meat chickens

[evergreen1]

I'm not sure this is a good question to ask. But what is the best tasting chicken breed? I have the impression that the faster chickens grow, the less nutritious and tasty they are. The Cornish X grow fast to the butchering size. But how do they compare with other breeds in terms of taste and nutrition values? Are they all the same?

 

[Working Dog Doc]

While there is likely differences in carcass composition between the breeds, it's also what they are eating that is important.

 

[evergreen1]

Thanks. So how fast they grow is not a factor?

 

[cassie]

Thanks. So how fast they grow is not a factor?

I don't think rate of growth is as important as age. An older chicken is going to have a more pronounced flavor than a younger one.

 

[daveb3]

Heritage breeds are more tasty because they will eat their pellets/grain and then go off and eat grass bugs etc in a freerange situation, where as cornish x's will hang out next to the feeder and won't stray far. If you run heritage and cornish x's togeather and feed them twice a day the cornish's likely wont grow much faster than the others, will stay fit and you could raise the best cornish x rooster to cross with some large heritage hens. The flesh of the cornish x should taste a lot better as they'll be eating a lot more grass and they wont suffer the usual leg and heart probems. They'll take a bit longer to get to size though

 

[kfacres]

flavor is in the eye of the beholder..

personally, I think the DP birds aren't as tasty, succulent, and are far too tough and chewy-- even when cooked differently than the CX birds.

 

[Beekissed]

I think it is all in what you are used to....most people are used to grocery store chicken and think that is what chicken is "supposed to taste like". What they are used to eating is baby chicken. If you ate any of your other DP birds at 2 mo. they would have much the same flavor, particularly if they were penned like veal in a pen and fed high pro feeds like everyone does their CX.

If you feed the CX in the same style and manner you feed your DP and keep them for as long, their flavor would be much like the DP.

What you feed, how much activity they have, how old they are at time of processing all play into the flavor.

CX do not have to be overfed, lazy, prone to leg problems...you can free range them, limit their feed, feed less protein and keep them longer. They are definitely better tasting when raised in this manner.

I've been experimenting with feeding fermented feeds, which are purported to yield a better tasting animal no matter if it is beef, pork, or poultry, and thus far I have found that the one DP roo that I processed at approx. 5 mo. of age was incredibly succulent and tender with a mild flavor. I didn't even bother to rest the meat but put him directly into the crockpot and the meat just fell of the bone with a small time cooking.

I'll definitely be fermenting all feeds from now on...the benefits go way beyond just good, sweet meat.

 

[Celie]

Last November I bouht 50 CornishX Rock Broiler chickens. I put them with my other chicks the same age and fed them the same. All of my birds are free range, cage free and raised on organic leftovers from my garden plus a comercial pellet. I still have a few, both mal and female. Since the hens are laying eggs, should I seperate them and will they reproduce the same large roasting as the origional birds, or should are the males too heavy to reproduce? They run around with the other large chickens and have no leg or heart trouble, that I know of, and I think the last few I harvested at full maturity were the best chicken I have ever eaten. I have hundreds of heavy breed chickens ranging together right now, all duel purpose, except these. The roosters are not as strong tasting as any of the other roosters, even though they eat and exersize the same. Do I have to AI to get the same results or do you think the males can mate even though the are double breasted? What color and size should the eggs be? I think the hens are laying a medium light brown egg as far as I have noticed. About every 4th egg seamed to be a double or triple yolk, but at 8 months old, this is becoming mostly single yolked. If I seperated them and used AI, would I get thesame double breasted results? The last CXR Rooster. I harvested was over 14 pounds. The hens are running about 11 pounds. Thank you for any info or suggestions. Celie

 

[kleysbarn]

I am trying to figure out what to feed my meat chickens to make their Comb and feathers bright for Meat chicken show day at a local fair? They are 5 weeks old today

 

[daveb3]

Last November I bouht 50 CornishX Rock Broiler chickens. I put them with my other chicks the same age and fed them the same. All of my birds are free range, cage free and raised on organic leftovers from my garden plus a comercial pellet. I still have a few, both mal and female. Since the hens are laying eggs, should I seperate them and will they reproduce the same large roasting as the origional birds, or should are the males too heavy to reproduce? They run around with the other large chickens and have no leg or heart trouble, that I know of, and I think the last few I harvested at full maturity were the best chicken I have ever eaten. I have hundreds of heavy breed chickens ranging together right now, all duel purpose, except these. The roosters are not as strong tasting as any of the other roosters, even though they eat and exersize the same. Do I have to AI to get the same results or do you think the males can mate even though the are double breasted? What color and size should the eggs be? I think the hens are laying a medium light brown egg as far as I have noticed. About every 4th egg seamed to be a double or triple yolk, but at 8 months old, this is becoming mostly single yolked. If I seperated them and used AI, would I get thesame double breasted results? The last CXR Rooster. I harvested was over 14 pounds. The hens are running about 11 pounds. Thank you for any info or suggestions. Celie

Personally I would pen the best cornish X roo with some of your largest fastest growing DP hens and observe him to see if he is doing the job. You could also check the hens egg yolks for fertility but if they have been running with other roos you would have to wait at least 2 weeks to see if they are fertile from the CX rather than the other other birds. It may be easier to pen the CX hens with your largest DP roo so you know that they are being fertilised. The progeny should be faster growing and have a meatier breast than regular DP birds without being quite as extreme as a CX. I believe someone has stabilised a cross of the CX with the delaware to create a new meaty DP breed well suited to free ranging.