Good meat breeds for small scale production?

[RoosterML]

@Kris5902 I don't remember where I saw it but I believe one of the best bang for your buck was the New Hampshire Reds, but seeing how you want white feathers that just about takes them out. I would suspect the Delaware to be the best bet.

 

[Kris5902]

I’m not too picky on feather color... it’s just an extra charge at the processing plant, and as I’m looking to have a “legal to sell in the store” product I can’t process them on our farm... we have an “A” class abattoir, but not the equipment and infrastructure (never mind the personal opinion on poultry processing by the owner) to do them here. I’ll look into the New Hampshire reds as well! Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[RoosterML]

I’m not too picky on feather color... it’s just an extra charge at the processing plant, and as I’m looking to have a “legal to sell in the store” product I can’t process them on our farm... we have an “A” class abattoir, but not the equipment and infrastructure (never mind the personal opinion on poultry processing by the owner) to do them here. I’ll look into the New Hampshire reds as well! Thanks for all the suggestions!

$1 extra processing per chicken is alot. If your looking to wholesale I would suspect the margins are low to begin with. Making a white bird a better choice. I am sure many will correct me but the Delaware was one of the go to meat birds before all the hybrid crossed birds came out.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Before the Cornish X took over the commercial chicken meat market in the middle of the last century (around the 1950's) the main go-to commercial meat birds were the Delaware, New Hampshire, and certain strains of White Rock. Not all White Rock but certain strains were bred for meat production. The light colored feathers made a prettier carcass when plucked because the pin feathers were not as easily seen as there were with a dark feathered bird. Skin color was important for appearances too. Several years back someone posted a copy of an advertisement for Delaware chicks in the 1930's. The claim was that that specific strain of Delaware could reach 4 pounds by 10 weeks. I assume live weight.

After the Cornish X took over, those special strains of Delaware, New Hampshire, and White Rock were no longer bred as meat birds. While they are not a bad choice for a hatchery dual purpose meat bird, after 70 years of not being bred for meat I don't consider them all that different from other hatchery dual purpose birds for meat. Eggs either for that matter.

 

[Kris5902]

$1 extra processing per chicken is alot. If your looking to wholesale I would suspect the margins are low to begin with. Making a white bird a better choice. I am sure many will correct me but the Delaware was one of the go to meat birds before all the hybrid crossed birds came out.

I’m pretty sure I can work it into our margin... I’m not really looking at wholesale, our freezer space is limited ATM, and there’s the Local Pasture Raised on the Family Farm that already has a great reputation for Pastured Lamb and Beef, aspect to my marketing. So I can charge a premium if the product meets quality expectations.

I’m looking at 50 bird batches monthly to start. We will be able to sell the parted out meat as well, helping with the blended margin. We are also the only licensed local butcher, so it wouldn’t make sense to wholesale the birds, only to get it back to part out for the store for an additional fee (it might be better for my margin, but might not go over as well with the retailer!). The store operates with a 20% markup on local products, as opposed to 30% on standard items.

Anything that doesn’t make our quality standards is personal use (we like to eat chicken too, don’t tell my layers that though!) or will become chicken kale sausage, which makes a huge margin and went over well at our Oktoberfest.

 

[aliciaplus3]

Based on that I would say as good strain of Delaware or white Plymouth rock would suit your situation nicely.... just breed forward twords size and maturity rate.

 

[RoosterML]

@Kris5902 I gave you the wrong info, here is the chart. I said the New Hampshire but it's actually the White Plymouth Rock. As you can see not a real big difference in all of them so I guess it's what works for you.

 

[Molpet]

@Kris5902 I gave you the wrong info, here is the chart. I said the New Hampshire but it's actually the White Plymouth Rock. As you can see not a real big difference in all of them so I guess it's what works for you.
View attachment 1640147

LOL I was going to post that, it's my favorite study to share on heritage for meat
but here is the link to the study https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fnc12-866/

 

[Kris5902]

LOL I was going to post that, it's my favorite study to share on heritage for meat
but here is the link to the study https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fnc12-866/

Thanks so much for the link! It’s a great read! Very informative.

 

[speedy2020]

White Bresse is the best hand down as flavor. It is dual breed and will take about 4-5 months to growth. I raised Dorking in the past for couple years, but it take twice as long to get the same weigh. It is also difficult to find good bloodline to add to the block. By the way, the White Bresse also tolerate wet weather condition much better.