Choosing that Dual Purpose meat bird......................

[AlbionWood]

Quote:
"Fast maturing" means what, exactly? That is the salient characteristic of the CX; you can start eating them in two months and they are out of the field in 3 to 4 months, just like a crop of vegetables.

With the DPs you have the following drawbacks, among others:
1. Slow to put on meat. They grow the frame pretty fast, but don't fill out quick.
2. Poor feed conversion ratio - means the meat is WAY more expensive, because you get less of it per sack of feed.
3. The cockerels get sexually mature before they put on much meat, so either you butcher them young and get little yield, or you put up with their annoyance for weeks while they size up. (Or caponize...)
4. The pullets grow even more slowly, and by the time they get big enough to eat, they are about to lay... why kill them then?

We raised some of each of the breeds you mention - and a few more, too - this year. The Delawares had the best carcasses, more compact and meatier compared to either the BOs or the NHR. If I were to grow DP birds for meat again, they are the breed I'd go with. (Maybe some NHR as well, just for sausage meat; the cockerels have huge thighs and very dark red meat.) The hens are making good layers, and the rooster we kept has a great disposition. I think they are the best DP bird, and we might try our hand at breeding them. But next year we are growing some CX and maybe some FRs for our meat birds.

Think about whether you want to keep a flock of birds around all the time, and eat a few now and then - in which case the DP birds might work for you - or whether you want to raise meat like a crop, and get it harvested and out of the way all at once. Also think about how long you want to listen to a flock of cockerels crowing their fool heads off all day and half the night. I didn't consider that when we ordered... Though I have to say, they are delicious.

 

[HorizonSon]

I purchased Delawares for this very reason. They produce large eggs of high frequence, grow moderately fast and are excellent foragers. Mine will be six weeks old tomorrow

Anything that grows much faster isn't viable on a self-sustaining, free ranging, type setup; which is my aim... ill be adding LF Cochins in the Spring to be my incubators, brooders, mothers. The idea is to have a totally "commercial free" flock raised totally off the land via free ranging, farming and cultivation.


Hope this helps

 

[irf1983]

I am just about to butcher my first batch of freedom rangers. At 12 weeks the biggest of the lot are a little over 9 pounds live weight. I got freedom rangers because they were supposed to act more like a normal chicken, but they are entirely different. eat, sleep, and poop pretty much sums it up. there is no scratching or dust bathing or other normal happy chicken behavior. That is not to say I don't like them. They are very healthy looking and don't seem to have any leg issues. i can't comment on taste yet, but otherwise they've been good birds. voracious eaters. they go through a large bag of feed every few days, and will easily drink 8 gallons of water a day, between 25 birds. voracious poopers too. they have plenty of space in their run, but the poop is really piling up to higher levels than i like my birds to be in. overall i like them, but they do not behave like a dp bird, just so you know.

 

[Jared77]

I understand the desire for hatchery chicks, some of us don't live in the country where y'all have chicken farmers out the wazoo. We are dependant on these hatcheries to supply us with reasonably priced chicks. (For those who argue that heritage breeders will ship eggs, I spent a FORTUNE on breeder eggs and ended up with NOTHING! There's no guarantee so I was SOL.)

You get what you pay for. Id take SQ stock to build my self sustaining flock because Ill get a bigger chicken to use as foundation breeding stock. Why pay 1.50 per chick and have it 7lbs at maturity and focused on egg production only to spend how many generations breeding and raising chicks to get bigger bird when I can hunt down a breeder or maybe attend a show and get a bird at the same age as my hatchery bird same breed, and is 8lbs? Or 8.5lbs? Bred for more of a balance between size and egg production. Then I can tweak the direction of my breeding program from there. I think your that much more ahead of the game than if you deal with a hatchery. How much did I spend in gas, and tracking someone down vs how many bags of feed, hours in the incubator, hours in the brooder, and the time raising generation after generation to get what I want?

I don't live close to any breeders. You do the leg work, and you get what you pay for. That's how I see it. I have zero interest in showing poultry. Pattern, and color are just window dressing as far as I'm concerned. I only want a bird that has respectable fleshing and good overall size by 20 weeks, and if its a hen will lay a medium-large egg. The SQ birds, even the SQ culls for that matter, have the size and muscle that I'd want in my breeding program. Maybe I need some hatchery birds to fill the gaps but to me Id rather give my program a jump start by using a SQ cull Roo than try to build a self sustaining flock from the ground up using just hatchery stock. Id rather spend some money up front to give my program a good head start.

What that 1.50 roo gives me isn't worth the money I save on his initial low price. But then I may not want the same thing as someone else.​

 

[Nat123]

We have those meat chickens a lot here, sold for 2.80 USD per kg

 

[western edge]

Some of the sexlink cockerels are white, thus leaving a clean looking carcase, a little faster maturing than the parent stock, and can be found somewhat cheap because the hatcheries cull them anyway.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
Prepare yourself for disappointment.

I second that................ why anybody would even remotely think that a hatchery bird will produce anything heavier than those rubber prop chickens, I will never understand. DP birds were once a common thing now with the hatchery boom several decades this is no longer the case. Hatchery's have taken these birds and have bred them to turn a profit, which is fine but marketing a breed as a DP is a falsehood. If you don't handle alot of birds frequently their fluffy appearance is taken for size when in reality they are far from meaty. What do you consider a good dressed weight should be the question ??, breeding your own stock or buying good breeder quality birds is the way to go without disappointment.

AL

 

[Illia]

Okay I just have to chime in here. . .


Unless you're getting Cornish X or Freedom Rangers (which are not dual purpose anyway. . . )

Again, from a hatchery, prepare to be disappointed.


Hatcheries do NOT sell truly dual purpose birds, even their Cornish are small and skinny compared to the "true to type" Cornish. And of course, they lay a lot of eggs. . . All the more proof that hatcheries only breed for production, because true Cornish really don't lay that many eggs. Their breeds they offer that were originally dual purpose, honestly, are the most production-bred of all of them, because they have the greatest demand from customers. (Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds)

If you really do want a dual purpose breed, you're going to have to settle for slow growth. Fast growth gives a horrible meat/feed ratio, and often gives problems like what Cornish X have.

The only thing that I can think of that grows slightly fast, is large and meaty, and lays plenty of eggs are French Marans. And guess what? Hatcheries don't offer those.

I'm sorry, but if someone wants a truly dual purpose breed - the patience, time, and money to go out there and search for a reputable breeder (plenty here on BYC) is well worth it. AND, you don't have to order new chicks or eggs each couple years for them, either.

Also consider. . .

Most hatchery birds are about 3 pounds or more underweight to their standard. My Brahmas I got (originally a really good dual purpose breed) from a hatchery were 5 pounds and a true, well bred Brahma hen is supposed to weigh 9 pounds.


Big difference.

 

[Rathbone]

Thank you Illia for your suggestion - Marans. I had purchased marans for the aesthetic - hadn't realized I might have something that would produce a nice eating bird.
Me, I am new to this all. So no, I would NEVER have realized that hatcheries quality would be so far from "heritage". I am learning a lot, but this is a journey. It is really nice to see everyone's input and try to learn from what all of you have learned before me.
"If you really do want a dual purpose breed, you're going to have to settle for slow growth." I think that is about the wisest thing I have heard.

 

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

Chiming back in to all you that keep kicking the puppy.

That exactly is disappointing? You order chicks, feed them up and butcher when they get big enough. Your family enjoys home raised meat. Maybe you have to order an extra bird or 2 to make up for smaller carcasses, but there's nothing wrong with that. Not everyone wants to be the 'king of the meaties'. Just like lots of people are happy with their mutt-dogs and don't feel the need to win Westminster.

You all are talking about humping all over the state for an extra POUND or two per bird. Really? And 'tweaking the breeding program'? I can't even HAVE roosters, how the flying heck am I supposed to develop a breeding program?

Come on, people, can we get a little SUPPORT here?

ETA: I would think the OP is looking for constructive input, not condemnation for her choice of choosing hatchery stock.