Quality of meat birds: a report

You might have been better off getting the majority as males rather than females. They tend to grow faster and bigger. Also weighting an extra month might have helped. Sometimes an extra month makes a huge difference.

 

RIRs would not be my first choice, I dont think, if I were to raise meat birds other than Cornish X. Breeds that grow quicker, bigger, and broader than RIRs, I think, would be perhaps Delawares, even Marans. Im very impressed with the Marans that Ive grown out; the males are really big and chesty at a fairly young age. The pictures Ive seen here of Delawares make me think they would make a good choice for a meat bird, too.

 

If your really looking for meat you have to get a meat breed. Yes,males are almost always bigger in any animal other than fish. But still not going to make that much difference like it would comparing breeds.You just can't expect alot from the so called Dual Purpose. Our grandparents and great grandparents used them only because that's what was available at that time,but now we have so much more to choose from. I hope if this was your first time you are not disappointed to the point of not trying something else. I've read alot of posts where people try raising their own meat for their first time but get discouraged because it wasn't what they'd thought it would be. I hope you keep trying. good luck Will

 

After tasting how good our spare BO rooster was, I'd also like to try raising a few meat birds next year. For taste, the 5 mo. old BO was excellent, but he was very small breasted. I don't really like the idea of going with a bird like the Cornish X, that has been bred to grow so fast that they have heart and leg problems.

So we have a vote for the Delaware and the Maran. What are other good meat birds? How about the plain old, non-crossed Cornish?

Oh -- Is it too much to ask that whatever bird I choose can free-range along with my BO's and be relatively non-neurotic?

 

I don't raise my own birds for meat to save money. I do it because I just can't support an industrial agriculture system that treats animals like machines, and to be more ecologically responsible.

And because my birds taste better than what can be purchased in the store.