Newbie question - sorry if this has been answered but I did look in many posts but have not been able to find the answer to my questions!
I am trying to sustain a very simple and self sufficient lifestyle and I have decided to make it even more self sufficient by raising my own meat birds! I currently have a polish roo, silkie roo (which is the dominant one) and a old english bantam roo with many egg layers - silver/golden laced wyandottes, plymouth barred and/or dominiques (look way too similar to tell difference), australorp, buff orp, cochin, polish and a couple bantams and one silkie.
Knowing that I am all about free range birds, even if they are for meat, if it takes longer for the bird to reach dress weight, I am okay with that, i would almost prefer that because it sounds like the meat tastes better and is better for you the longer it takes and the feed costs are not too important to me. So with that said, What If:
1. I incubated my large hens eggs, could these produce good tasting meat birds?
2. I incubated the bantam eggs, could they produce good tasting meat birds?
3. Would I need to separate certain birds with a certain roo to get a good tasting bird?
4. Would it be worth it to use my own?
If using my birds is not a good idea, what other birds would be better for me to invest in? I do not want cornish, as I am not looking for the fastest growing bird. I want the best tasting bird, healthiest bird to eat, healthiest bird to raise and the birds can be all different varieties, if that is a possibility. Meaning, I don't have a preference over white vs dark meat, more breast vs leg, etc. Any advice or input to my questions and/or in addition to what might not have been mentioned is greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
I am trying to sustain a very simple and self sufficient lifestyle and I have decided to make it even more self sufficient by raising my own meat birds! I currently have a polish roo, silkie roo (which is the dominant one) and a old english bantam roo with many egg layers - silver/golden laced wyandottes, plymouth barred and/or dominiques (look way too similar to tell difference), australorp, buff orp, cochin, polish and a couple bantams and one silkie.
Knowing that I am all about free range birds, even if they are for meat, if it takes longer for the bird to reach dress weight, I am okay with that, i would almost prefer that because it sounds like the meat tastes better and is better for you the longer it takes and the feed costs are not too important to me. So with that said, What If:
1. I incubated my large hens eggs, could these produce good tasting meat birds?
2. I incubated the bantam eggs, could they produce good tasting meat birds?
3. Would I need to separate certain birds with a certain roo to get a good tasting bird?
4. Would it be worth it to use my own?
If using my birds is not a good idea, what other birds would be better for me to invest in? I do not want cornish, as I am not looking for the fastest growing bird. I want the best tasting bird, healthiest bird to eat, healthiest bird to raise and the birds can be all different varieties, if that is a possibility. Meaning, I don't have a preference over white vs dark meat, more breast vs leg, etc. Any advice or input to my questions and/or in addition to what might not have been mentioned is greatly appreciated!
Thank you!