Wanna help with a genetics project?

[Illia]

Okay, I really have to ask, did you actually get your La Fleche from a heritage source? Last I saw and read, they're not a small breed, in fact I'd think of them to be a really good meat bird.

Small size and lack of meat usually comes from production breeding, ie - from hatcheries, which most La Fleche sadly are from.

 

[Urbanfarmerkc]

Quote:
I completely buy what you are saying the problem is a slow grown bird is tough and a bird over 6 months old is REALLY tough. I turn my old birds into soup chickens and there is absolutely NO better flavor but as for an eating chicken, it has to be a young bird unless you've had different luck with a breed I haven't raised and I've raised RIRs, Barred Rocks, Delawares, Le Fleche, Dorkings, Cochins, Silkies, Black Australorps, Light Sussex, and so forth and so on.

I am always open to new advice though!

 

[Casey76]

True dual purpose breeds (Sussex, Faverolles, Ixworth, La Bresse Gauloise etc) produce perfectly good roasters at 26 weeks, if they are cooked correctly.

Of course the meat is going to have a different texture to the 39 day old, water injected "chicken" you buy from a supermarket, and you can't just shove it in the oven at the 20mins per lb + 20 mins and hope for the best; but to me they are far superior in taste than the flaccid meat of a supermarket broiler.

 

[iajewel]

I agree that feed and excersize is allot of it. However over the years I have raised allot of birds and different breeds. The best tasting fryer I ever had was a barred rock. I can't tell you why. I butchered allot of different breeds that year but you could always tell the barred rocks in that group. I raise Orphs now and have for years, as they are just my favorite for all types of cooking and I like other things about them. However I do think some breeds have different flavor even when they are all on the same feed.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
I was thinking the same thing.
La Fleche
Cocks................ 8 lbs Hens.............. 6½ lbs

Not all that small.

Urbanfarmerkc,

Any of the crosses below would make a good table fowl but keep in mind the birds from a breeder will work better than birds from a hatchery. (hatchery birds are a lot smaller than they should be)

• Light Sussex x White Wyandotte
An excellent table chicken but care must be taken in selecting the breeders so the breast bone of the offspring is not too high. Care should also be taken in selecting the White Wyandotte hens, they must not have any black in the legs in order to get good white fleshed table bird. These are fast growing birds that are short legged, carrying lots of meat. Feathers are white with the odd black fleck. Almost all of these birds will be white fleshed.

• White Wyandotte X Light Sussex
Take care in selecting the White Wyandotte Cocks, they must not have any black in the legs in order to get good white fleshed table bird. Some chicks will have a yellow skin but other than this, the resulting birds are much the same as the Light Sussex X White Wyandotte cross mentioned above.

• Indian Game (Cornish) X Rhode Island Red
This produces a yellow skinned bird which can be greatly enhanced in color by feeding corn and allowing access to fresh green grass. The Rhode Island Red is a fast growing breed which dominates the slower growing Indian Game. Indian Game cocks should be at least a year old so that fertility is high. Since Rhode Island Reds are prolific layers, there is never any shortage of hatching eggs.

• Indian Game X Light Sussex on Light Sussex
This is a second cross that was once very popular to produce a very meaty white fleshed table bird. The first cross results in slow growth but the second results in very fast growth.

In the Indian Game (Cornish) X Light Sussex on Light Sussex above, you will bred a Indian Game (Cornish) Rooster to a Light Sussex Hen then the offspring of this cross would be crossed back to a Light Sussex

Note that the Indian Game (Cornish) is not the Cornish Cross but the actual Cornish breed.

Chris

 

[Urbanfarmerkc]

Thanks again for all your support and advice. My Le Fleches are more of a white leghorn size. Big (tall) birds but not meaty. I got mine from Sandhill and they have had good reviews for their birds...

My males are probably now at 8 months or so at 8 pounds but it took a LONG time for them to get there. Mine didn't mature out until maybe 5 to 6 months. My Delawares mature almost to full size in about 4 to 5 months.

The pictures I've looked up of the Le Fleche are what mine look like. I have read somewhere that the American birds are smaller than the French counterparts.

Very interesting conversation.

Dave

 

[Casey76]

Here is a site for the original French La Flèche: http://www.poule-lafleche.fr/

As you can see from the photos and the information contained in the "En bref" cocks should weigh up to 5kg (11lb); they are generally considered a good breed to start with for amateurs of table birds.

Maybe you need to consider a project to improve the quality of the breed in the US

 

[Urbanfarmerkc]

Very interesting... so they don't slaughter their chickens until they are 5 months old. I'm guessing they aren't able to fry the chicken as 5 months old would be too tough. I think I'll try both and slaughter some younger and some older.

Thanks for the site.

Dave