I am new to chickens and I made the decision to go with brown egg layers for my first flock. I was wondering if anyone would share their opinion on which is easier or more rewarding to raise...meat birds or egg birds. (Showing is nice but IMO it don't pay da rent!!) Any insight would be helpful, as I have considered a split flock of both (10-15 of each at a time). Thanks for the input
Probably, but I am a big softy at heart. My 13 y/o son on the other hand has assured me he's up to it I have been reading up on it, and I am an experienced fisherman. I have also dressed out several deer. The real question is will they become pets?
I have raised both. I prefer my layers. They have great personalities and are pets with added benefits. My meaties were sweet, but not the brightest birds in the coop if you know what I mean. They tasted good though. My only suggestion is that if you choose to raise both, make sure they have seperate pens. I made that mistake and my meaties crushed one of my silkies when they freaked out in a thunder storm. They were only 7 weeks old, but were giants compared to all the layers.
Mine have become pets, but I'm hoping that with all of the roos in the brooder, if I can't sell them, they'll go to freezer camp at 16 weeks.
We've spent 12 years raising chickens, so many breeds, and we've finally settled on an all-around bird. We like the White Orpington and White Rock, as they lay nice brown eggs every day, and they are easy to dress, not leaving all the ugly dark spots that red, brown, and black birds leave where the feather has been pulled out. They get pretty fat, also. In fact, we caught two Blue Andalusian hens the other night to put in with the BA roo. Then we caught the White Rock and White Orp to put in with the White rock roo, and holy COW, I was stunned at how heavy they were. They don't LOOK like they're that heavy. They have not flown the un-roofed coop, by the way, but the BA's have, since they weigh around 3 ounces. The most disappointed we've been was with a RIR roo. Just a mess to clean. We finally peeled the skin off, it was so ugly and impossible to clean. And the RIR hen laid a little sooner than the White rock and orp, but the eggs are the same size and the easy cleaning is WAY worth waiting another week or two for eggs.
I have RIRs. They are good for eggs and in the past whatever I incubated or set........to replace or sell, I would just slaughter the males...Like a valueable bi-product.
