Meat mixes...... What have you tried?

[SnapdragonQ]

I would kind of like to revive this conversation. I really enjoyed reading it through.

We had some Bielefelders at one point that we decided not to continue breeding (terrible egg production and pretty gluttonous). But, as barnyard mixing goes during times when the general population is released from pens and somebody goes broody and a different somebody lets her hatch, we have two beautiful (huge!!) Biele/Marans crosses - 1 cockerel, 1 pullet (who is laying a nice dark egg very regularly).

I am wondering if I should throw my 2 remaining Biele hens and my 3 or so broadest Marans in with them and see what hatches. I don't have a Marans rooster (I also decided against breeding them - never could get egg color dark enough) or I could have maybe worked towards sex links...still could - if I get enough big beautiful barred pullets...

Our biggest problem with the slow growing v. CX is the quality of the meat. I don't even really care how little there is - it just always seems very tight and chewy (even in a crock pot or pressure cooker). But I also really hate the short, non-chicken-like lives the CX live.

Sooo... Your thoughts? Your updates since this thread began? I'd love to hear them.

Hi! Thanks for posting and bringing the thread back up to the top.

Many changes have happened since I started the thread...I bought a small incubator shortly after with the idea of hatching shipped eggs. However, I decided to get my feet wet with my own eggs from mixes of the Aussie roo and the blue rock type hens. Hatch rate was excellent and now that they are older I am more impressed than I thought I would be. Beautiful colors too.

My scrawny Aussie roo threw boys bigger than himself, and the even temperament of him and the blue rock hens gave me some nice tempered boys. Not all of them, but most of them. Temperament wasn't what I was after, but not dealing with nasty older cockerels is nice for a change. One of those is a keeper- bigger, broader, made better than his dad, and beautiful blue. The hen this boy is out of is gone so no worries who he breeds.

My Red Ranger hatchery cockerels grew out really nice, are well behaved, and I am impressed with their sizes. One has awful legs and will the first to the stewpot, but the other two have possibilities. The RR hens look like average hens and could easily be mistaken for Golden Comets.

The Jersey Giants were/are a big disappointment. I ordered 2 roos and 2 hens. Got 3 hens, one of which is tail-less and a runt. Cute...looks like a kiwi, but not helpful. The other two girls are larger, and I like them so they will stay for now. The boy is the worst tempered boy of the bunch. I'll not be keeping him.
When they were younger they looked like black giraffes next to other birds their age.

I did order some Biele eggs and had a decent hatch rate so now have some 22-ish wk olds. 4 girls and 2 boys. They are maybe a little bigger than others their age. I can't tell who the gluttons are beyond the RR boys. For now they all stay and will be used in my grand experiment.

So, going forward I have a lot of possible mixes.
I have yet to pull up my big girl boots and do the freezer camp job. At my last place I could take them to a local facility and pay $2 a bird, which was really really nice! No such offerings here...anywhere, even for a higher price. But, the freezer is also still pretty full so no need yet. My observations at this point are all based on live bodies.

 

[orrpeople]

Hi! Thanks for posting and bringing the thread back up to the top.

Many changes have happened since I started the thread...I bought a small incubator shortly after with the idea of hatching shipped eggs. However, I decided to get my feet wet with my own eggs from mixes of the Aussie roo and the blue rock type hens. Hatch rate was excellent and now that they are older I am more impressed than I thought I would be. Beautiful colors too.

My scrawny Aussie roo threw boys bigger than himself, and the even temperament of him and the blue rock hens gave me some nice tempered boys. Not all of them, but most of them. Temperament wasn't what I was after, but not dealing with nasty older cockerels is nice for a change. One of those is a keeper- bigger, broader, made better than his dad, and beautiful blue. The hen this boy is out of is gone so no worries who he breeds.

My Red Ranger hatchery cockerels grew out really nice, are well behaved, and I am impressed with their sizes. One has awful legs and will the first to the stewpot, but the other two have possibilities. The RR hens look like average hens and could easily be mistaken for Golden Comets.

The Jersey Giants were/are a big disappointment. I ordered 2 roos and 2 hens. Got 3 hens, one of which is tail-less and a runt. Cute...looks like a kiwi, but not helpful. The other two girls are larger, and I like them so they will stay for now. The boy is the worst tempered boy of the bunch. I'll not be keeping him.
When they were younger they looked like black giraffes next to other birds their age.

I did order some Biele eggs and had a decent hatch rate so now have some 22-ish wk olds. 4 girls and 2 boys. They are maybe a little bigger than others their age. I can't tell who the gluttons are beyond the RR boys. For now they all stay and will be used in my grand experiment.

So, going forward I have a lot of possible mixes.
I have yet to pull up my big girl boots and do the freezer camp job. At my last place I could take them to a local facility and pay $2 a bird, which was really really nice! No such offerings here...anywhere, even for a higher price. But, the freezer is also still pretty full so no need yet. My observations at this point are all based on live bodies.

Nice! Yeah, I'm going to be looking at size v. age I think. But I'm still considering which girls to throw in with this guy.

I had a lot of trepidation the first time I processed birds. Thankfully, we had friends doing theirs at the same time and the dudes all took care of the killing and running them through the scalder & plucker so once they got to me they were naked. At that point I could say, "just clean out the grocery store bird" in my mind. It really helped.

 

[RUNuts]

Nice! Yeah, I'm going to be looking at size v. age I think. But I'm still considering which girls to throw in with this guy.
View attachment 2459789
I had a lot of trepidation the first time I processed birds. Thankfully, we had friends doing theirs at the same time and the dudes all took care of the killing and running them through the scalder & plucker so once they got to me they were naked. At that point I could say, "just clean out the grocery store bird" in my mind. It really helped.

It's good to have friends.

Y'all aren't helping me downsize, by the way. I think we are hatching for a little bit of meat with the new layers next year. We are still eating on the yard full, now freezer full, from last summer.

Keep the stories coming!

 

[SnapdragonQ]

Nice! Yeah, I'm going to be looking at size v. age I think. But I'm still considering which girls to throw in with this guy.
View attachment 2459789
I had a lot of trepidation the first time I processed birds. Thankfully, we had friends doing theirs at the same time and the dudes all took care of the killing and running them through the scalder & plucker so once they got to me they were naked. At that point I could say, "just clean out the grocery store bird" in my mind. It really helped.

Oh my, what a nice looking boy! Is he as solid as he looks??
Where did you get your Bieles from?

I wish I had someone do the worst of it...the killing and some initial cleaning out, because I've done it and I really don't like it, but it should be a little easier for me because I'll be skinning instead of plucking. Most birds here are pressure or crockpot cooked so don't really need the skin, and I make many things that need just meat parts, so double less need for a roaster type bird.
But still...it's the first few steps that I just dislike.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I only use Heritage crosses for meat. Best one so far for us is EE/Brahma.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

It's good to have friends.

Y'all aren't helping me downsize, by the way. I think we are hatching for a little bit of meat with the new layers next year. We are still eating on the yard full, now freezer full, from last summer.

Keep the stories coming!

I think when it's meat considerations, and not egg layers...it's still called chicken math!!
Yeah, friends are good. But paying someone else is even better!

I have thought of giving a neighbor a bird, or two, if he'd do the icky part, but right now I'm a wee bit stingy with the food. With the chickens I currently have, eggs, goods from the garden this past year, a freezer full, and a few staples...grocery runs are few and far in between right now.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

I only use Heritage crosses for meat. Best one so far for us is EE/Brahma.

That's an interesting combo.
How'd you happen upon that one? Does the EE add somehting the Brahma doesn't already have? I know those are big chickens... I've had a few Brahma hens in the past, but to be honest I had not considered them for this project.

 

[MysteryChicken]

That's an interesting combo.
How'd you happen upon that one? Does the EE add somehting the Brahma doesn't already have? I know those are big chickens... I've had a few Brahma hens in the past, but to be honest I had not considered them for this project.

They do add a decent amount of meat, & olive eggs if you wanted that instead. But I love how Giant they get.

(RIP Big Boy)

One of his sisters.

 

[orrpeople]

Oh my, what a nice looking boy! Is he as solid as he looks??
Where did you get your Bieles from?

I wish I had someone do the worst of it...the killing and some initial cleaning out, because I've done it and I really don't like it, but it should be a little easier for me because I'll be skinning instead of plucking. Most birds here are pressure or crockpot cooked so don't really need the skin, and I make many things that need just meat parts, so double less need for a roaster type bird.
But still...it's the first few steps that I just dislike.

Me too!
I just got them off eBay about 4 years ago. Couple different sellers. Oh, and a single chick from a local breeder that was mis-shipped (with her Seramas - one of these things is not like the others!)
Here's a better full body shot of the boy. He's heavy, but I haven't weighed him yet.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

They do add a decent amount of meat, & olive eggs if you wanted that instead. But I love how Giant they get.
View attachment 2460256View attachment 2460257View attachment 2460259View attachment 2460260View attachment 2460261(RIP Big Boy)
View attachment 2460262One of his sisters.

Wow, impressive. Those are some nice looking birds and I like big too. At my last farm I raised Bourbon Red Turkeys and loved the output of meat vs the inputs required. Not as much of course as Broad Breasted breeds, but I'm happy to say my breeding trio lived full, healthy, and long lives.
One of the reasons I had not considered Brahmas is because I need clean legged birds. I live on a red clay ridge and it's as sticky as cement when wet and cakes on when drying. But I'm guessing once you get some crosses the EE will clean up the legs!
Hmmm...food for thought! Now that I have the incubator my choices have really opened up.

Thank you for sharing...I may have to consider some.