Good Deal/Idea for meat birds?

[Nikki28]

I am most likely going to get this order from McMurray for meat birds .... unless there are any objections?
It seems like a good deal and I have never had meat birds before and don't want to do the Cornish X Rocks.....

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/product/all_heavies.html

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
As long as you know that these are really not meat birds,these are really what alot of people call dual/purpose.There is nothing wrong with doing this as long as you don't expect too much for meat.This is usually how hatcheries get rid of unwanted roosters and still make something on them.

You will have less problems raising these,but you will need to keep them awhile and end results will be slim.If you never have raised chickens before it may be a good way to start. good luck Will
p.s. don't forget you'll have some crowing to deal with.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I ordered the same selection from McMurray last year. The advantages were the low price per chick, the ability to spread out the butchering over a several week period, and the relative ease of care -- they ate a normal amount and didn't make an excessive amount of smelly poop. I kept them in a tractor, but they could have free-ranged if I wanted. They also are NOT prone to the health issues the Xs have, the leg problems or the organ failure. I had zero mortality, well, up until they were butchered, that is.

The disadvantages are having to keep/feed them for a longer period (18-22 weeks) before they were a good butchering weight, and the amount of meat gotten from each bird (I'm guessing about 2-3 pounds, I didn't have a scale then). They still were tasty.

Make sure you get heavy breeds, I was sent some White Leghorns & some Ameracaunas with my order, neither one listed as a heavy breed. McMurray did credit my account, but I was still left with these lightweight roos to feed & tend & butcher. I was hoping I'd get some Jersey Giants (no) and really hoping I wouldn't get any of those scary-ugly Turkens (thankfully, no!). I'd mention it to McMurray when/if you place the order, to insist they give you all true heavy breeds.

I did get a Barred Rock pullet in the order, a mistake in the sexing that was to my liking!

This year I plan to order some Colored Range Broilers from http://www.JMHatchery.com

 

[Nikki28]

Thank you both!
Yes I do know that they are dual purpose I didn't realize that they would be around 18 -22 weeks before butchering though (I was thinking 12 - 16) Sunny Side Up did yours start to crow? that was a good point willheveland as I probably couldn't get away with a bunch of crowing cockerels I was hoping they could be processed before most of them started.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
Oh, yeah, they start to crow long before they're big enough to eat. Starting around 9-11 weeks, as I remember. And not really worth eating until at least 16 weeks. I'm used to the sound here, and my neighbors are either tolerant or busy cleaning their guns. Anyway, I have guineas and they'd be the ones to shoot first to end their noise.

What about the Colored Range Broilers? Do they start crowing before they're processing size? Do the Cornish Xs ever stop eating long enough to crow?

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
Oh, yeah, they start to crow long before they're big enough to eat. Starting around 9-11 weeks, as I remember. And not really worth eating until at least 16 weeks. I'm used to the sound here, and my neighbors are either tolerant or busy cleaning their guns. Anyway, I have guineas and they'd be the ones to shoot first to end their noise.

What about the Colored Range Broilers? Do they start crowing before they're processing size? Do the Cornish Xs ever stop eating long enough to crow?

I'm not sure about colored range broilers,I've never raised them.I do know Cornish-X can start around 10+ weeks.Most people process before that unless they want huge roasting birds. Will

 

[Laskaland]

Okay, so that is the assortment I got in early September. I got 4 Wyandottes, 4 Barred Rocks, 3 Rhode Island Reds, 5 White Rocks, 2 Columbian Wyandottes and 2 Buff Orps and I can't remember the others (25 total)
I did it this way, because 1) This was my first order of day olds and I had never raised the meat birds, I thought this would be an easy way to try it 2) I am not into the genertically altered/ engineered stuff and that is how I view Cornish x (just my opinion) 3) I wanted to look at some other breeds before I decided what to concentrate on 4)I had not yet heard of colored free rangers....

Now, many of them are JUST getting to the butcher stage. I did butcher 4 a few weeks ago and used them as fryers. They DO have a lot of meat on them and are weighty, but it took awhile... Probably too long in my opinion...

So, today, I ordered Colored Free Rangers from JMhatchery.com to come at the end of March. I jumped in and did 100. How crazy is that?!?!?

I am excited about it because they are meat birds, BUT they do not outgrow their feathers, and I have a lot of acreage for them to gladly roam on. They are bred for meat, but will not grow at such an outrageous rate...

Just my opinion. Good Luck
Christina