Meat Birds and Egg laying...

[m1chelle1]

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

 

[Broodygranny]

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!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

The industry that supplies the Cornish cross that you find in the supermarket maintain a sire line and a dam line. A cock from the sire line over hens from the dam line create Cornish crosses.

 

[123RedBeard]

How about toads?

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

 

[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]

How about toads?

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

ooohhhkkay, i had never before heard of this breed, so at first i said to myself, toads, hmmmm. Toads. Like Ribbit ribbit, right..... this man is either 1. in a state that has made the devils lettuce legal (which AZ to my knowledge hasnt) or 2 has had 3 too many....then i clicked on the post and sweet baby jesus. Those birds look like a FANTASTIC option!!!! And thank you!! Ill have to read up some time later so i can get all the knowledge on these beauts!

 

[123RedBeard]

We need a card for the weed ... I actually have a ribbit type toad that lives under my rain barrel ... only comes out during monsoon season when barrel overflows ... and it comes out of its buried dried as hard as concrete "mud" ... comes out every year for about two months, then burrows in while ground is soft ...

Ralphs toads are tasty looking! (Mine not so much!)

 

[GotCoop]

Economically, its important to watch your feed conversion rate with meat birds. Might be more inefficient to have some of your birds continue to maturity and reproduce. Freedom Rangers are an alternative meat bird that don't grow at the rate of Cornish-X or have the health issues with age...they will reproduce...but I doubt that you could efficiently continue the cycle. You can buy the chicks for about $2...

 

[Broodygranny]

I like the taste of quail, but they only cost about five dollars each where I am, so you could just eat one to see if you like it. They can't be housed with chickens. They are much smaller, so the pen doesn't take up much room.

 

[Kris5902]

Looking forward to the input here... I’m also looking at trying to get a good breeding program for meat birds started... not CX necessarily, just looking at different hybrid and heritage breeds for a sustainable meat flock. I have geographical issues with bringing in chicks on a regular basis, and there are limits on how many CX non-registered poultry producers here can have processed...