what is the best meat bird u can hatch and raise yourself...

[greyfields]

My best results have been crossing my Dark Cornish cockrel onto retained Freedom Ranger hens. The next best was crossing the same cockrel over my black sex links hens.

So, yes, you'll need to be doing hybirds if you want a decent meatbird. Even then, they won't be super. We grow our own hybrids each year, but only for our own consumption. I'd never dare sell them.

 

[jvls1942]

I am not much for breast meat.. I like wings, theigh and legs.. I have raise buff orpingtons for years..good dual purpose birds..
I did have some huge light brahma
and wyandotte roosters in the past

I heard of someone raising chickens that have 4 legs.. for drmsticks.. How do they taste?you ask.. don't know yet, they can't catch them..

..jiminwisc........

 

[cheeze]

Quote:
idk if anyone here eats cochins but they are some very big body birds.

i have thought of tryin it but i love my partridge cochin hen she is too sweet to kill lol

maybe white cochin x white jersey giant? idk just an idea i had lol

 

[becky3086]

Well greyfields,
You should sell some of those crossed eggs on here because some of us wouldn't mind trying them .
Becky

 

[chickenfever]

Quote:
idk if anyone here eats cochins but they are some very big body birds.

i have thought of tryin it but i love my partridge cochin hen she is too sweet to kill lol

maybe white cochin x white jersey giant? idk just an idea i had lol

We are actually going to butcher three of our cochin cockerels today. I'll let you know what I think. At 17 weeks old they are already very large birds, but they have also eaten almost twice as much as my other chickens to get to this point (one of the reasons they are becoming dinner). They are the only chickens who lay down while they are eating! I guess if you know you're gonna be there awhile you might as well be comfortable

 

[chickenfever]

Quote:
I'm just curious why you say you would never sell them?

And I'm glad you brought up using Freedom Rangers, I was going to ask if anyone had tried crossing them with anything else.

 

[Bassleg]

Delawares were meat birds before the cornish X came along.

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
Two reasons:

1) The Colored Range Broilers are unparalleled in quality and flavor. I've built them up and explained the Poulet Rouge scheme to my customers, and they now WANT those birds. They tell their friends about them. Chicken day at the market is a stampeed to get my birds.

2) The carcass shape of my homebred broilers is simply wrong. They look better than any heavy breed; but still, they look 'funny' to anyone used to buying grocery store meat or broilers. The keel still protrudes, the breast is thin, the thighs smaller, etc. They look like a broiler put on a forced march.

Part of selling farm raised meats to customers is getting them over the 'weirdness' of knowing the producer since we've removed the anonymity they are used to. Meat comes in styrofoam, not an animals. So, if I were to put my homebred broilers out there, it would be off the 'weird' scale and it would turn too many people off. They'd think we sold 'creepy' meat.

Now, I do breed broilers every year for myself. We're having one today as a matter of fact. But, it's just for our own use and we like comparing the differences between teh difference crosses as they reach our plate. We have our processor leave the legs on our birds, so we can tell them apart from the Colored Range Broilers which have the shanks removed. This way we don't accidentally sell one we shouldn't.

And, to make the point, I don't tell the processor which chickens are the Colored Range Broilers versus our homegrown broilers. He just knows by looking at them once the feathers are gone.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

I have done:

Cochins/Brahma @18 weeks they were a little smaller (once you got the feathers off) than straight Rocks at that age!

5 to 8 more weeks they would have been much bigger but, to tough!

In the spring I am going to cross Cochins & Brahmas with a Rocks or NH

I think being the rocks grow faster they might be a bot bigger!

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

Thanks guys for all the great info and suggestions!!! I really appreciate it!

greyfields I have a question. Where can I get Freedom Rangers?
and How would a cornish x white rock cross do? Thanks agian for the help.