Meat Birds and Egg laying...

[Kabootar]

Hello BYC Family,

So ive never raised purely "meat birds" before. But I did cull and eat some of my DP cockerals...they tasted ok.
This might be an incredibly stupid question, but I was under the impression that people typically purchase meat birds as babies, then raise them, then slaughter. Repeat.
What if you wanted to do this, but also wanted to breed CX or another breed of pure meat bird, so you had a recurring sustainable supply? I know most people butcher their meat birds before "egg laying age" so its my understanding that they dont get to an age where theyre popping out eggs in the chicken tractor. But is it possible to breed these types of birds? I know they dont live very long on their own, since they are heavy meat birds, so im even also wondering if they can make it to egg laying age..... Really looking for someone who has done this before, or knows of a friend or family member who has, so i can get a good look at how difficult this would be.

Wasnt able to find anything about it in this forum, but i think my search function is broken right now. Would love if this discussion happened before, someone could attach a link.

Thanks All!!

M

So I understand that this is an older thread, but I see that many ladies and gentlemen who posted on this thread are still active members of the BYC community so I will give my take. Cornish cross birds can be kept till breeding age if they are kept correctly. The best way is to wait for the most active hen (eg OEG, Cornish or some other game bird) in your flock to go broody and put some Cornish cross chicks under her when her own chicks are hatching. Then let the mom and chicks (both her own and adopted) free range as much as possible. They will be forced to keep up with the adoptive mom and siblings and eat greens and bugs. Their instincts will kick in and they will become good in scratching and foraging. Limit their access to grains don't let them hog the feeding station, only a light meal in the evening. If you see them hanging near the food kick them away. Also give them roosts to sleep on.
Cornish cross chicks brought up properly will not only live upto breeding age but will lay huge eggs. They have no problem in breeding, because hens sit down when they are mounted by the roosters and extra weight goes in the ground. They will also go broody and raise chicks. It's best to leave leghorn roosters on them and then breed the next generation back to the leghorns and then breed them with whatever dual purpose breed you like.

 

[Kris5902]

Well of the 3 CX I’ve raised... a runt, and two midsized at processing age, I’m going to process one of the midsized ones as she can no longer stand at 20 weeks... they have been on the diet and exercise plan. They are laying... but super small eggs and not with any frequency. I’m still going to try to breed them.

 

[Kabootar]

Primary reason for castration in male animals is handling, with the exception of boar taint and a slightly more gamey flavor in old rams... goats are a whole other story, like boar taint but everyone can taste it

It makes handling cockerels easier and safer too and that's too many exceptions.

My cockerels are quite tasty, though the leg meat is a little tougher at 19-20 weeks, the breast meat was just fine.

It will be interesting to know how you finish your roosters. Looks like you are processing the cockerels before they reach their full potential. At that age most cockerels are scrawny and they have much more bone, feathers and entrails than they have meat and it's an undeniable fact that the meat they have is still much tougher than that of a capon. I request you to try a capon once and compare it with that of a cockerel. I bet you can't ignore the difference between the fibrous rooster meat and a capon.

Older bull meat is prized for balogna as it has the ability to hold more water than steers. (We professionally raise beef cattle and lambs, hunt goats and deer, I may be new to chickens, but so far, no one has found cockerel meat that unpalatable here!)

Kris meat of an older hen or a roo is preferred for making stews and broth, but not many people prefer to eat an old hen or roo as regularly as they like to eat the meat of a broiler. BTW I was talking about the meat of a full grown male bird.

 

[Kabootar]

Not disputing the possibility of doing it... that is why I traded large 3 Red Ranger birds Dressed out for 3 CX pullets...I’m hoping I can incorporate them into a meat bird breeding program... I’m quite happy that 3 made it to 20 weeks and thus far only one has succumbed to leg problems.

It's always best to raise your own CX as a day old chick in the supervision of an active hen like a game hen or another breed like Cornish. Someone who is good forager.

 

[Kabootar]

There's a thread about crossing Red Ranger hens with Dorkings. He hatches eggs and is trying a Cornish cross as well. About page 52 I think.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/crossing-my-red-ranger-hens.1281099/

Thanks for the link aboit Toads!

Looks interesting, I want to read the whole thread , then I will give my take. It will take a few days. But at the same time I am voracious reader, I may waste my sleep on it. Who knows

 

[m1chelle1]

I think the Cornish cross birds have health problems as they get older, making it difficult to get fertile eggs as they mature. Many people raise dual purpose birds for meat and eggs with no problems reproducing, so most people just go with that. I have raised some dual purpose breeds, but not Cornish cross birds, so hopefully someone who has will chime in. I currently raise quail, and they are laying eggs by 6 to 8 weeks of age, so thats another one to consider. Easy to dress out too! I can have one dressed out for dinner in ten minutes!

wow!! im not as familiar with them. How do they taste? Do you mix them in with your laying hens? Do they get along in mixed flocks? I know like ducks and such can be mixed in with chickens. Not sure about quail.
Yeah, i mean, like i said in my post, ive eaten DP birds before and im not honestly sure i like the taste. Like im not sure i care to raise them for meat, see what im saying? Thats why i was asking about Cornish X because theyre supposed to be more or less "grocery store" tasting. Not that i need an exact replica or anything. Just want something i can enjoy the taste. Figure that seems reasonable enough.
Heres another idea: was thinking about getting straight run of mixed DP breeds and seeing if i like the meat taste on any other DP breeds. Like barred rock, NH red, etc... Having like 10 different DP breeds then culling at a decent size and choosing which taste i like better......

 

[m1chelle1]

Quail are fantastic and very easy to breed. My husband calls them "the lobster of the poultry world" lol. Egg to freezer in 8 weeks (the males start fighting at about that time). It takes about 2 quail per person for a meal. The meat is dark meat. They are sweet little birds and simple to butcher. We raise them on grass.
You can buy day-olds around here for $1 or $2 each and once you have a little flock they are prolific layers (like 5 or 6 eggs a day from 6 hens) and easy to incubate.
I did a post awhile back about meat quail. The final cost of the initial batch (buying in the chicks) was $1.37 a bird. It would drop to 81c each if you incubated your own eggs. http://cottontailfarm.blogspot.com/2017/05/quail-harvest-butchering-results-costs.html

wow! thank you so much for both of your inputs! I never knew quail was such a prolific sustainable bird like this. Good to hear that they taste that good, too. Ill def have to find someone local who does meat quail and see if i can order one off of them and see how it goes! This is the kind of bird i think im looking for. Really appreciate the response. Ill check out that blog, too

 

[Kris5902]

100% correct on the CX info, and that the hybrids don’t breed true, but if you read through the Toad thread... breeding them can be done, it’s just not easy...

I’m thinking I will start with a local Red Ranger type hybrid (I need to get a jump start on my production), and several heritage breeds that are more meat oriented, so I can maintain two separate lines and cross them selecting for desired traits...

I doubt it’s possible for a backyard breeder or small farmer to come anywhere near the CX in size and efficiency, but I think it should be possible to get a more sustainable meat bird that can be hatched out on site.

The Quail sound great from a cost perspective... but at 2 birds/person(adult)/meal that’s a lot of butchering... I’ve got a family of three (husband, mother, and myself), so that would be 6 birds per meal... if I were to feed the whole family (on the farm) and wwoofers right now that would be 8 people, last summer 10-12 people... that’s a whole lot of birds! I can make a whole roasting chicken into 2 or 3 meals for the three of us.

 

[Kabootar]

I understand that this is an older thread

How about toads?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/toad-raising.1152440/

Hmmm I see the 'toad' looks promising at first glance, but there are some profound difficulties with this hybrid. Nevertheless it's a good try. I will try to keep an eye.

 

[Kabootar]

Please edit... the “disciplined like” phrase is highly inappropriate

.

I am extremely sorry about that 'disciplined' phrase. I didn't know that it is regarded as inappropriate. I can't think of anyother way to put it, so I just deleted that part. Pardon me for my foolish mistake .