Looking for true dual purpose chicks

[whitenack]

Hi all, first post!

My son and I are wanting to start raising chickens for our family (of 4) consumption. We'd like to raise chickens for both eggs and meat. I see several breeds that would be good for young families (BR, BO, NH) but I also see that these breeds have changed over time to just being egg producers with meat production as an afterthought.

What would you all suggest as a breed, knowing we are looking for dual purpose chickens? Are there hatchery/production breeds that are better than others, or are they all about the same in terms of meat production? Would it be worth it for us rookies to try to track down some breeders, or should we start off with what we can find in the hatcheries and then worry about adding (or breeding in) meat production later?

 

[MiracleHatch]

If you want dual purpose, Buff Orpington and Wyandottes seem to have done the best at keeping large body sizes if we are speaking of breeds in general

Hoover Hatchery’s Buff Orpingtons have been the absolute largest I have ever owned. The hens were massive and the roosters huge. They bred offspring as big as their mothers, which I was pleased with. I’ve got a feed store chick (now hen) which came from an unknown hatchery that is not nearly as large.

None of my Hoover’s Golden Lace Wyandottes have been small or even medium. All of them have been large. They also lay more eggs than Hoover’s Buffs, which tend to have two skip days per week. My great-grandmother kept Wyandottes in Texas for decades and I completely understand why; they start laying earlier than the 26-30 weeks it often takes Buff Orpingtons and they just lay more but dress out at the same table weight.

I have not been as pleased with Barred Rocks as I thought I would be. I keep a pair of them for looks but have changed my mind about breeding them. I would advise buying show quality ‘cull’ stock that has been bred for the correct size because hatchery hen sizes have been all over the place, with some hens being small and laying an egg that is only USDA medium.

If you can find a local breeder that is breeding large heritage birds, it would give you the opportunity to view the parents and determine if that is the line you want. If you’re looking for long-term self-sufficiency, select your breeding stock chicks carefully. You’ll be so glad you did later!

 

[Mrs. K]

Delaware chickens have a very nice carcass, and egg production. But I will tell you that is the way I started, now I do meat birds, and egg birds. Some dual purpose, as I just like BO's. But as for meat - I just prefer a meat bird, to me the dual purpose are ok for soup or casseroles, but not so much for grilling, baking, or frying. Just my own preference.

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

Try Light Brahmas! We've been very pleased with ours. We don't personally eat our birds, but we like to buy dual purpose so we have an easier time selling extras. Brahmas are good layers, calm gentle birds, and very heavyset. The one potential downside is that they do tend to go broody. Fun upside: feathered feet.

 

[RiverOtter]

It's not about how big they get, it's about how FAST they grow - you don't want to be feeding those extra roosters for 6 months.

For a purebred, the only one I think is worth the name are the pure Cornish. Mine are decent layers, forage well and are delighted to go broody and raise their own babies. They definitely need predator protection though - those girls are not fast.
As a rule, it's easier to find meat breed birds that lay well than so-called dual purpose breeds that are worth the feed to grow out the extra roosters.

For mixes, Red Sex Links are the way to go. The boys grow out well and are the best of all the listed "dual-purpose" breeds I've tried, and of course the hens lay like gangbusters.

But honestly, your best, cheapest option is just to buy a batch of CX once a year. Heavy breed hens are expensive to feed, just to hatch out chicks that are just as cheap, if not cheaper, to buy and will cost twice as much to raise.

Raising chickens for meat is a hobby to do because you enjoy it. It's actually not sustainable, and you won't save any money at all. You'll actually be paying about 4x as much for gourmet meat (which is fine!!)

But if you're looking for a cost effective way to provide meat for your family, look into quail, ducks and rabbits. Chickens are great at eggs and not as good at meat.

 

[centrarchid]

I suggest using a first generation cross between a decent layer like you Barred Plymouth Rock hen bred with a double muscling breed like the Cornish. Your flock would not be self sustaining, nut hens will keep you in eggs for eating plus hatching, and the resulting chicks will put on muscle mass reasonably well and be able to handle some free-range action. Will still take about 10 weeks to get your 5 lb birds at harvest that will not be round like Cornish X at 5 to 7 weeks.

I have done similar using American Dominique on the hen side and American Game on the rooster side. The cross generated a sex-link marker where pullets were black and cockerels where barred. The resulting pullets laid at least as frequently as the pure American Dominiques plus had larger eggs on average. The cross birds could also grow pretty good off free-range forage so long as forage quantity and quality good.

 

[pozees2]

Raising chickens for meat is a way to ensure you know exactly what your food ate and how it was raised. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, a home raised bird has a great life and a bad minute at the end. The same cannot be said for grocery store poultry.

There are good dual purpose birds out there, I think you would be well served to see if you can find someone local to you who raises one or more breeds according to the Standard of Perfection, which is written with an eye to the purpose of the breeds. Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds (*not* hatchery birds) are two that come to mind right away that should work well, but see what is near you, there are many breeds that will perform well; as suggested above, the option of raising an egg laying flock of Leghorns and once or twice a year, depending on the size of your family, spending six-eight weeks raising Cornish-X and processing them, might be your best bet if hatchery birds are your only reasonable choice.

 

[whitenack]

Thanks everyone! So many choices!

 

[keesmom]

I was impressed with the size and growth of our Cackle Chanteclers.

Now I haven't ordered these, but they may be worth checking out. Freedom Ranger Hatchery has flocks of Delawares and New Hampshires. I suspect they pay more attention to the meat production side of the breed than hatcheries producing layers. Scroll halfway down their products list:

https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/products.asp

 

[DanEP]

You might want to give white rocks a look too the ones I've had were good layers and grew fairly fast. No duel purpose bird will grow like a Cornish x but the white rocks I've had seemed to grow a little faster than most.