Good dual purpose breeds for meat?

[punky rooster]

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I got an all-in-one breed suggestion - Buckeyes from a good breeder that selects for fast growth. Good sized birds, (males can get to 5lbs. @ 16 weeks. Hens are good layers (average over 200 eggs a year). Go broody. Very, very hardy birds. Great foragers (most active American breed). And have a great disposition.

Mitch

 

[2dancingrats]

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How old will they need to be before you butcher them? I haven't seen any posts about Rhode Island Reds for food.
Mine are already over two years old. Strictly layers, but wondering how the breed fares as meat.

 

[homesteadapps]

Quote:
I got an all-in-one breed suggestion - Buckeyes from a good breeder that selects for fast growth. Good sized birds, (males can get to 5lbs. @ 16 weeks. Hens are good layers (average over 200 eggs a year). Go broody. Very, very hardy birds. Great foragers (most active American breed). And have a great disposition.

Mitch

We have Buckeyes too. Great growth. They do like to go broody which is what cuts the egg production down. I've had to break the broodiness twice already this year.

Decent egg production -- great for meat. I thought the breasts were as nice or nicer then a plain White Rock.

 

[Tracydr]

I always wonder why we focus on dual purpose rather than producing a sustainable meat breed specialist. It seems that it woul make more sense to keep a low maintenance egg laying flock that is lightweight and eats very little, something like silver or brown leghorns. Then, have meat specialty bird that we develop that is capable of reproduction, foraging, early maturity, big carcass, adequate breast and chest cavity, light feathers but not white for predator protection. But, doesn't need to be a crazy good layer,not broody. Just give enough eggs to reproduce plenty of meaties to put in the freezer each year.
Just seems it would be easier to improve the genetics of a meat bird if we didn't worry about laying abilities. Who wants to feed a ten pound hen to get eggs, anyway? For my dollar, I would want two flocks. My egg flock and meat flock. Dual purpose animals tend to be inadequate in everything they do. Like trying to ride a western horse in the jumping classes or a halter horse in western ppleasure.They can do it but when you need that sixteen foot stride those fifteen hand horses just don't have the natural ability like the seventeen hand horses do. The halter horse can be ridden but sure isn't as smooth as the western pleasure bred specialist.

 

[danielle82]

I raise orpingtons and I LOVEv the fact that I can eat my extra roos! They are huge and dress out wonderfully! I vote Orpington!

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

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I've wondered the same thing myself. I know that many of us are raising chickens to get away from the factory farming techniques and horrific lives that both laying and meat birds are subject to. I've made a start with layers, choosing from breeds that are supposed to be cold-hardy and good layers. Next year I'd like to experiment with meat birds, but I don't want to do something as genetically engineered as the CornishX which sounds like it eats itself to death and you have to slaughter it before its heart gives out. What I would like is a breed that I could allow to grow under natural, ethical circumstances, that would put on a good deal of weight in a reasonable amount of time. It sounds like those Freedom Rangers might be a move in that direction.

I plan on keeping my layers (who all have names) in a different enclosure than my meat birds (who hopefully would be gone by the time winter comes so they wouldn't need a winter-proof coop) perhaps keeping a few of the healthiest, best looking pullets and a cockerel to see if I could hatch a clutch or two the following spring. Any thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[andalusn]

Keeping the dual purpose in mind I settled on Buckeye and Faverolles as my long range egg/meat birds and will be hatching them myself as needed. In my egg laying flock there is our rooster a Jersey Giant and different breed hens but the one that goes broody the most is my Cuckoo Maran and when crossed with the JG I get sexlink peeps that always seem to have good size and appear mature at 5 mos.

 

[Erica]

I love the sound of buckeyes, but we don't have them in my area. Failing that, a wide chested gamebird over layer hens can produce great eating cockerels at 16 weeks.

Anything you have to process older than 16-20 weeks is going to strain the feed budget, the tolerance (crowing, fighting) and the jaw muscles. But a lot of people like a mature flavour so I'm not knocking it.

It wouldn't hurt though to ask outright when you go to buy eggs or chicks: at what age do you put the cockerels in the freezer?

Hope you find fantastic DPs,
cheers
Erica

 

[Beekissed]

White Rocks are the best all-purpose, dual purpose breed I can recommend. Heavy breasts and thighs, thrifty on feed, hardy to the max, longevity of lay, go broody enough to reproduce their kind but not so much they are a nuisance, great foragers, great mothers, big brown eggs every day!

 

[homesteadapps]

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One of the best things about "REAL" dual purpose chickens is that the hens and rooster will all end up in the freezer eventually with a very nice carcuss. I think we have about 15 old hens in the freezer right now. For a free ranging flock the cost is minimal since they hunt for a good portion of food themselves. I offer this cost calculator in another post https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5528345#p5528345

Pekin Ducks are a great sustainable flock if you like duck meat and they can be butcherd in 8 week + a couple of hundred of eggs per hen each year. Ducks are super at finding their own food.

I've been told regular Cornish do well but have never worked with any myself.