyway, and to my surprise, all their sons were at least as good for meat as the RSLs, and sometimes better.

Of course, the next generation was all over the place, but one California White rooster, who somehow threw a lot of blue birds, his get kept a fast-maturing, deep bodied frame that was great. My profile pic hen is 3 generations from him.

I had a great line going from him, but the last 3 years have not let me breed as I wanted and I sadly lost a lot of birds, so I only have 3 hens from that line left. One is broody right now with eggs sired by a Lavender Orp roo, so we'll see what the future holds.

If I can find a Leghorn rooster to put with them, rest assured I will!!

Wow! Thanks so much for all the great information! Definitely a lot to think (and read) about before pulling the trigger. Should be fun tho! Thanks again!!