RIR Roos for Meat???

[dutchbunny83]

Are all wyandottes grumpy???
It seemed like it was taking FOREVER for my day old chicks to lay so when they were like 4 months old or so I picked up a pair of wyandottes at the flock swap- one silver laced and one golden laced. They are beautiful birds and the silver laced (which is older, not sure of age) lays for me everyday (I think).
But they are some mean ladies!!!
My others love to be pet and come running as soon as they see me. I was thinking this was because the others were raised from birth by me, but now I'm starting to think it's the breed...
Also, one bit me when I was taking the egg so I thought she was broody. I bought her a baby chick to raise and she almost killed it! Now my silkie rooster thinks he's the mom and is taking care of the baby, my wyandottes want nothing to do with it...

 

[Elke Beck]

I don't know if all Wyandottes are grumpy, but in my experience they know what they want and do not suffer fools gladly. Mine are less vicious than my Buff Orpingtons. The SLWs don't tolerate anything, but will only chase another chicken to make sure it gets the point. The BOs stalk other chickens. One of the BOS torn open the head of one of my meat birds after stalking it around the yard. OTOH, a friend who has trained dogs for years has always said that there is more difference in personality between individuals within a breed than there is between what is consider typical for breeds as a group. I think it is the same for chickens.

 

[Fentress]

Here you see two cockerels I did last year. One was a RIR and the other was a Red Sexlink. Both had the same father but the mothers were a RIR and a RIW, respectively. They were 16 weeks old, more or less. The meat was very flavorful, but a bit chewier than what most people are used to with chicken. To sum up: RIR = Yummy.

Those carcasses look pretty good. How much did they weigh? Educated guess would suffice. Last year was my first, I had supposedly dual purpose birds, New Hamp, barred Rock and Sp. Sussex, they lay well but the carcass at 16 weeks was poor, not withtstanding my prior conditioning to chicken from the grocery. They were about 2.5 lbs, dressed (no neck or organs) at 16 weeks. Did not make for an appealing presentation, with a severly protruding breast bone and lanky legs. They were healthy. I fed them a commmercial high protein feed (Purina Flock Raiser) and they had lots of free range. I have been hanging out on the Heritage forums trying to figure out what is a reasonable expectation for a true dual purpose bird. More standard of perfection dialogue than carcass quality in those forums. Any thoughts? Is the commercial hatchery stock my main problem?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[cameronfarm]

Those carcasses look pretty good. How much did they weigh? Educated guess would suffice. Last year was my first, I had supposedly dual purpose birds, New Hamp, barred Rock and Sp. Sussex, they lay well but the carcass at 16 weeks was poor, not withtstanding my prior conditioning to chicken from the grocery. They were about 2.5 lbs, dressed (no neck or organs) at 16 weeks. Did not make for an appealing presentation, with a severly protruding breast bone and lanky legs. They were healthy. I fed them a commmercial high protein feed (Purina Flock Raiser) and they had lots of free range. I have been hanging out on the Heritage forums trying to figure out what is a reasonable expectation for a true dual purpose bird. More standard of perfection dialogue than carcass quality in those forums. Any thoughts? Is the commercial hatchery stock my main problem?

Thanks,

Mark

2.5lbs is definitely pretty small Heritage roosters generally take about 18 - 20 weeks to reach 3 - 4lbs dressed. I wait till about the first man size crow, to me thats usually the dinner bell for a heritage. When a bird is referred to as a dual purpose its usually in reference to the males are for eating and the hens are for laying. A heritage hen will usually dress out to 2.5 - 3.5lbs and takes two to make a meal.

 

[Elke Beck]

Those carcasses look pretty good. How much did they weigh? Educated guess would suffice. Last year was my first, I had supposedly dual purpose birds, New Hamp, barred Rock and Sp. Sussex, they lay well but the carcass at 16 weeks was poor, not withtstanding my prior conditioning to chicken from the grocery. They were about 2.5 lbs, dressed (no neck or organs) at 16 weeks. Did not make for an appealing presentation, with a severly protruding breast bone and lanky legs. They were healthy. I fed them a commmercial high protein feed (Purina Flock Raiser) and they had lots of free range. I have been hanging out on the Heritage forums trying to figure out what is a reasonable expectation for a true dual purpose bird. More standard of perfection dialogue than carcass quality in those forums. Any thoughts? Is the commercial hatchery stock my main problem?

Thanks,

Mark

Those birds were definitely under three pounds each. There was plenty of meat on them for their size. In fact, I was surprised at how much fat they had. They may have been small, but you cannot beat the taste! And they made a great pot of chicken noodle soup for New Year's Eve.

 

[oldrooster]

I looked up on the threads here that you need to "rest" the meat for several hours (usually overnight) and there are suggestions on how to free range roosters with little or no bought feed. there are several on here who buy the "fry pan" or "rooster" specials so research it here, you'll see how others are (or have) done it....

 

[ChickenCanoe]

2.5lbs is definitely pretty small Heritage roosters generally take about 18 - 20 weeks to reach 3 - 4lbs dressed. I wait till about the first man size crow, to me thats usually the dinner bell for a heritage. When a bird is referred to as a dual purpose its usually in reference to the males are for eating and the hens are for laying. A heritage hen will usually dress out to 2.5 - 3.5lbs and takes two to make a meal.

Crowing is when I start considering finishing them too.
Some breeds can get a bit bigger like Brahmas, JGs, Chanteclers, Javas and Dorkings,

I looked up on the threads here that you need to "rest" the meat for several hours (usually overnight) and there are suggestions on how to free range roosters with little or no bought feed. there are several on here who buy the "fry pan" or "rooster" specials so research it here, you'll see how others are (or have) done it....

Definitely rest a minimum of 24 hours. They'll continue to tenderize the longer one waits. I usually brine and rest for at least 3 days before cooking or freezing.
It's also necessary to cook pastured birds on lower heat for much longer since they've actually been using their muscles.
I had never given it a lot of thought but the first time I raised freedom rangers I was anxious to taste one. Shortly after processing I fired up the rotisserie and cooked like one would a Cornish X.
I skewered it at the height of rigor mortis. It was like eating a rock. Very disappointing.

 

[Elke Beck]

Definitely rest a minimum of 24 hours. They'll continue to tenderize the longer one waits. I usually brine and rest for at least 3 days before cooking or freezing.

I use the legs to test when they are ready to cook. When they are first in rigor it is very hard to move the leg. It is like trying to move the leg of a partially frozen chicken. When the leg wiggles without moving the rest of the body, I consider it done. Kind of like baking -- when the leg moves freely, the chicken is done.

 

[oldrooster]

I have seen some people argue that Cornish crosses are cheaper to raise because you need to feed BP roosters longer for grow out. I wonder if there is conversion tables where it shows how much feed for a DP rooster it takes to grow him out vs. a Cornish cross. because I understand Cornish crosses are on as the old joke a "sea food diet" if it sees food it eats it. and you have to take away the food overnight from them, plus the crosses need a higher protein food (meaning a higher feed price). If someone know the answer please let me know, and I am sure others are interested. I realize DP are smaller birds so I understand in a way it's still apples to oranges, but I figure it would be nice to see the math myself esp. if you figure in the cost of the bird higher feed etc. etc. etc...

 

[BCMaraniac]

I have seen some people argue that Cornish crosses are cheaper to raise because you need to feed BP roosters longer for grow out. I wonder if there is conversion tables where it shows how much feed for a DP rooster it takes to grow him out vs. a Cornish cross. because I understand Cornish crosses are on as the old joke a "sea food diet" if it sees food it eats it. and you have to take away the food overnight from them, plus the crosses need a higher protein food (meaning a higher feed price). If someone know the answer please let me know, and I am sure others are interested. I realize DP are smaller birds so I understand in a way it's still apples to oranges, but I figure it would be nice to see the math myself esp. if you figure in the cost of the bird higher feed etc. etc. etc...

I just started with meat birds this year. I bought 6 Cornish Rocks at TSC, and have not yet raised DP birds, so I cannot speak to the cost difference. I do know that the broiler/finished feed that I buy is only a little over a dollar more than the chick starter/ grower per 50-lb bag.

The Cornish claim to fame is that the feed conversion ratio is 2-to-1, a pound of gain for every 2 pounds of feed. I assume that number is calculated with no waste of feed, and I haven't perfected that.....don't know if I will.

BTW, they are definitely on the "see-food diet". In order to reduce the leg problems that often plague CX chickens, many people withhold food overnight after 4 weeks of age. I don't specifically withhold food overnight, I just make sure that they run out of food DURING the night.

I just processed my first CX this weekend at 9 weeks, and they dressed out between 5 and 7.5 pounds dressed, They are resting as we speak, so I will package and freeze on Tuesday. I currently have 12 CX that are approximately 5 weeks, and I have Red Ranger Broilers coming in 3 weeks. In addition, I have White Orpington and White Rock roos coming with them that I plan to caponize so that I can grow them more slowly.

I will evaluate my feed cost, with the DP vs CX, and keep you updated.