would this breed be a good one

[elijahboy]

im looking for a dual purpose bird that is ready to process fairly soon like 25 weeks nad not flighty because they will free range on 3 acres and i saw this guy and thought beautiful at a good price

http://columbia.craigslist.org/grd/1356275497.html

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

games do not generally get very big. I have a game roo over my "yard candy" flock, and he is a wonderful rooster, but I would only eat one his size if I were REALLY hungry. He is a LF but is smaller than most dual purpose birds would be.

on the other hand, he is a great roo for free range, takes good care of his girls and keeps and eye on things, keeps the peace in the yard, also. His daughters are both fantastic broody hens, but they are also small, sort of wild, and tend to drag their babies all over the place -- survival of the fittest at it's most extreme

I lost a whole batch of chicks the one had hatched, because of rainy season and her desire to roam the yard/hayfield with them in tow.

I would go with a larger hen for dual purpose, but the rooster (if ya wanted the yard candy) might be ok to mix with them. The resulting chicks would most likely be smaller than the Mothers, but not, perhaps as small as the rooster.

as a side note, my game rooster (the yard candy king) looks exactly like the one in that pic - he's a super sweety, too.

meri

 

[elijahboy]

would it be good to have him and some bo hens
the babies once 20-25 weeks should then be a good processing size you think
or then breed the babies back to a bo of a different fam

Mojo Chick'n :

games do not generally get very big. I have a game roo over my "yard candy" flock, and he is a wonderful rooster, but I would only eat one his size if I were REALLY hungry. He is a LF but is smaller than most dual purpose birds would be.

on the other hand, he is a great roo for free range, takes good care of his girls and keeps and eye on things, keeps the peace in the yard, also. His daughters are both fantastic broody hens, but they are also small, sort of wild, and tend to drag their babies all over the place -- survival of the fittest at it's most extreme

I lost a whole batch of chicks the one had hatched, because of rainy season and her desire to roam the yard/hayfield with them in tow.

I would go with a larger hen for dual purpose, but the rooster (if ya wanted the yard candy) might be ok to mix with them. The resulting chicks would most likely be smaller than the Mothers, but not, perhaps as small as the rooster.

as a side note, my game rooster (the yard candy king) looks exactly like the one in that pic - he's a super sweety, too.

meri​

 

[dancingbear]

Game breeds tend to be tall, slender birds. It's hard to tell from that pic, but they're more feather than flesh.

You can eat any breed, of course. But if you want to process your excess roos, I'd go with a heavier, fast maturing bird, such as Delawares or Buckeyes. You'd get a lot more meat off of them, they're hardy, do well in heat or cold and are good foragers. Dels are non-brooders, Buckeyes sometimes brood. You didn't say if you want setters or not. Brahmas are good setters.

 

[speckledhen]

Actually, not all Delawares are non-brooders. My breeder flock comes from very broody lines. I agree that a good Delaware of the size they are supposed to be is a great dual purpose bird. Lots of folks around here have games and no way they'd be meaty like a Delaware or Buckeye.