Mistral Gris meat birds

[bcboy]

My Mistral Gris go to the butcher in a week. That will be 13 weeks for the first batch, all Roosters. The Hens will go after in a couple of weeks.




I can't be more happy with them. They spend all of their time outside in the sunshine eating grass and the fruit/veggies I give them. They eat way less roaster/finisher pellets than the Cornish Crosses.
Processing weights and dates as follows (only a guideline)
9 weeks cockerels are ~5 - 6 lbs live weight, yield nice 3.5 to 4 lb fryers. Pullets are too small for most purposes.
12 weeks cockerels are 8 to 10 lbs live weight, dress out as 5 to 7.5 lb roasters. Pullets at this age are meaty fryers.
14 weeks cockerels are >10 lbs live, dress out as large roasters. I do not like to keep boys beyond this age. Pullets are 5 to 6.5 lb roasters.
Pullets can be kept a little longer than 14 weeks but the growth rate is slow. They are tender enough for oven roasting through 18 weeks.

Thanks for posting the picture with the growth rates.

 

[Qalupalik]

I just got some of these eggs today to hatch

 

[bcboy]

I just got some of these eggs today to hatch

How many did you get?
I have 42 in the hova-bator.

 

[Island Roo]

This is what they look like at 11 days.

I gave them a head of lettuce which they happily devoured within minutes. I did the same thing to my last batch of cx and they ignored it for days until it started to mold - so i removed it.

Based on their behaviour in the brooder, these guys going to be great foragers.

From 42 eggs I got 31 chicks: 3 were non-fertile, 2 stopped after about a week and 6 could not pip their way out. I think my humidity might have been too high early in the incubation.

 

[Qalupalik]

I got 12 eggs, but one of them got eaten by something. So 11 now.

 

[Arielle]

THese are very interesting birds. I'm looking for a good meat bird, one that I don't have to order chicks every year, and something not as fragile as the growthy cornishX and are good foragers.

Where do you get eggs, or chicks??

 

[Island Roo]

THese are very interesting birds. I'm looking for a good meat bird, one that I don't have to order chicks every year, and something not as fragile as the growthy cornishX and are good foragers.

Where do you get eggs, or chicks??

There is a hatchery in BC selling them now: http://truenorthfarm.ca.

They do not ship to the US

These are a 4 way cross that will not breed true so I don't think you will get out of the "order chicks" cycle with them.

So far, mine don't seem fragile at all - and very active.

 

[Arielle]

Darn. THese are very interesting birds for sure.

While the next generations sill not perform at the same level of the chicks sold commercial, they actually do thave the basis to function very well in the following generations. WIll not be exactly the same but the rotational breeding system is a common one and is based on crossing stock and one is always more dominant than another. So if you take these chicks and breed them you might be further ahead than most other sources of birds.

 

[bcboy]

Quote:Originally Posted by Island Roo

This is what they look like at 11 days.

Based on their behaviour in the brooder, these guys going to be great foragers.

From 42 eggs I got 31 chicks: 3 were non-fertile, 2 stopped after about a week and 6 could not pip their way out. I think my humidity might have been too high early in the incubation.






Do you think the ones with the white on their heads are male?
Thanks for posting the pictures.

 

[Island Roo]

Do you think the ones with the white on their heads are male?
Thanks for posting the pictures.

I wondered about that too but I have not kept track to know if it turned out that way. I should have marked them.