What is your favorite NON-Cornish X meat bird package?

[schmije]

We butchered our first batch of Cornish X meat birds yesterday. We would like to do a second batch this year, and we're considering trying something other than Cornish X.

We looked into meat bird packages, and we're thinking about either the Speical Heavy Assortment from Cackle (last item on the page)
http://cacklehatchery.com/cornishcrosspage.html

or possibly the All Heavies package from McMurray
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/all_heavies.html

So what is your favorite NON-Cornish X meat bird package from ANY hatchery? We know that these birds will take much longer to grow than the Cornish X, and they may not be as large. We are looking for other pros/cons. We also have layers, so any pullets (and possibly a roo) could be moved into our laying flock. We are located in central Illinois. Thanks!

 

[SteveH]

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I'll just give you a bump by stating the obvious , Cackle's offer is a much better deal LOL .

 

[schmije]

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I noticed that. Cackle also has a heavy breed straight run deal, but it's TWICE the price! If I just want meat birds, I'll go with the cockerels.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

http://www.mthealthy.com/product/Bargain1
Since I'm in Ohio I use these guys.

 

[schmije]

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That's a great deal, but we're not able to handle 100 right now. 50 will be the limit for our current set-up.

 

[EweSheep]

Want to try JM Hatchery for their Freedom Rangers?

 

[schmije]

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The price is very similar to Cornish X. I like the fact that their size is about the same as the Cornish X, but the grow time is longer. Do you have experience with them? Are the health issues less, because they grow slower? This is definitely a possibility.

 

[EweSheep]

I did a search and even though they take a little longer to grow but they do not have the problems like the Cornish X;s with flips and leg problems and they do forages like the regular chickens do.

 

[schmije]

I noticed that my Cornish X did NOT forage much at all. I stopped giving them scraps, because only 3 or 4 of them were willing to walk away from the feeder to try something different. That was one of the reasons that we're looking into trying a different breed. I'd rather they eat bugs and grass and garden scraps than pay for more bags of feed.

 

[becky3086]

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Wow, that is a good deal but I also do not have room for 100, wish I did.