Breeds for butchering

[Nikki28]

Okay so i am new to all of this....

I currently have 6 Red Star pullets (are these also called Red Sex-Link?)

We have been discussing getting meat birds in the Spring so I had a few questions.

1) I live at over 5,000 feet elevation and I heard that you should not have cornish x crosses at that level. Does any one who lives at over 5,000 feet have any experience with cornish x's?

2) The freakishly fast rate at which they (cornish X) grow kind of bothers me. I am also looking into Dark Cornish and White Rocks to use as meat birds. I also like the aspect of having them reach processing age at different times. Any thoughts or suggestions? Any other breeds I should consider?

Any and all shared experience and suggestions are great appreciated!

Thanks for your time!

-Nikki

 

[dangerouschicken]

I think most people here would suggest Freedom Rangers to you. They are also meat birds, but they grow at a slower rate and are great for free ranging, as well. Also called Colored Rangers....

These folks have them and a good reputation to boot! http://www.jmhatchery.com/

 

[Nikki28]

Quote:
Hmmmm I'll do more research. Thanks! Unfortunately I can't have free ranging chickens

due to my agreement with the landlords and an ungodly amount of coyotes that visit our yard nightly (our neighbor collects cats and has around 30 at any given time so its a buffet for the coyotes)

any way the chickens will have a large fenced area to run around in I will def. check into this breed thanks!

 

[tackyrama]

I hear a lot of good about the Freedom Rangers, Haven't tried them yet. I am happy with the buff orpingtons I raised. They are cold hardy, docile birds. They do not grow as fast as the rock cornish crosses. The buffs I put in the freezer went from 6- 8+ pounds. Tasted great too.

A friend of mine raised some rock cornish and they grow freaky fast. If you wait too long they get health problems, broken legs, heart attacks etc. Not for me.

 

[Nikki28]

Quote:
How long did it take for your buffs to reach that size?

I know the rock cornish X just seem very unnatural

 

[tackyrama]

Quote:
How long did it take for your buffs to reach that size?

I know the rock cornish X just seem very unnatural

4+ months to reach that size. I didn't feed them much as they are free range so I didn't care how long I waited to butcher them. I didn't know what to expect about the quality being free ranged for that long. I can tell you on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being store bought rock-cornish they rated 9+ and VERY tasty. I let them age (relax) for one day then brined them for a day (1 cup salt 1 gal water). I have a friend who put his immediatly in the freezer after butchering and he reported some toughness and only ok for quality. I still have 5 or 6 buff orp roos to put in the freezer but I ran into some health issues and couldn't get it done. First January thaw they're in the freezer and I know I won't have to worry about the quality.