Is there a breed like this?

[antownio]

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?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Well everything is going to lay eggs. Maybe a bantam cornish? Mine got to decent weights fast and I've heard they're broody often

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Phoenixes are great too, but they're rather slim birds

 

[deidreg]

I think Cornish X chickens grow very quickly so you'd be processing them before they're old enough to lay eggs. I agree, local high-quality chicken is far superior to store bought.

Good luck!

 

[CluckerFamily]

Some people that get too many eggs sell them or even give them to food pantries.
Either of these may be a good choice for the eggs. Farm fresh eggs can last months unwashed. My cousin did an egg experiment and her unwashed eggs in the fridge were still good 6 months later.

 

[nuthatched]

Buy duel purpose and sell the eggs.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Hatcheries sell the cockerels (males) really cheaply as a "fry pan bargain" or such.
Any cockerel assortment listed as heavies will provide a decent amount of meat.
Cockerels won't ever lay eggs.

Catch 22.... They will crow a lot and are likely to beat each other up.

 

[halefamily_flock]

I agree with @21hens-incharge. There are so many extra or unwanted cockerels & roosters that you could get a steady supply for free or very inexpensively. You could start a bachelor flock. There is a lot of info on BYC about bachelor flocks, if you search.

 

[Yardmom]

I don't think it is possible to get something that doesn't lay eggs, but would still be broody. You may want to look into Rangers if you want slower development free range meat birds. I believe they are hybrids that are larger than duel purpose. I don't have any, but learned a little about them when we thought we had bought some. They turned out to be crosses that did not have the size of the Rangers. They are actually our favorite chickens in the flock.

 

[Alaskan]

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?

I know you said you like eating chicken... but, though I am sure you could give away or sell any extra eggs.... it would be nice if you could eat them...

And with that thought... have you tried quail eggs or duck eggs?

I loved my Muscovy ducks... they tried to brood almost every egg they ever laid... they were great moms, and the meat was fantastic. So with Muscovy you wouldn't have any eggs to eat....

But quail are the fastest meat production, as well as fasted to egg laying age...BUT totally never broody! So you would need an incubator.

If you want to stay with a chicken, I would highly recommend a Dorking. They might be labeled as a dual purpose, but they are not good layers, are great broodies, and were originally made to be fantastic meat.