What Dual Purpose Chickens Are Good To Eat????

[ChickenCanoe]

All chickens are edible. The layers are lighter framed. Older birds are tough so cooking needs to be low and slow. All suggestions above are good.

The meat breeds can get to heavy or big to breed successfully. But there is a middle ground.

Dual purpose is just a catch all term. Everyone has a different definition. Egg layer means they lay eggs. Some lay more than others, but as a general rule, some breeds were selected for higher/larger/colored egg production.

What are your goals? Do you like breasts or leg quarters? Are large flocks desired? Do you want year round egg production? Large eggs or are small eggs acceptable? How do you like cooking your chicken? These all influence the answer.

I'll suggest leghorns. Marvelous egg layers. Small carcasses with long keels. Added benefit is they are more feed efficient for eggs. The larger breeds will eat more for the same mass of eggs, but will yield more meat at harvest time. Best wishes with your search. As you can see, there is no one answer for everyone.

X2
I've butchered plenty of leghorn roosters in my day as well as lots of other egg breed roos.
On occasion, I've even butchered too young birds just because it was the right thing to do at the time. My philosophy was that if a raccoon can find enough to eat on the bird, so can I.

 

[Molpet]

Traditional ages and uses, but younger birds can be cooked the same as an older. I roast usually and harvest starting at 16 weeks.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Keeping in mind that any bird you raise, particularly if its allowed to free-range, will be tougher in texture, with less subcutaneous fat, and more "game-y" in flavor than factory bred CornishX hybrids which are allowed to gorge until culling, and have neither desire, opportunity, or incentive to move from the feed trough. You will want to favor the early end of those ranges for those methods if you value the supermarket texture, and of course expect smaller birds.

Personally, I describe it as more "turkey-like" in flavor, but while I am knowledgeable about cooking methods, for unimportant reasons to this discussion, my sense of taste is not to be trusted.

 

[PDXJULES]

https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fnc12-866/
A guy did a study of a few hatchery breeds

This one compared so-called American Heritage Breeds, and included the Cornish Cross, which scored lowest in flavor by an informal group of Tasters. White Plymouth Rock, processed commercially at 16 weeks seems to be the recommendation, instead of 18 weeks, and work to reduce feed costs. Naked Neck were easier to process. Tasting results did not seem clear, cooking method was simple, and no extra saucing or seasonings were allowed, so amateur / untrained panelists often just wrote _Bland_ - instead of descriptive terms or ratings. These were all Cockerels costing under $1.60 each, confined 25 per tractor. But there was a lot to read about method.
I think Basque and a few French breeds ought to be considered as they have taken quality of meat into consideration far longer than American producers. For feed efficiency, and egg production, other regions have excelled.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Best Duel Purpose cross for meat we did was Easter Egger/Brahma. Good layers of large eggs, & a decent amount of meat. The birds are large, & heavy weights.

Also other good Duel purpose breeds are:

Orpingtons

Barred Rocks

Rhode Island Reds

Leghorns

New Hampshire

These are birds I've had experience with.

 

[PandaGirl]

Ok, I am a little uneducated about the difference between hatchery and breeder. Is Meyer Hatchery a good place to buy my first chicks to breed off of?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Ok, I am a little uneducated about the difference between hatchery and breeder. Is Meyer Hatchery a good place to buy my first chicks to breed off of?

Meyer's is really good quality. They breed for both quality, & quantity. I get my better birds there.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Ok, I am a little uneducated about the difference between hatchery and breeder. Is Meyer Hatchery a good place to buy my first chicks to breed off of?

A "Hatchery", by definition, hatches eggs. Generally, lots and lots and lots and lots of eggs. Source unspecified. The larger ones, to control costs and efficiency, breed their own for hatching, at least for their most popular/highest volume birds, but not all do. As Hatcheries go, Meyers has a very good reputation. My birds are all for production, one way or the other, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from Meyers. Pricing from hatcheries tends to be "good", when comparing breeds, and their selection tends to be quite broad. Think Volume and Economies of Scale.


A "Breeder", on the other hand, tends to be smaller, and theoretically specializes in a couple of breeds. Since they, in theory at least, have narrower focus and more incentive to work on the qualities of their stock, the birds are often closer to show quality, breed standard, etc. Breeders are generally more expensive, have less selection, and lower availability in terms of raw numbers. They can be MUCH more expensive. Even so, there are no guarantees. For every Breeder out there who has been working on a flock for a decade or more to improve its qualities, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of small Breeders who are simply selling birds at whatever scale they can manage. Some Breeders now have selection, a dozen or more breeds available, but with relatively small flocks of each breed (meaning a tightly constrained genetic line) - that's both good for consistency, and potentially bad if you plan on breeding from their stock.

There are no easy answers here - it comes down to what your needs are, what you are willing to pay, and how much research you are willing (or able) to do, since reputationally these are often 'word of mouth" and "collective wisdom", with all the faults that method entails. and even then, there are no guarantees, just better or worse odds.

 

[PandaGirl]

Ok, you guys are so helpful! I now have an idea of what I am going to do! Thanks!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you for saying so. That's what this site is all about. Speaking for myself, though I am certain the feeling is broadly shared, I am pleased that you found my (limited) experience helpful, and wish you every fortune in your future chicken endeavors.

The expression of appreciation is particularly welcome though. Have a great morning!