What breed to start with-Sustainable meat bird flock

[jdopler]

Well, back to the op's topic..

I notice you have cornish.. how are they as a sustainable meat bird? My mom loves her cornish, but me being in NE colorado, I worry they wouldn't do well in the sometimes -20 temps. Can you share some info about them?

 

[al6517]

Quote:
I do process my culls for the table, I like that they do grow slow but as they do they still develop great meat amounts. My birds are SQ and I have an intensive breeding program that allows me to have plenty of birds for the table when those don't measure up. They do very well in the cold and forage well although mine don't forage as they stay penned and protected due to their value. example an 25 wk adult rooster can weigh upwards of 12lbs and hens to 9lbs, so processing them at younger ages still get's a great carcass. Hatchery cornish won't come close to that, I routinely butcher my teen cornish cause at that age I know their lack of potential and they are plenty big enough for the table and the flavor is the bomb........... do they still even use that term LOL.

 

[jdopler]

Quote:
Ha ha.. I still do...
Great, thank you. I may contact you next year then, I would love to add cornish to my yard.

 

[sgoff]

Thanks y'all for the info. I am going to check out Cornish and White Rocks and go from there. I am not in a hurry because I will need to build additional space and that takes me a bit of time. Having to work interferes with my chicken hobby! LOL!

 

[sgoff]

Al: your white rocks look like exactly what I want. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[SDChIcK]

Colored rangers or, Freedom rangers are what I think are the best. The Cornish Roasters I think are sad. They are breed to grow extremely fast and eat like crazy. If you are a new timer it is so much easier to to the Freedom rangers. When we did them they were bigger than the average store-bought but don't grow freakishly large. The biggest one we butchered was almost 12 lbs!

 

[bustermommy]

Are Freedom Rangers a hybrid?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

al6517 makes good points.
Since you don't mind a slow grower your options are many and the heritage birds will usually lay more eggs and be better foragers than straight meaties. I like Freedom Rangers and 90% of them forage well but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't breed true.

Is your climate hot or cold? I could further suggest breeds specifically for hot or cold.

Slow growers - La Fleche have a large breast and good forager, Brahmas, Langshans and Jersey Giants are big birds,

Faster growers - Delaware, Australorp - great layers, Buckeye - very meaty, Plymouth Rocks, New Hampshires

Here's info on lots of specialty breeders in Missouri, http://mda.mo.gov/animals/pdf/poultry_yearbook.pdf

 

[AlbionWood]

I'm partial to Delawares as a DP bird. Fast growers and great personalities; never heard of a mean Del roo. Terrific foragers. At 18 weeks or so you can get a nice carcass, 4+ pounds dressed (cockerels), with great flavor. We just let a Del hen brood and raise a batch of chicks - she was a great mother hen and some of the offspring are looking good!

Second choice would be New Hampshire - also great layers, terrific foragers, fast growers, and the meat is redder and more flavorful. Fried NH breast fillets are a rare delicacy! But I've heard sometimes the roos can be aggressive. Ours was biting the hens too much so into the freezer he went. The breast was amazingly long - getting the lungs out was almost impossible, I couldn't get my hand in far enough - yielded about 1.5 pounds of boneless skinless meat.

Freedom Rangers are modern hybrids.

 

[sgoff]

ChickenCanoe- I am in a very hot climate- Louisiana. Hot and humid. Are you able to keep your Freedom Rangers for breeding? I am told they are hybrid and will not breed true.