What are the best breeds of poultry for flavor?

[AmazingRachel]

-Egg Laying Chicken:
If you're solely looking for quantity, get red sex links, black sex links, and Leghorns. If you want some diversity and a classic homestead feel with a little less eggs, Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks are good. If you're looking for sustainability, maintain four separate chicken coops. A small one with Barred Rocks, a small one with Rhode Island Reds, and then a small one with Rhode Island Red roosters and Barred Rock hens. The offspring will be Black sex links (Black Stars) and you can keep those in a larger coop/run as your main laying flock.
- Meat Chicken:
Cornish-Crosses have dominated the meat chicken niche for decades due to maturing in 6-8 weeks and having an incredibly efficient feed conversion ratio.
If you're going for more of a classic homestead feel, White Delawares and White Rocks will do nicely. Even Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks make good meat birds (option for a high hatch rate of males).
- Duck:
Pekins and Golden 300 hybrid layer ducks.
- Goose:
Not familar
- Turkey:
Not familar
- Pig:
Not familar
- Dairy Cow:
Holsteins if your looking for quantity, after that are Brown Swiss, which are smaller but produce almost as much as Holsteins. Brown Jersey's if you're looking for a bit less quantity than Holsteins but have more milk fat and protein the milk.
- Meat Cow:
Angus


I would suggest not moving to cows so quickly and to start off with goats.

 

[AspiringHomesteader]

Hi how about Dewlap Geese vs Emben Geese and Scottish Highlanders vs Texas Longhorns for beef.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

Egg Laying Chicken: Never thought I would say this because based on my reading I thought Leghorns would be annoying, but my one white leghorn is the most social bird in my mixed flock and lays eggs when others are slacking off. And she always lays in the coop, where others will sometimes lay them off where they will not be found. And she is more predator savvy than the other birds.

- Meat Chicken: I don’t raise chickens for meat so no strong opinions, but I did have a friend that raised Dark Cornish for this and I liked them better than the typical hybrid meat chicken. They were good natured, good foragers, very healthy, and could rear their own offspring.

- Duck: My Welshies are awesome for eggs, and calm, which I like. Need more experience with more breeds though. Also I don’t raise them for meat, but if I did, probably Perkins.

- Goose: No idea yet, thinking about getting a goose to look after my very non predator savvy ducks.

- Turkey: My sister raises Royal Palms and they are the awesome birds.

- Pig: I would choose a Heritage, possibly cross breed. My friends / neighbors have many different breeds and I find the crosses and heritage breeds to be calmer, and more manageable.

- Dairy Cow: Jersey or Jersey cross

- Meat Cow: If I raised cows I would love to try some Scottish Highlands. Smaller, more manageable, and they browse the brushy weedy areas that other bigger cows avoid. Plus they look awesome.

 

[orientphoenix]

interesting, can we add a goat and sheep category to this also? and can we get a nother category separating meat ducks and egg ducks?

 

[AspiringHomesteader]

Sure @orientphoenix what do you reckon about those new categories?