In search of the best meat chickens

[ShannonR]

If your motivatiob is cost, i believe you will find the Cornish X win when you factor in the cost of keeping and raising out breeding stock and feeding your broiler for months longer.

Im also skeptical of taste tests by breed, but i can see bow some might prefer the texture and flavor of an older bird over a typical Cornish x.

However if you're all set up to raise them yourself for your family, it sounds fun! Those white dorkings I've seen oon here are lovely.

I second the cost effectiveness factor, as much as I don't like promoting the CornishX.

To the OP: when you say cost effective, are you speaking of the cost to get each bird to the table, or cost per lb of meat? Pound for pound, even if you suffer a few losses, I do suspect the commercial meaties would win out. Which is why they are raised commercially. But, I would love to see your follow up on the project as well as your stats!

 

[Lizzy733]

Maybe give Dorkings a try - they're an ancient dual-purpose breed and rare, but supposedly verging on delicacy for flavor and decent in the egg department. I have a pair, but won't be eating them to find out. Their personalities are absolutely lovely so far as well.

 

[Molpet]

a guy did a study on a few hatchery breeds
https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fnc12-866/

The Speckled Sussex was the consensus favorite, with the Dominique and New Hampshire Red tied for second place. The Wyandotte, Delaware, Naked Neck, and White Rock were all close behind, but the CRX lagged considerably. But to me the real takeaway is that they all taste different, and while one person might prefer one breed someone else preferred another. The most common comment regarding the CRX was not that it tasted bad, but that it was “bland,” that there was simply little flavor, particularly in contrast to the heritage breeds. This is due, I believe, in large part to the age at which the respective breeds are processed. As a result of its incredibly fast growth the CRX must be processed young (usually 6-8 weeks or so), while the heritage breeds grow more slowly and aren’t at a respectable butcher weight until at least 16 weeks. An apt comparison might be veal and beef: veal, processed young, is more tender and mild, while beef, processed older, is perhaps firmer (and tougher in some muscles) but more flavorful.

In terms of texture, I was curious going into the tasting how the others would respond. The meat of the heritage breeds, as a result of both age and physical activity level, is denser than that of the CRX, and I wondered if this would be interpreted by the tasters as being “tough” or “chewy” or “stringy” or something similar, but there were no comments, and no ratings, to that effect. To me this was quite important, as perceived texture is one of the most repeated criticisms of heritage breed poultry; perhaps the criticisms stem from a failure to distinguish between, say, an 18-week-old cockerel and a 3-year-old mature rooster? The former can be roasted quite successfully, while the latter should only be braised or stewed. Indeed, it seems that the CRX, though younger than the heritage breeds, is not necessarily more tender—breast meat tends to be dry, and leg/thigh meat was more often described as “soft” and “mushy” than “tender,” though this is probably due more to their relatively sedentary lifestyle than to age.

 

[S.A.W.]

Maybe give Dorkings a try - they're an ancient dual-purpose breed and rare, but supposedly verging on delicacy for flavor and decent in the egg department. I have a pair, but won't be eating them to find out. Their personalities are absolutely lovely so far as well.

I am not ready at the moment, (have to build another chicken house) but I would really like to buy a few hatching eggs or a pair of white Dorkings.

 

[S.A.W.]

I just read an article about the American Bresse chicken. It is white and supposedly has such great taste that in Paris, France, the roasted meat is very expensive. So now I will be looking to try some of them. So many breeds, so little time. lol

 

[mandelyn]

We do Marans and Bresse along with some projects. The Bresse have a thinner white skin and a finer meat texture, their dark meat isn't quite as dark as other breeds and their breast is a little heavier. In contrast, the Marans have a thicker yellow skin, heavier in the thigh and darker/richer dark meat.

All of the listed breeds out there will vary by bloodline. They'll do/be whatever they were bred to be. I've seen small and flighty Bresse, likely cut with Leghorn or something. I've seen birds listed as dual purpose grow to be very thin and lacking in depth of body, not having the right frame for a dual purpose bird. Once you settle on a breed you'll want to source them with your intentions in mind.

We come out of it with a cost of about $4lb. That cost is offset by the sale of pullets. For 2 of us we need about 80 cockerels a year, so I need to set at least 160 eggs a year. I break that down into quarterly hatches, setting 60 eggs every 3 months. That gets me to then 25-ish in a batch number, which is what my rooster coop can handle.

I pull the best 2 boys in a batch to keep and the best 5 pullets. It's been 3 years now and I'm starting to see the benefits of selective breeding. They're bigger, more consistent and the vigor is still there. I'd rather work towards breeding goals than have to worry about buying new stock every year.

With Cornish X, you don't get any spare layer pullets to sell for off setting the cost.

 

[Koyote]

I just read an article about the American Bresse chicken. It is white and supposedly has such great taste that in Paris, France, the roasted meat is very expensive. So now I will be looking to try some of them. So many breeds, so little time. lol

I had some French Bresse (aka Blue Foot or American Bresse). They were nice chickens; beautiful white feathers, free ranged in the yard and acted like normal chickens....not at all like Cornish Crosses. I didn't notice any difference in taste, but the texture was totally different. Firm, but not tough and the fat looked like it was marbled almost like a good stake. I liked everything about them except the size (definitely on the small side) and the price. I kept one of the roosters to breed with my Rudd Rangers. Hoping for a larger bird with that same texture/marbling. If you get some I think you'll like them, they're just expensive chicks.

 

[Koyote]

Thanks

We do Marans and Bresse along with some projects. The Bresse have a thinner white skin and a finer meat texture, their dark meat isn't quite as dark as other breeds and their breast is a little heavier. In contrast, the Marans have a thicker yellow skin, heavier in the thigh and darker/richer dark meat.

All of the listed breeds out there will vary by bloodline. They'll do/be whatever they were bred to be. I've seen small and flighty Bresse, likely cut with Leghorn or something. I've seen birds listed as dual purpose grow to be very thin and lacking in depth of body, not having the right frame for a dual purpose bird. Once you settle on a breed you'll want to source them with your intentions in mind.

We come out of it with a cost of about $4lb. That cost is offset by the sale of pullets. For 2 of us we need about 80 cockerels a year, so I need to set at least 160 eggs a year. I break that down into quarterly hatches, setting 60 eggs every 3 months. That gets me to then 25-ish in a batch number, which is what my rooster coop can handle.

I pull the best 2 boys in a batch to keep and the best 5 pullets. It's been 3 years now and I'm starting to see the benefits of selective breeding. They're bigger, more consistent and the vigor is still there. I'd rather work towards breeding goals than have to worry about buying new stock every year.

With Cornish X, you don't get any spare layer pullets to sell for off setting the cost.

My Bresse dressed out at about 3 lbs at 14 weeks.They seemed kind of small to me. Not flighty and seemed pretty healthy, just smaller than I'd like. How much did yours dress out at and where did you get them from?

 

[NHMountainMan]

Has anyone bred Bresse over Breese? Any breeding success?
They’re supposed to be the best tasting chicken with high demand in restaurants. I’m looking for more a self sufficient long term flock for my families needs.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I hope if any of you know of a source for white Dorkings, you would pass along the info to me. I would like to try some of them just for fun.

Be aware that the Dorkings are a critically endangered breed so you are unlikely to find any available casually. They would require taking on a fairly serious breeding project and growing out all of your hatches to select your best birds for new breeding stock each year. I would not think that is what you're looking for if you're looking for a more casual sustainable meat flock.

The Barred Rocks sound like they'd be a good fit for you, all things considered.