Your favorite DP chicken for meat?

[themagicash]

So I have tried red broilers and have cornish cx going now which will be ready next week. I would like to try a dp chicken next. My set-up can accommodate 10 meaties. I live in the city and only have a 1/4 of an acre. I keep 11 layers in a fenced side yard and do not mix them with my meaties, unless the meaties will be around for 4 months.

I can handle a slower growing meat bird and we love the flavor.

I don't think we will do cornish cx again as our coop is stationary and the litter management was too intense for us but I can see how they would be great with a movable tractor! Maybe one day we will build one. I try to keep our chicken expenses really low. I know that growing your own small batches of meat birds isn't economical but I cannot pay the $15 -$20/bird that one would find at a farmers market in Austin.

My dp layers come from various hatcheries but tend to be on the small side. I have read that Delawares make decent slow growing meat birds. Does anyone have a favorite hatchery or breeder for them? Or for White rocks?

I have two blue laced red wyandots that are bred locally which are turning out to be my largest birds. Its really interesting how bird size varies among hatcheries and breeders.

Our first chicken to process and consume was one of our 20 week RIRs. Very tasty! My family likes white and dark meat and doesn't prefer one over the other.

Are there any "heritage" dp birds we should consider? I am familiar with the freedom rangers but would need to find someone local to Austin to split the order with me. I do wish I could have a rooster and a self sustaining flock but I don't want to upset my neighbors.

So what is your favorite dp chicken for meat purposes?

Thanks y'all!

 

[doubleatraining]

Instead of ordering from a hatchery....call around to local breeders....ask if they would like to get rid of their extra roosters. Typically they have tons of them.

I get Marans, Orpingtons, Delawares, and RIR from different local breeders. They have my number and know I'll take whatever they have. I get a call about every 6 weeks to pick them up. I don't pay for them because they are just happy to not have to feed them anymore.

These are typically processed around 20 weeks or when they look big enough. I'm not fond of the Orpingtons because it takes so long for them to get ANY decent size.

The good news is that because they come from local breeders they are already bigger than your typical hatchery birds.

Good Luck!

 

[Oregon Blues]

I just got an email from Ideal. Their red broilers are on sale this week.

My very favorite and by far the very best dual purpose breed is the Appleyard Duck. They lay a huge number of eggs and dress out a very large lean carcass at 10 weeks. Next best is the Pekin Duck. Not as good with the egg laying, but an 8 pound bird by 8 weeks, with absolutely no health issues, no leg issues, no heart issues, and they are self-sustaining. Both of those breeds have nice temperaments and both breeds are beautiful to look at.

A Pekin is supposed to lay only 125-225 eggs a year, but they are twice the size of a chicken egg, so you are getting a lot of egg from them. Actually, that's probably as many eggs as the dual purpose chickens lay.

 

[themagicash]

I love a good sale! Thanks for letting me know!

I know next to nothing about raising ducks, I will need to read up on that!