What is the best?

[peeps7]

I'm going to get some meat birds, goats, and hogs soon and I was just wondering what the best meat chicken is. I need one that grows and gets big fast. I know the basics on how to take care of them so I just need to know the best breed for my needs. THANKS!!!

 

[justusnak]

Hey there Coty.....if you want speedy growth, the cornishx are the fastest that I know of...ie:8 weeks processing. Some can often be processed before then as well. Depends on how big you want them. As for beef, hogs....im at a loss there.

 

[CovenantCreek]

Two places to check out for info:
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy covers all types of livestock
Slow Foods USA "Ark of Taste" tells you what non-commercially produced breeds taste best in all the categories you mentioned

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
^^^^---- This is what you ought do if you are at all concerned with producing highly tasty, more ecological sound beasts which the commerical industry has turned their back on.

But, reading your question, it sounds like you just want the fastest growing meat chicken you can get. You will want a Cornish Cross (aka Cornish X). You can read these forums and find arguments ad naseum against doing Cornish X's, but there simply are no purebreds which will come close to a crossbred's growth rates.

As far as hogs, I always get crossbreds. My favorite is anything sired by a Hampshire (the saddlebacks) on either a black or white sow. As far as goats, Boer goats are the traiditional eating beasts. But I find a Boer terminal sire on a nubian to be very good as well.