New to meaties

[Brucepierce]

I have a question for you experienced folks...
I have hens for eggs 2+ yrs now and also raised turkeys last year for the holidays feasts...I'm ready to start with chickens for meat...my local feed store only offers what they call broilers .....looks like a basic white rock-ish looking bird...is this my best choice to get started or should I buy a different breed through the mail.TIA
Bruce

 

[Ridgerunner]

They got those from the same hatcheries you would order from. You can always ask them which hatchery. They should be what you are looking for.

 

[Brucepierce]

thx

 

[ChickenJerk]

Broilers is the collective term used by the meat chicken industry. It refers to the modern meat type chickens of today. Never will you hear anyone from the genetics providers refer to them as Cornish whatevers. Nor will you ever hear any one who raises these birds big time call them anything but broilers. Cornish whatever is just a dumbed down term used by small mail order hatcheries in response to uninformed backyard chicken keepers

 

[Brucepierce]

Thank you, that makes sense.

 

[lazy gardener]

You can go with them. And they are often referred to as Cornish cross Rocks. Or you can order Pioneers, or Dixie Rainbows (same bird, basically) or the Freedom Rangers. These 3 birds grow out a bit slower than the CXR, and are not as prone to the orthopedic/cardiac issues of the CXR. They do a better job foraging, but take a few weeks longer to reach market weight. The CXR are ready to process at 6 - 8 weeks, while the others are better at 10 - 12 weeks.