Looking for the best meat birds

[Nats Chickens]

I'm lost at this point...

 

[Xlcandylx]

Iowa's told new jersey giants are good meat birds if you want some egg productions then your best bet is getting buffs or white Leghorns. They are good on meat and eggs. They won't get as big as the gaints but they will be great meat after a year

 

[JiminyChristmas]

It just frustrates me all the FALSE information and commentary regarding the CX as a terminally fat, unhealthy bird incapable of outliving their 8 week deadline. This typically comes from folks who have either never raised them themselves, or have and raised them for maximized growth, not taking into account that that is not the only way to raise them.

 

[Kessel23]

The short life is not false, Cornish cross chickens have short lifes. Low egg production is not false, there is a reason the cornish cross is not known for its egg producing powers, because it does not have them. Honestly, the cornish cross will not work for what the OP wants, they will not live long, they will not breed true, and they will not produce a lot of offspring. The RR will live long, produce lots of offspring, and breed true. I never said that the CC was fat or unhealthy I said they do not live long and will not breed true, this is not a bird you would want to keep as a breeding flock. Jiminy you are debating topics I have not crossed. I never said they are incapable of outliving their 8 week deadline, I said they rarely make it past a year without proper care and even with proper care a year or 2 is still average. I do raise them myself and I have said this. I do not raise them for maximized growth, I have them in chicken tractors and limit their food and I have tried to raise them past their deadline and the majority die around the 1 year mark.
Actually read what I have wrote, just above you I said
"more than 50% will not make it to their first birth day unless given a restricted and well monitored diet" I clearly mention there is ways to make them live longer in my reply to you. There is not argument here, if you are looking for a purebred meat bird that you can keep and breed for years and get birds of the same quality then the Cornish Cross is simply out of the question. Other breeds are available that will suit this role much, much better than the CC, like the RR or Jersey Giants or Cornish, the list goes on. No one is saying the cornish is bad at producing meat or unhealthy or any of that, they are the fastest and best way to produce meat if you want to buy new birds each season.

 

[JiminyChristmas]

Thank you for kinda setting the record straight.

 

[bngowe]

Depends what your definition of best meat birds is. If you’re looking for fastest growing with the most meat, then Cornish cross. If you’re aiming for quality and taste, I’d say go with Bresse. Cornish cross need to be protected, since they are rather slow and clumsy, whereas Bresse are a little more natural and can run and move around much better. They forage much better and from what i remember, they lay pretty well.

 

[Kaybear1950]

The pure breed part of course is fact though. CX do not breed true. That said I've crossed mine with a big Brahma boy and have seen phenomenal consistency among offspring.

So after cross breeding you see good consistency? How long did the cross take to cull date and what was dress weight like?

 

[Kaybear1950]

Because if they don’t breed pure, you don’t have the species you chose at the beginning of this process. Why waste time trying to get a Cornish X to grow old enough to produce offspring (not easy) if the offspring is not a Cornish X? A different (much less meaty, albeit) breed will at least be the same From generation to generation and you can make more of them not having to buy a new flock every time you eat your birds.

This is it. I basically want a versatile bird that will breed true down the generations. I don't want to waste money relying on breeders.

 

[Kaybear1950]

Depends what your definition of best meat birds is. If you’re looking for fastest growing with the most meat, then Cornish cross. If you’re aiming for quality and taste, I’d say go with Bresse. Cornish cross need to be protected, since they are rather slow and clumsy, whereas Bresse are a little more natural and can run and move around much better. They forage much better and from what i remember, they lay pretty well.

So I am looking for a pure meat bird that grows meat quickly but can produce young to cull and eventually replace themselves. I need good enough egg production to fill the incubator with a smaller flock but we won't eat the eggs super often. My current flock takes a few months and even still dress at maybe 4lbs. Definitely not enough. Their egg production also is not the greatest. They are all currently a year old. My Aracaunas also are not purebred and it shows. I get zero consistency.

 

[Kaybear1950]

I also want the potential to show as a meat pen bird.