Your experience with "dual purpose" birds

[Broodyhen]

I can have a total of 10 full-sized birds in my coop. It comfortably fit 13 cochins and one Polish. These guys will be processed in November when it's cooler.

I placed an order for 25 chicks to arrive in October:
7 buff orpingons
6 White Rock
6 Rhode Island Red
6 EE

The White Rocks will be all for meat. Out of the remainder, which would you keep for laying? I'm thinking that the EE's will all be layers, right?

Thanks.

 

[scooter147]

Did you order straight run or pullets? If you ordered straight run count on more roosters then hens at least that is my experience. The hatcheries have way more orders for hens then roosters and when you order straight run they are more likely to reach into the rooster box more often then the hen box when they fill your order.

You will find folks on here that are very satisfied with the dual purpose bird for meat, you will have to wait a few more weeks. For me, however, I just order meat birds and pullets for my layers when I place an order. The dual purpose roosters just don't have enough meat on them for me.

 

[scooter147]

Then the layers are butchered at about 28 months for stew recipes except for my pet chickens of course.

 

[Broodyhen]

I ordered all hens. I've got a nasty rooster, who isn't going to last the weekend, and I'm willing to give up some poundage for the headache of another rooster.

They are due the first of October, so I may just have a few for Christmas!

 

[scooter147]

Quote:
My order in the spring of 2009 consisted of 12 EE's and I got two roosters in the bunch. Those were two of the nastiest, meanest, cranky birds I EVER ran across. I was going to wait until the winter to butcher them and make chicken-n-dumplings. WELL, they never made it to their 6 mnth birthday. They matured fast and I think the fact that they were the only roosters in the flock turned them mean so quick. The one got me from behind one day when I was leaving the coop and I kicked him across the run and then the next day he came at me head on and flew at my face. Needless to say his life ended right then and there and he and his partner in crime turned into chicken salad.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I've processed a lot of standard-breed & mixed-breed roosters for the table, usually do them around 20 weeks. But I wouldn't process a young hen at that age just because I didn't have the room to keep her, I'd try to sell her instead.

 

[MrChicken207]

If they're all hens, they'd all be good for layers. If you have an accidental rooster in there, that would definitely be for meat. I agree with others in that you shouldn't butcher the hens, but sell them off to others as "started pullets" granted at 8-12 weeks they wouldn't quite be at point of lay, but they'd be aweful close. If you were to keep some for meat, at that age, the rocks would be the largest, but eventually the orps might get just as large.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Your RIR will be by far yor best layers in that group.

 

[PunkinPeep]

The Easter Eggers are going to be smaller than the others as far as meat goes. And with females, i would definitely want to wait longer to eat them if that is what you're going to do. Though, i do enjoy the meat of a hen.

I don't necessarily agree with KatyTheChickenLady about the RIR. I have bo, rir, and br hens, and i'm pretty sure my buff orps outdo them all. But they're all good layers.

I don't have much experience with EEs as layers, but i have butchered a couple of EE roosters for a friend, and they were very small in comparison to everything else i was butchering.

 

[scooter147]

Yep Punkinpeep is correct about the EE's and amount of meat. My spent EE's do make a good pot of chicken fill in the blank. Although what older fat hen doesn't?