POLL: Best Meat Bird Fitting this Criteria?

[IndianaHomestea]

farwest hatchery sells extra roos for 95 cent each great way to get heritage meat birds for cheap. I just ordered 25 dorking roos for about 20 bucks plus 14 hens i picked a march hatching but they have earlier ones. the have delawares too. low shipping. shipping 50 birds to me is costing 9.50 (a friend filled the rest of my order to 50 birds)

Thanks for the tip! I just ordered 25 Delewares from them that hatch in Feb.

 

[milleryardchx]

Thanks for the tip! I just ordered 25 Delewares from them that hatch in Feb.

Thats great! they are extra cheap because they don't kill extra roos like most hatcherys do

 

[carsonwild]

IndianaHomestea How much room do you have to raise your birds?
How are the Brahma's doing on there weight at 6 months old?
I am thinking of getting some Light Brahma's this year for a better DP bird.
I already have Gold laced Wyandotte They are great egg layers as i get 3-4 eggs a day from my 4 hens.
For me there a little light on weight for meat birds.
Carson

 

[Bullitt]

I know this question has been asked a million times, but many times, each person has different preferences.

I'm working on becoming self sufficient and that includes not being reliant on hatcheries.

With that being said, to me the most important things when it comes to my meat birds are:

1. They are heritage... so I don't have to constantly buy baby chicks or fertilized eggs. When/if the economy collapses, the price at the hatcheries will skyrocket too! And availability will be much lower as well. I want to avoid any issues there!

2. They go broody. I've tried hatching some eggs with my current egg layers (they're all mixed breeds) and none of them would sit on the eggs. I had to throw them all out after a week. I never saw any of the hens sitting on the eggs a single time. I want to avoid this.

3. They taste good. Obviously, the more taste the better.

4. They are moderate to fast growers. I understand that if I don't want to go the Cornish X route I'm going to have to deal with longer growing times. But I understand this can vary greatly between breeds.

* I'm no chicken expert, so some of the birds below my not be heritage.

I see you have Plymouth Rock and White Rock on your list. The breed is Plymouth Rock. There are several varieties of Plymouth Rock. such as barred and white.

If you want chickens for eggs and meat, you most likely will want white-feathered chickens with yellow skin, because the carcasses from these chickens will be more visually appealing..

Delaware or White Plymouth Rock would be good choices. Neither of these breeds are very broody, but they may occasionally go broody. But all you need is one hen to go broody each spring to keep you supplied with some new chicks each year.



According to The Livestock Conservancy, this is the definition of heritage chickens.

Heritage Chicken must adhere to all the following:

1. APA Standard Breed
   Heritage Chicken must be from parent and grandparent stock of breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) prior to the mid-20th century; whose genetic line can be traced back multiple generations; and with traits that meet the APA Standard of Perfection guidelines for the breed. Heritage Chicken must be produced and sired by an APA Standard breed. Heritage eggs must be laid by an APA Standard breed.
2. Naturally mating
   Heritage Chicken must be reproduced and genetically maintained through natural mating. Chickens marketed as Heritage must be the result of naturally mating pairs of both grandparent and parent stock.
3. Long, productive outdoor lifespan
   Heritage Chicken must have the genetic ability to live a long, vigorous life and thrive in the rigors of pasture-based, outdoor production systems. Breeding hens should be productive for 5-7 years and roosters for 3-5 years.
4. Slow growth rate
   Heritage Chicken must have a moderate to slow rate of growth, reaching appropriate market weight for the breed in no less than 16 weeks. This gives the chicken time to develop strong skeletal structure and healthy organs prior to building muscle mass.

 

[Bullitt]

You can't go wrong with Rocks, Wyandote, Orpington or Australorps. All good meat birds and layers. You'll have to raise them to around 18-20 weeks for a fair size table bird though. All will go broody but putting eggs under them doesn't make them sit. You have to wait for one to go broody then put eggs under her.

I voted White Rocks as they are larger than other Rock variety and am partial to Rocks but any turn of 20th century bird like the Wyandote, Rock, Orpington, Austalorp are excellent dual purpose birds. The Orps were developed due to our Rocks and the Brits didn't want to be without a national prize winning dual bird. The Austral-Orp is the Orpington developed into a better utility bird in Australia. The trend of breeding later in 1900's worked toward the cornish X and super layers for commercial use. The pinacle of dual purpose breeding ends in the heritage breeds mentioned above.

Orpingtons and Australorps are great breeds, but they have white skin. White skin is less desirable for most people. The most popular breeds for meat have yellow skin, such as Delaware and Plymouth Rock.

 

[carsonwild]

Dose anyone have anymore input. This subject is very interesting to me.
Dose anyone have info on light Brahmas are far as white meat to dark meat and what the weight at butchering at 24-26 weeks old is.
Thank you for the input.
Carson

 

[Bullitt]

Dose anyone have anymore input. This subject is very interesting to me.
Dose anyone have info on light Brahmas are far as white meat to dark meat and what the weight at butchering at 24-26 weeks old is.
Thank you for the input.
Carson

I have read that Brahmas are a slower growing breed. So this makes them less popular for meat. But if you do not mind it taking a little longer for them to develop, the Light Brahma would be a great choice.

This is from Cackle Hatchery:
http://www.cacklehatchery.com/page 299.htm

Light Standard Brahma Chicken Breed Information:
Originated in Asia and brought to this country in mid-1800's. Light Brahma chickens are exceptionally quiet, gentle, and easy to handle. Their small pea comb, great size, and heavy plumage make them almost immune to cold weather. They have feathered legs. The hens are good layers of brown eggs, excellent brood mothers and very children friendly for pets. The Light Brahma Chickens are a mostly white coloring but has black tail feathers and neck feathers have black in them. Cackle Hatchery

offers our production type Light Brahma and not the exhibition type.