Is there any type of list out there that tells you when the different breeds of chickens would be ready to process? Such as Plymouth Rocks would be ready at 20 weeks and Buff Orpiingtons are ready at 16 weeks? I realized these aren't true figures, just trying to give an example.
I tried raising meat birds this year and while it is great that the cornish x grow so quickly, I really don't like how quickly they grow. Not to mention the fact that I lost half of them despite following the directions on how to properly care for them.
I also got some unknown chickens to process, knowing they were actually egg laying breeds but decided to take my chances. They have ended up being Leghorn and Leghorn crosses so I'm going to have to let them grow out longer than I expected and I can see that there won't be too much to them.
So my meat bird experiment didn't go quite as planned but I'm trying to figure out what would work for me. Is there a good breed that would free range and still grow out in a decent amount of time? I know there are the freedom rangers but wondered if some of the egg laying breeds would work too. Would it be good to get a certain type rooster and then hatch out some chicks from my current hens? I'm just not sure what to do at this point. I would like to enjoy raising the meat birds since they do take some work. I really didn't enjoy this last bunch.
I tried raising meat birds this year and while it is great that the cornish x grow so quickly, I really don't like how quickly they grow. Not to mention the fact that I lost half of them despite following the directions on how to properly care for them.
I also got some unknown chickens to process, knowing they were actually egg laying breeds but decided to take my chances. They have ended up being Leghorn and Leghorn crosses so I'm going to have to let them grow out longer than I expected and I can see that there won't be too much to them.
So my meat bird experiment didn't go quite as planned but I'm trying to figure out what would work for me. Is there a good breed that would free range and still grow out in a decent amount of time? I know there are the freedom rangers but wondered if some of the egg laying breeds would work too. Would it be good to get a certain type rooster and then hatch out some chicks from my current hens? I'm just not sure what to do at this point. I would like to enjoy raising the meat birds since they do take some work. I really didn't enjoy this last bunch.
