Take a look at Dorkings - Not only are they close to what you're looking for, but you'd be giving a boost to a heritage breed that could use the help:I don't have any chickens yet so right now I'm just here to learn and get a better idea of what I'm doing lol but basically I'm wondering if there are any chicken breeds with the following traits?
- Meat production only; I do not want eggs. I'm severely allergic to them and can't be around them but weirdly can still eat chicken.
- Broodiness/maternal instincts; don't want to mess around with an incubator or buying chicks.
- Foraging ability; it would be neat if they could find lots of their own food during the warmer months but it's not strictly necessary either.
For a bit of background: I live on 40 acres and I have some soay sheep, soay/katahdin crosses and two horses already. And well, I have acquired a taste for actual chicken ever since one of my friends cooked for me. By actual chicken I mean spent laying hens, especially soups made from them and other delicacies made in the crockpot. They make store bought chicken taste bland in comparison, and well yeah that's why I want my own chickens.
I don't want cornish x or anything that is going to pump out a lot of eggs every year, but I haven't had any luck in finding breeds like that so far Everything is either a fast growing hybrid or a dual purpose egg layer!
So yeah, any suggestions? If there aren't any breeds like this, how hard would it be to maybe breed for the above traits? Is that viable?
https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/dorking