Red Broilers

[deserthound]

Anyone have experience with the Red/Black Broilers from Ideal Poultry? How do they compare to the Cornish X as far as size and growing problems. Any other comments about them?

 

[Merryment]

I've got some, they just turned 6 weeks old. I'm pretty happy with them. They have been vigorous & growthy. We put them outside at 3 weeks, in some of the hottest weather we've had in Oklahoma in many years. They managed just fine in the heat. They are really active and are very good at foraging. Not so great in figuring out how to get up the plank into the roost at night, though. It took them a while longer to feather out all the way, too, compared to our layers; I figure they were putting the protein into growth and muscle deposition. They pretty red birds now, though.

We wanted an alternative to CX, and are satisfied with the red broilers so far. At the rate they are growing, I have no doubt they will be a good size when they go for processing in another 6 weeks. No, they don't grow as fast as the cornish x, but we wanted a slower growing, tastier bird anyway. I'm also not too interested in the hugemongous breast meat (rubbery!). A lot depends on what your desires and goals for a meaty flock are. I know there have been some folks not so happy with red broilers; others that prefer cornish x. It's all rather subjective.

Good luck!

 

[itsy]

I have the Red Broilers. I got them as chicks from Ideal on June 16th. It's a little early - but I processed my first bird today. I really need to get a scale - so I could tell you how much it weighed dressed out. I'll let you know how it tastes in a couple days

I'm happy with the size of the bird at this age. No - it doesn't have HUGE breastmeat, but it still looks meaty. Granted, I processed this bird young. It'll feed two people as a roaster or make a nice pot of soup.

I'm happy with them so far, but may order a different type of bird for comparison in the fall - unless they taste amazing and I'm so happy with the finished product that I decide to stay with them.

 

[deserthound]

Thanks for the info so far. I await your comments on their dinner plate appeal. When you process them, please comment on their wings & leg/thigh size and taste.

 

[itsy]

I took some photos for you that I will upload tomorrow.... but I ended up roasting the bird.

It was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have anything to compare it to - other than store bought chicken, but I can tell you that I really enjoyed it. I'm funny when it comes to eating chicken. I always feel that I can "taste" something I don't like - another flavor. WELL...there was NOTHING like that with my home grown bird. The meat was tender and juicy and there was almost no fat. The texture of the meat was firm yet tender - hard to describe. There was much more meat on the bird than I thought - and I got full right away. There's plenty for leftovers tomorrow. I can't wait to try cooking the birds other ways. I'm definitely going to be purchasing more meat birds (likely the Red Broilers) for the fall. I don't care if it costs more money than the store bought. The difference in flavor and texture is worth the price.

 

[itsy]

I decided to upload them now.

First thing I will note, although this probably is across the board - not just with the red broilers - there was no "chicken smell" when it was raw. You know the odor there is when you open up a packaged chicken from the grocery store? Well - I didn't have any of that. The skin was beautiful - white and healthy looking. I had it sitting in a large ziplock in the fridge for a couple days to rest. I seasoned it and put it in a roasting pan with carrots, turnips, parsnips, celery, onion and potatoes. I added some olive oil and butter. Observation: I could have done a better job taking the legs off and gutting the bird originally - to make the skin neater...

So I baked it and then tried convecting and then tried broiling in the last moments. I really don't cook chicken all that often and was really winging it. lol. I need to figure out a better way for it to be crispy all over. Here it is cooked. Note: I ended up removing the chicken and broiling the rest of the veggies until slightly burnt. Yum. I also made a gravy, which was hard to do because there was barely any drippings, but it worked out in the end.

Here some of it is cut up on a dinner plate. It's one side of the breast, wing, leg and thigh. Keep in mind this was a very young bird. I can't wait to see how the rest of the birds are after growing some more.

We have leftovers. I'm going to flip the bird over and crisp up the rest of the skin when we re-cook it tomorrow. I'll tell you again: It was delicious!!!! Very different than store bought chicken. I'm quite proud of myself for being able to do this.

 

[deserthound]

That's the info I was looking, especially the pictures. Thanks alot. Think I'll order 25 of them along with the X's next month.

 

[Rebel Rooster]

LEFT OVERS!!!! WHEN'S SUPPER???

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
I'm thinking about getting half an order of red broilers, half Cornish cross. My only worry is needing to raise the roosters longer. I wonder how long you need to raise them to get to about four pounds? I'm in a subdivision and already have three roosters. I cannot have a bunch of roosters crowing.
Itsy- how old was your bird? Was it a pullet or rooster? Are the roosters crowing yet? How much did it weigh?

 

[itsy]

DesertHound....glad to help! I'm thinking that I'll order 35 or so for the fall. I was even considering going with 50...25 Red Broilers and 25 Freedom Rangers to compare....Hmm....

RebelRoo.... Come on over!

Tracy... It was a roo. I have no idea what it weighed. I really need a scale! They're starting to crow, but it's not a loud crow. It's one of those low, raspy ones that doesn't carry far. I got these chicks on June 16th and processed it a few days ago now on August 12th. For some reason I got my days mixed up...hmm. So that would make the birds just about 8 weeks old, no? I NEED a scale.