Thoughts of HOUDANS for meat????

[MovieFanz]

I have read Houdans have excellent meat at any age. Always juicy and tender. Has anyone ate one?

 

[txcarl1258]

They are pretty rare. I doubt anyone would eat one unless it was a cull. I would love to find some, but wouldn't think of eating it.

 

[MovieFanz]

I just placed a order for 50 for the MOTTLED HOUDANS from McMurray. I also have a order for the WHITE HOUDANS from Sandhill. They only let you order 10 at $5 each. Since both orders are straight run, I figured I would only keep the largest roosters for breeding. I will eat the rest. I care more about quality meat that how fast they get to market weight. They are just for my family to eat. What do you think?

 

[txcarl1258]

I know nothing about Sand Hill's birds, but if you are ordering from McMurray they are more than likely geared toward production. Sounds like you have a good experiment to try. If you wanted birds for meat why don't you order some Cornish X's or Freedom Rangers?

 

[Illia]

Wow, umm. . . I'm gonna be honest.

Houdans were originally bred as a dual purpose breed, to have great meat, but. . . . Outside hatcheries, they're exceedingly rare in the US. I still have yet to find a breeder of standard mottled Houdans.

From hatcheries, they've been bred to the extent that all they are good for is ornamental purposes. They have very little meat, if any at all, and just simply lay eggs. Hatcheries are known to do this to a lot of dual purpose breeds. . . If you want to try and get a bunch from a hatchery and breed for the biggest, you'll be trying for a long time, because their weights are far off the standards.

But, if you really don't want to search for a good breeder, I'd trust Sandhill before McMurray - Murray McMurray has the worst quality Houdans and Crevecoeurs around.

 

[MovieFanz]

Quote:
I have tried the Cornish Crosses but they do not do well at my altitude. I was hoping for something with more wow factor at the table. I have never tried the Freedom Rangers. I have other chickens that do well but most are egg breeds (leghorns) and mix breeds.

 

[MovieFanz]

Quote:
I am glad your honest. I don't know much about this breed other than what I have read searching for good table birds. I figured the birds from Mc Murray would not be the best. Thats why I ordered so many. I hope to get a few that I could work with. I also read the breed has lost size. So I know that is the first thing I will try to improve on.

The problem I see with Sandhill is the limit how many you can order. Some can die before they are adults and then it leaves you breeding whatever is left. Hopefully they are good ones and at least one pair.

 

[eKo_birdies]

i "inherited" some mottled houdans from mcmurray (my neighbor moved and i took his chickens)..

and they are TINY. easily the smallest chickens i have on my property. they are friendly and seem to be good in the flock (they know their place in the pecking order...down low), but i could never imagine raising them for meat.

 

[MovieFanz]

The second picture here http://yellowhousefarmnh.com/content/865 shows Sandhills White Houdan. Do they look bigger than the tiny Houdan from McMurray. Could I use the Sandhill birds to improve the size or do they look little too?

 

[eKo_birdies]

honestly, they still look really light and narrow-bodied. my houdans aren't much smaller than that (if at all), but on a farm of heavy breeds and freedom rangers they look tiny. i'm not familiar w/ the houdan breed (standards) so i don't know too much about them really.