Slow growing breeds for meat - What breeds to get?

[Tonyroo]

I'm going with dual purpose this year. I read up on the Lamona breed.

And from the description history and temperament of the breed it will work out for my setup. Cause there going to be living with my Swedish flower hens.

 

[Amer]

Delawares from Deer Run farm have been by far my favorite. A bit lazy, big eaters, fast growers, but not too fast. They go from these chubby little chicks to absolute handsome hunks of roosters, a glow up for sure.

https://www.deerrunfarmmd.com/pages/delaware

Very healthy, they put the frame on for the meat and they have proportional, delicious carcasses with a good amount of breast and not too much leg. Heritage Plymouth Rock are good, but personally I find they grow too big which means too slow to flesh out. I like Buckeyes but not as much speed and their legs are longer. To get the meat quality you have to go for pretty quality birds, standard hatchery fare isn’t going to be meaty enough, imo.
What else have I dressed out, you might be asking (jk I know you aren’t.) I’ve tried bantam Buckeyes , a hatchery Wyandotte, CornishX, Red Rangers, Toulouse Geese utility, Silkie , broad breasted white turkey, heritage turkey, tastewise and probably more things I’ve forgotten about!
Also I’ve eaten the breast meat of Runners, Guinea, and Ancona.

 

[Amer]

Anyway, my mom was so impressed by the Delawares from Deer Run farm she bought more this fall! (Behind my back ) anyway they are making progress, getting pretty big now. I guess they must be 4-5 months old now! I’ll have to get a picture. They are currently no longer in the chunky, needy stage where they follow you around begging water but are instead in the stage where most of their volume is feathers but their skeleton is getting pretty big.
They were raised by a broody Silkie. Quite a lot of big chicks for one bantam hen.

 

[Molpet]

I just listed those two breeds as examples. I would never eat a Buff Orpington or an Australorp. Those are pet breeds.

Actually some breeder's English Orpingtons are quite meaty. @Faraday40 has some nice ones

 

[Amer]

Some of the Delawares right now. They’re kind of spread out so hard to photograph.

 

[K0k0shka]

We all have our own personal preferences, goals, motivations, and methods. Those are the type of birds I raise to eat. That just makes us unique, does not make either of us wrong.

I wish people would keep their personal views and preferences personal. Our local feed store won't sell you chicks if you want to grow them for meat - the owner wants all of them to live out their lives as layers or pets... (but won't take back or help rehome those that turn out to be roosters). Sigh. So much for supporting local family business - and off to TSC I go!

 

[casportpony]

Locked per the thread starter's request.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I'm looking into doing meat birds again this year and actually going through with it. I have a little area separate from our main flock where I'll be keeping them once they're close to butcher age.
I prefer slow growing breeds as they're more natural and healthier.
I'm looking to hear what breeds are good for meat that I should get in spring.
The area I have for them can hold around 15 adult birds but I'm getting more than I actually need because I like to stay cautious and prepared in case I lose a few. All of them will be either raised by a broody or in our brooder coop with heat until they're old enough.

What slow growing breeds do you recommend or suggest for meat?

Take a look at Asian Blacks. I have a pair and while he grew fast, he is as natural as a heritage breed in terms of reproducing and living past 8 weeks. I have yet to weigh my boy, but he's gotta be at least 10 pounds and he's still healthy at 2 full years. Makes big sons too

 

[K0k0shka]

I would go with New Hamsters from this line...................

https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/shop/product/new-hampshire-gmo-free-chicken/

When developing our New Hampshire Reds, Henry Knoll worked to maintain the fast-feathering and rapid-growth features that make these dual-purpose birds so desirable for mass production, as well as for the backyard. Our birds are calm and very friendly and lay about 200 large, light-brown eggs per year (for best egg production, limit hens’ feed intake as their strength is in meat production). Please note, these chicks grow so fast that you do not want to use them for show purposes.

Do you know if they are breast heavy like other meat breeds? Can't tell from the website... I'd give them a try but I hate white meat, so I don't want breasty chickens.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I assume you are going to order cockerels. They are usually less expensive than pullets or straight run and give larger carcasses. That's the way I do this.

What traits do you want in a meat bird? If you are going to pluck them you might want a white or buff colored bird. Some pin feathers get left behind when you pluck and a light colored bird gives you a prettier carcass than a darker bird. If you skin them feather color doesn't matter.

Some people prefer a white, yellow, or darker skin though for a lot of people it doesn't matter. Do you have a preference?

Do you have a preference for light or dark meat? Most dual purpose breeds give a larger percentage of dark meat than the Cornish Cross hybrid meat bird. The true Cornish breed that was used to develop the Cornish Cross hybrid has a large percentage of white meat compared to most other dual purpose breeds.

How important is early maturing and size to you? Brahma or Jersey Giants eventually get really big but you may need to wait an extra month or probably more to take advantage of the potential extra size. Many of us prefer early maturing so we don't have to feed them as much.

Before the development of the Cornish Cross about 70 years ago, the most common breeds raised for meat in the US were Delaware, New Hampshire, and some strains of White Rock developed for meat instead of egg laying. Hatcheries have not been breeding them for meat for about 70 years so they aren't significantly better than other hatchery dual purpose breeds but if I were buying from a hatchery I'd look at them really hard.

I buy only straight run from our feed store. I prefer it over selecting what I want.
I do plan on plucking.
No preference for skin.
Just as long as it tastes great, I don't care for what meat it is.
Maturing isn't important to me.
I tried doing Delawares 2 years ago but only 1 made it close to laying age before a feral cat took it.