broiler or cockerel

[obsessed]

hi,
I was wondering whether it would be better to purchase the cornish x broilers or general male chickens...

I was looking at the mcmurry hatchery and saw that you could get a mixed lot of males for pretty cheap.... but I suppose they take longer to grow....

so my question is what would be better...

 

[Cuban Longtails]

If you want lots of meat, go with Broilers. Standard breed roosters do not usually have a lot of meat on them by the time most suggest that you cull them.

 

[obsessed]

I want something pretty and broilers are not....

I guess the question becomes

is a dual purpose really a duel purpose...

and from the form I get yes and no...

 

[skeeter]

I dont know if the"duel purpose" breed will ever get as meaty as the cornish x,but you can get them big enough to eat it will take more time and take more feed and the meat will probally be a little more stringy and tougher but vey good flavor especially if they get to free range some

 

[brooster]

I would go with the broilers. Thats what i use for the fair and for outr own freezer. The males can look very pretty after you give them a bath and whiten them up. They are very nice because they are kinda lazy.

if you want some really pretty birds get some broilers from McMurray and get a few pretty birds to keep. My meat birds won reserve grand champion at the fair just to show thier quaility. i was very impressd with the broilers. Thier purebreds are nice just not show quality.

 

[silkiechicken]

Dual purpose is not really "dual" when compared to the meat birds from the store ( cornish x). 8 weeks to reach 4-6 lbs dressed weight, vs 6 months to MAYBE reach that weight with a dual purpose.

 

[greyfields]

You will find all dual purpose breeds disappointing as meat chickens (unless you are a freak for coq au vin like we are) compared with the Cornish Cross commercial broiler. I'd get a few crops of standard meat chickens under your belt before you start experimenting with dual purpose breeds or your own breeding.

Also, if you affix little swords to your chickens and let them fight, then you have a duel purpose breed.

 

[urbanagrarian]

You said "I want something pretty and broilers are not...."

My layers are my "pretty" chickens.

I actually like the fact that my broilers all look the same. It makes it a bit easier on butchering day when they all look the same and I can't recognize individuals.

I think getting cockerels cheep can be false economy. The Cornish cross have a great conversion rate.

Like greyfields I'm a coq au vin freak and only make it when I have an authentic "coq" and I do love the taste of an older chicken. However, I mostly fill my freezer with Cornish cross that dress out to over 5lbs for me in 8 weeks.

 

[chicken crazy]

Duals are good if you eat by about 5 months. Before the whole hybrid bird evolved and the mass industrialized meat industry was born duals were what the family farm raised and ate.

 

[nmred]

I'm surprised Greyfields didn't mention the Freedom Ranger chickens. I plan on trying them this spring. They sound like a great meat bird but are VERY pretty, especially the new Golder Ranger. Go to the thread about Freedom Rangers that Greyfields started to find out more. It has a link to the FR website. By the way, they are cheaper than McMurray.