Delaware Chickens for meat

[Berisas]

Does anyone here raise Delaware chickens for meat?
I bought a few they are 6 wks old they seem to be small for a meat bird. They 're average weight is 1 lb. at 6 wks. is this average weight for the breed? I am not looking to raise a Cornish X. Interested in breeding heritage breeds for meat. I was thinking of crossing them with either a brahma or N.H. or possibly a White rock not sure if they would be a fairly efficient meat bird. Anyone have any suggestions ?

 

[Rioux]

I was looking into the same thing. Cackle has Indian Rivers which are a Delaware roo over a New Hampshire they were developed for the broiler industry before Cornish x came along. I was wondering about using a White Rock over a New Hampshire. Which develops faster Delaware or Rock?

 

[Ridgerunner]

The problem with using hatchery breeds for meat is that they quit breeding them for meat many decades ago when the Cornish X were developed. That was around the 1950’s. If you don’t breed them for meat production they quickly lose the traits for meat production; size, rate of growth, rate of converting feed to meat, conformation so you get more of specific cuts, things like that. Delaware, White Rock, and New Hampshire were all used as meat birds before the broilers were developed, a good Delaware could reach 4 pounds at ten weeks, but hatcheries haven’t seen that for over 50 years. Nowadays those breeds are not much different than any other dual purpose chicken. You might fine an individual breeding them for those meat qualities but good luck on that and you probably would not want to spend as much as they would ask if you could even find them.

Brahmas are pretty slow to mature. They will eventually get big but for a long time they are mostly bone, not meat. Some people like them as meat birds because of the final size, but I would not want to spend that much feeding them to get them to a good size.

You can eat any chicken regardless of size, sex, or age, but you don’t get much meat off of some and you may have to vary your cooking techniques because of the age.

Each hatchery has different people deciding which birds get to go into the breeding flock. That means each hatchery has different birds with different traits. Some people think that all chickens of a specific breed are the same from all hatcheries, but that is not true. I’ve had the same breeds from different hatcheries and there are differences.

I don’t know if you plan on breeding your own. I think you are but if you are just going to get chickens from a hatchery and raise them to butcher size, I suggest you get a mix of dual purpose breeds and see which you like better. Then just order that breed from that hatchery in the future. Delaware, White Rock, and New Hampshire would all be on my list to check out.

If you are planning on breeding your own, I suggest you still get a mix of breeds and see which you like better. Then each year select the rooster you want to eat most to be your breeding rooster and eat the ones you don’t especially want to eat. It takes some record-keeping and you have to pay attention to them as they grow, but in a very few generations of doing this your flock should come closer to meeting your standards. You will never come close to meeting the size and rate of growth of the Cornish X but you can do OK.

 

[Rioux]

My plan was to get several of each breed and keep the largest and fastest growing to breed. The end bird being a mix. Then I saw the Indian Rivers at Cackle. Now I'm thinking breed New Hampshires and Delawares to a river roo to try and get a better breed?

 

[junebuggena]

Another thing to consider when raising birds for meat is that Cornish Crosses are ready for harvest between 6 and 10 weeks. Most dual purpose breeds will take 4 to 5 months to reach a good harvest weight.

 

[Rioux]

My goal is to hatch my own so I don't have to keep ordering from a hatchery

 

[Loc20chick]

That's a good plan to hatch your own. I'm also working on getting my own stock for meat and I know to get a big bird will take time but in the mean time I have a variety of breeds and I'm hatching more at the moment.
I did get a very huge 10 month old rooster and 4 month old rooster from people near me that I'm keeping for breeding purposes.

All the best on your project, keep a record and update as you go.

 

[CrazyTalk]

My goal is to hatch my own so I don't have to keep ordering from a hatchery

That's a noble aim - but what is the ultimate goal? If you want to be self sustaining, or want a specific trait in your meat birds, great, but don't do this to save money. Cornies convert food to meat so much better than DP birds that you'll never save money growing DP birds. Every dollar you save not buying chicks you'll more than lose on extra food, having to keep adult birds around, etc.