Dual purpose bird or straight meat bird?

[Flyboy718]

How much would 25 barred rocks consume in feed for 20 weeks? And they will be in a large fenced in area...so not free range. I am not necessarily looking to get to slaughter as fast as I can just looking for a good self sustaining dual purpose bird that will gimme eggs and meat. What would you spend more in feed on 25 cornish X or 25 barred rocks?

 

[GhostRider65]

My neighbor raises CX every year, and butchers at 8 or 10 weeks, food is kept in front of them at all times, and she says they eat roughly 1 1/2 to 2lbs each per day, so if I figured it right that's almost 500 lbs of feed or 10 bags at 15.00 a bag that's $150.00.
Now so far my dual purpose chicks are 19 weeks and getting butchered tomorrow, if mother nature co-operates. anyway I have gone through maybe a pound per day, so that's figures out to be, around 450lbs or 9 50 lb bags of feed over that 4 month period. and I didn't feed anything but unmediated Nature wise feed and greens and treats of course, they do have a run but it isn't exactly free range. so 9 bags @ 15.00 a bag $135.00
The 1 difference is my chickens are larger in body size, but not as meaty as the CX ,
So that's as close as I can give you an idea, it will depend on what your feed costs are and when you butcher. But remember chickens are lovable creatures and by the time almost 4 months rolls around, they may not be so easy to butcher. You may get attached

 

[Flyboy718]

Quote:
How many and what breed of dual purpose do you have? Thanks for the info above!

 

[GhostRider65]

I have 22 and 21 babies 9 weeks old, there feed is different so zi didn't figure the babies. my breeds are
5 buff Orpingtons
5Assorted Wyandottes
5White Rocks
3 EE's
3 Black sex links
1 Speckled Sussex
The Neighbor has 25 CX chicks at a time though 1 year she did 50 had friends that wanted em, she said never again the feed bill was killing her.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
This is so true. It was harder for me to process the 7 boys I raised for 5 months and the 2 I raised for a year that I needed to cull way more than it was for me to process the cornish X.

I stupidly did not keep a record of food since I was raising about 25 other babies that hatched along with them and they all ate the same feed!! The next time I will keep better records!! I also use a chicken tractor and moved them every other day or so. That's one of the problems that you will have with the CX is keeping them in a pen it will start stinking to high heaven!!

 

[Flyboy718]

Quote:
So, each chicken ate about 23lbs of feed over the course of 19 weeks?

 

[punky rooster]

Quote:
Why do you say 20 weeks? New Hampshire's and Delawares were THE broiler bird before Cornish X, and are ready for butcher at 14 weeks. Buckeyes, Rocks ect. should be ready to butcher @ 16. They will never get to the size that the cornish X get to, but I just prefer them. I just love this quote:
"The best way to save these historic breeds is to return them to our dinner tables” – Frank Reese

 

[becky3086]

Oh I love that quote too. How true!

 

[GhostRider65]

Not completely sure exactly how much each bird ate, I didn't write down each bird just how much feed I have so far bought....so I know I fill feeders I have 2 -10 lb feeders and I fill them maybe 1 tx a week, its hard to tell exactly because as babies they had smaller feeders that were filled more often, like now since they are outside during the day I fill them feeders maybe 1tx a week and before when they were locked in the coop until the pen was done it was 2 tx a week. so I just tryed to keep track of the bags of feed I bought then divided by how many chickens were eating it.
Yes PUNKY Rooster, most of my breeds were ready for butcher at 14 or 15 weeks, problem is mother nature keeps messing with plans to butcher either its 110 degree's or raining each day I pick .... so I'm running a bit over and increasing my costs but, I ain't butchering chickens in the rain or the terrible heat which brings numerous bugs with it, so they are getting a reprieve for the moment, I was suppose to butcher today and it was looking like rain all day, though of course it didn't because I didn't butcher, now had I started It most likely would have rained all day.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Quote:
Frank,

That cross was made with different birds than we generally have access to now. With the greater emphasis by hatcheries to have "Dual Purpose" birds with the single objective of producing brown eggs we have lost the meatiness and growth characteristics that made the NH and Delaware birds passabel meat birds over 50 years ago.

With the high price of feed I suggest you use the bird that will most efficiently convert feed to meat, that bird is the Commercial Broiler sold by most every hatchery in the US.

Jim