Meat birds for first time What kind?

[Ajulycc]

Looking for a bit of advice. I have 7 egglayers my wonderful barred rock girls, but am interested in starting some meat raising. Just got the ok to start a coup for the meat birds but am wondering what type. We culled the roaster we obtained when we got our “straight run” and butchering was not an issue. I feed my egg layers a non gmo diet and they are free ranged daily. Looking to have healthy, tender meat, without all the gmo’s and antibiotics and crap they put in our grocery food now. I live in Western NY so weather is negative 20 to 95 depending on time of year.

 

[RUNuts]

1. Read the other threads of similar ilk.
2. Define your goals. Do you like white meat or dark? Do you want economical? Quick? Free ranging? Large or small?
3. Start small.
4. Chickens, quail, emu, ostrich or other?

I'll recommend Cornish Cross. Economical and quick to grow (6-10 weeks depending on you). Utube has some good videos. Suscovich is a start. Best wishes!

 

[Ajulycc]

I would definitely like white meat , economical sure . I was considering the Cornish cross or red ranger. I believe the goal would be to keep the meat separate from my egg layer girls. So they will have a large open topped run ( dog kennel) .

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are no hormones or GMO in the chicken meat you get from the store in the US. I know you did not mention hormones but they have been banned in chickens (not beef or others) since the late 1950's. GMO is just not economical, they don't need it. They can do what they want through selective breeding. Antibiotics are a different story though they are tightening the restrictions on those. Still, I refer to grow my own veggies and chicken.

You basically have three choices for meat birds. There are benefits and issues with each. You can manage the time of year when you raise the Cornish X and Rangers so you can avoid the extreme temperatures.

The Cornish X are the most economical, especially if you buy all the food they eat. When you butcher them will vary a bit depending in what you feed them and just how big you want them, but that's the chicken at the store. Some people do pasture them but typically they are butchered really young, often at 6 to 8 weeks but pastured or restricted-feed can go a bit longer. These chickens grow so fast they need to be butchered before they have medical problems. They grow so fast their skeletons may not keep up so they break down or their heart just can't keep up. They are tender enough that they can be cooked any way, including frying an grilling. One downside is that they have to be butchered when it is time. Do you have sufficient freezer space? Will you have the time when it is time? These can get big and will probably give you the most white meat.

Then you have the Ranger type. These don't grow quite as fast as the Cornish X and are designed more to be pastured. These are typically butchered 4 to 6 weeks later and can pretty much be cooked any way, though some people might find them to have a bit of texture if you fry or grill the older ones. They can have some of the same medical problems as the Cornish X but not as young and usually not as severe.

Then you have the dual purpose. These do not get anywhere close to as big and cost more per pound of meat for feed. You are generally restricted as to how you can cook them because they are so much older before they put on a reasonable amount of meat. The big advantages to these is that they can reproduce if you want to breed your own and they don't develop the medical problems so you can put off butchering if you wish. From your goals I don't think they would suit you.

My suggestion is to raise a small batch of Cornish X and see how they suit you. Then raise some Rangers and compare. I don't think either will be a mistake for you and you can decide for yourself which you prefer.

 

[snow5164]

Rangers/grazers are the way to go, I hear from your post that you’re concerned about the health of the birds. These birds were breed as an alternative to Cornish . They grow slower, more humane, are healthier and less likely to die before butcher.

Yes that extra month of feeding costs you, but if you could see how healthy , happy and active they are it’s well worth it to me . The old hens will disagree because they’ve done Cornish forever

 

[Ajulycc]

There are no hormones or GMO in the chicken meat you get from the store in the US. I know you did not mention hormones but they have been banned in chickens (not beef or others) since the late 1950's. GMO is just not economical, they don't need it. They can do what they want through selective breeding. Antibiotics are a different story though they are tightening the restrictions on those. Still, I refer to grow my own veggies and chicken.

You basically have three choices for meat birds. There are benefits and issues with each. You can manage the time of year when you raise the Cornish X and Rangers so you can avoid the extreme temperatures.

The Cornish X are the most economical, especially if you buy all the food they eat. When you butcher them will vary a bit depending in what you feed them and just how big you want them, but that's the chicken at the store. Some people do pasture them but typically they are butchered really young, often at 6 to 8 weeks but pastured or restricted-feed can go a bit longer. These chickens grow so fast they need to be butchered before they have medical problems. They grow so fast their skeletons may not keep up so they break down or their heart just can't keep up. They are tender enough that they can be cooked any way, including frying an grilling. One downside is that they have to be butchered when it is time. Do you have sufficient freezer space? Will you have the time when it is time? These can get big and will probably give you the most white meat.

Then you have the Ranger type. These don't grow quite as fast as the Cornish X and are designed more to be pastured. These are typically butchered 4 to 6 weeks later and can pretty much be cooked any way, though some people might find them to have a bit of texture if you fry or grill the older ones. They can have some of the same medical problems as the Cornish X but not as young and usually not as severe.

Then you have the dual purpose. These do not get anywhere close to as big and cost more per pound of meat for feed. You are generally restricted as to how you can cook them because they are so much older before they put on a reasonable amount of meat. The big advantages to these is that they can reproduce if you want to breed your own and they don't develop the medical problems so you can put off butchering if you wish. From your goals I don't think they would suit you.

My suggestion is to raise a small batch of Cornish X and see how they suit you. Then raise some Rangers and compare. I don't think either will be a mistake for you and you can decide for yourself which you prefer.

Thank you so much! I wasn’t sure about the GMO’s in store bought chickens. And for the last year i have been using my own venison instead of beef for our red meat intake. Just like the idea of obtaining my own food.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

Rangers/grazers are the way to go, I hear from your post that you’re concerned about the health of the birds. These birds were breed as an alternative to Cornish . They grow slower, more humane, are healthier and less likely to die before butcher.

Yes that extra month of feeding costs you, but if you could see how healthy , happy and active they are it’s well worth it to me . The old hens will disagree because they’ve done Cornish forever

If you want tender AND flavorful meat then go with Cornish cross; they are the most economical.

If you want tougher meat, more expensive per pound, then go with Rangers

 

[snow5164]

If you want tender AND flavorful meat then go with Cornish cross; they are the most economical.

If you want tougher meat, more expensive per pound, then go with Rangers

Now that’s just their opinion.... cost for all my grazers living priceless

 

[Rysktal]

I also recommend trying one type this year and another type next.

Last year we did "meat kings" as they call them here (I think they are Cornish cross) and I didn't like them at all. Our experience was aggressive birds and a few of them just dropping dead. Now that doesn't bother some people, my best friend loves raising meat kings.

This year we are doing a slow grow with dual purpose/mixed heritage breeds.

We shall see how it goes!

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

Expense is very dependent upon how you feed the meat birds. If you free range them and only supplement with feed, the cost will be far less than if you cage and feed exclusively (this is how those chickens at the grocery are raised). The Cornish cross is designed to be heavy by week 7 at week 8 they tend to be so heavy their legs break from their own weight (these are those huge breasted birds that Tyson Foods is in love with). The Ranger birds are also designed to gain weight rather quickly but they still know how to forage, unlike the majority of the Cornish cross birds available. Then you also have the choice of going with a dual purpose bird such as the RIR a bird that will give you far more flavorful meat than any of the "Meat" birds and they are fully capable of feeding themselves by foraging for almost all of their nutritional needs. These birds take several months to fill out but if you are wanting nutritional value and taste, they might be your best choice.