What is the best chicken

[rjohns39]

Just a word about meat birds or using birds for meat, and I'm doing this from memory so If I get it wrong, please someone correct me.
Broilers 6-10 weeks old (what you buy at the grocery store)
Fryers 10-14 weeks old
Roasters 14 weeks to 6 months old
Stew Birds 6 months + (also a good source of ground chicken)

My Dual purpose birds dress out at about 2.5-3 pounds at 14 weeks, CX broilers 6-8 pounds at 8 weeks. Also when you process them let them set for 24-48 hours in the fridge before freezing. Oh and don't throw away the feet as they are great in stock.

 

[learning2homestead]

Oh I forgot to say that we are looking at property in NC with around 3-10 acres. the land we have here in Texas is 1/2 acre

 

[Molpet]

Thank you all for such wonderful answers. I am unsure about how to tag people in messages. my goal is to have chickens to live off of them, I want them for meat for my family and eggs to eat. I can't wait to get started in my chickens. I live in Texas but I am planning on moving back home to NC soon. I am trying to get my husband to agree to let me start raising chickens before we move. I am gonna do more research on moving them where I live now (just outside of Houston) and my home where we are moving to in NC(close to Wilmington) is 1260 miles apart so these little chicks will have to travel that distance. I am so excited to get started. My dad has already picked the first kind of birds for me to hatch in my new incubator. Bobwhite Quails. I promised him first hatch. I am sure I will have a ton more questions and I know I have found the right place to get the answers. Thank you all again

also might be issues if you plan on moving your flock from TX to NC.. need some health certificates to legally move them I believe

 

[lazy gardener]

I would wait to complete the move before getting your birds. Listen to your husband on this one! Moving is stressful enough, without having to move a flock of birds.

 

[lazy gardener]

also might be issues if you plan on moving your flock from TX to NC.. need some health certificates to legally move them I believe

Agreed. BTW, love your Psalm.

 

[Feather Fanatic 2000]

A great resource for determining which chicken is right for you is the "chick selector tool" on Murray McMurray's website. It allows you to expand description, and gives you a fair sample of breeds to choose from. (I'm not promoting Mcmurray here, just this tool!) I used this with my goals in mind, and settled on two breeds. Buff Orpingtons for winter hardiness, decent laying, broodiness, and large enough size for roosters to be good meat birds, and Dominiques also for winter hardiness, nice laying, and amazing free ranging ability. If you are looking for production though, Sex-links and Leghorns can't be beat. I don't particularly like them though, because I find that such extreme egg-laying leads to a lot of problems with deadly cases of being egg bound. There are many more breeds out there though, so I hope you find one that is perfect for you!

 

[ChickNanny13]

I would wait to complete the move before getting your birds. Listen to your husband on this one! Moving is stressful enough, without having to move a flock of birds.

TOTAL AGREEMENT! Make the move, purchase your place & in the mean time do all your research & homework. Build your coop/run bigger than you intend (Chicken Math), then purchase your chicks, Starters or flock. I know/understand the desire but when it comes to living creatures, you need to exercise patience.

 

[11mini]

The BEST chickens are Ducks!

 

[Molpet]

Agreed. BTW, love your Psalm.

Thank You

 

[deepbluesea]

Welcome! I live a couple of hours away from Wilmington in Morehead City, NC. I LOVE talking all things chicken, so shoot me a note when you get down here if you want.