Farm Dreams
Homesteading, Organic Gardening, How to Farm, Preparedness, Self-Reliance
Meat birds?
Any recommendations on the best meat bird or things I should be aware of before raising a few flocks this year?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dusty Bottoms on -
First off, welcome to Farm Dreams! Second, if you're who I think you are I really enjoy your podcast!
On to meat birds...the first choice is if you want typical carcass characteristics and feed conversion/growth rate. If you do, then Cornish X (Cross) is for you. If you're uncomfortable with that "breed" as many are then you may want to look at Freedom Rangers. I'm sure others will have opinions as well.
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Permalink Reply by SELAH Farm on -
I personally recommend that you stay away from "breeds" that have to be artificially inseminated such as Cornish X and Freedom Rangers. These breeds have always been much more disease prone in my experience and just plain stupid. I have found that patience really pays off (eventually) when raising heritage breed birds. I raise many breeds of chickens, but for meat my favorite is Bard Rock. They forage for themselves very well, they do not eat much of the grain that I supply them, and their meat to fat ratio is outstanding.
But having said that, you should understand that they are 5-6 months old (up to 16 months old) when I butcher them. I raise them completely free range (no fence at all) and I supply them with a minimal amount of store bought grain and a constant supply of water. They take care of themselves and the hens that they oversee.
I recommend Bard Rock because of all of the heritage breed birds I have butchered they develop the most meat on their bones and the most fat content.
Others have their own opinions ... those are mine.
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Permalink Reply by Theresa Schieffelbein on
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If you are free range raising your birds then I would agree with Selah about the Barred Rocks. You can't beat them for meat productions while staying in the heritage breeds and they have the added ability to blend into their surroundings. Because of their feather markings, they are more hidden from aerial predators.
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Permalink Reply by Deborah @ Antiquity Oaks on -
I greatly prefer the dual-purpose heritage breeds. We raise our own replacement layers, which means half of the chicks hatched are males. I am especially partial to barred rocks and New Hampshire reds. Both are great layers and good meat birds. I also like the fact that we can start butchering them around 3 months and them just butcher once a week as we need them up until about 4-5 months, and we'll still have a tender chicken. We also don't have to worry about them dropping dead from getting too big like the Cornish Cross. At about 4 1/2 months, we butcher whatever roosters are still around, and we put those in the freezer. When our hens are 3 years old, we butcher them for stew meat, which is delicious!
Last year, I raised some of the modern hybrids as an experiment, and I wrote about it in these blog posts:
http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/chicken-for-dinner.html
http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com/2010/05/chicken-for-dinner-part-2...
http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com/2010/08/chicken-for-dinner-part-3...
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Permalink Reply by MyBackAchers Farm on -
Hi Dusty- Yeap, we did a bunch of podcasts till the hubby got too busy. Hopefully we can do more when things slow down. As of late, we have been working on recycled appliances designs. The one I am working on now is to convert old refrig/freezer units to brooder houses. So -I am who you think I am..=))
Thanks for all the insights on the birds! I am still thinking roosters need earlier butchering because of the off-taste?
And, I just got an email from a hatchery for a 20% discount if ordering early so I might get a small flock of Barred Rocks and give it a shot. It is so true- the hybrid commercial birds are delicate and we usually have to order 50% extra because of losses.
Dusty- I really like how you think on building a business - Few people write down HOW MUCH they need to make and calculate from that point on! Using that perspective is paramount in a Farm's Dreams being more than just a dream.
Rock ON! Sherry
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Permalink Reply by Deborah @ Antiquity Oaks on
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Roosters don't develop an off-taste with age like bucks or rams. We've butchered roosters that were a few years old, and the only thing I don't like about them is that they have no fat, probably because they spend all day chasing hens.
The meat is good, but they don't make broth anywhere near as tasty as an old hen.
MyBackAchers Farm said:Thanks for all the insights on the birds! I am still thinking roosters need earlier butchering because of the off-taste?
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Permalink Reply by MyBackAchers Farm on
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Ok, now I'm getting the picture. They caponize roosters for the hormone reasons, just to increase their size according to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capon
and http://www.capons.com/what.htm
and this article talks about the taste of capons not being so gamy as well as for herd health in not having many aggressive roos
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Permalink Reply by Deborah @ Antiquity Oaks on
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While roosters are caponized to increase their size, I disagree with the idea that it eliminates gamey taste. The only way I can tell a rooster and a hen apart is the less fat on the rooster. The taste is not different, even in a three year old bird -- and I have the most sensitive taste buds of anyone I know. I could definitely taste the difference in an uncastrated ram at a year of age, as well as uncastrated pigs at eight months, even though our customers and dinner guests rave about those meats.
If you do caponize roosters, do not expect to have 8 to 10 pound birds by 16 weeks. Those birds in the picture are a modern hybrid. You won't get that kind of weight on any heritage breed by 4 months of age, even if they're caponized. I really don't see the point of caponizing if you're going to butcher by 4 months. They haven't reached sexual maturity by then, so they're not even aggressive yet. If you're keeping them up to six months, you might start to see some fighting. With turkey gobblers, you have to butcher them by 7-8 months or be prepared to deal with fighting if you have too many boys. Historically some capons were not butchered until closer to a year, but that varied by breed.
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Permalink Reply by Lilac Hill Farm on -
I do find that working backwards from the table seems the best way to plan for us. I ask myself what kinds of poultry meals do we like to eat for each season? What will I can to have "convenience" foods on hand? How much broth do we use in a year?
Early on and last year we raised batches ( usually one batch of 25) of Cornish Cross. They were my learner birds for meat and last year we just needed some grilling meat for the summer. We have also raised Freedom Rangers. I have had lots of different breeds of heritage birds; I would suggest that you start with a list of the breeds you like to look at and whittle it down from there.
I raise the fast growing birds at the edges of the season to avoid losses due to heat. This year's plan is that the homestead raised Buckeye cockerels will be the grilling meat and fryers, I will use the culled pullets for slower cooking, old hens for stew meat and ducks and geese will be our roasters.
I have only had trouble with one batch of CC's but that was due to bad feed. If not raised by a hen, all my birds feather out in a protected /heated coop and then move to chicken tractors. Once selected for breeding/laying stock the pullets make their way into the eggmobile. The CX's do spend more time in front of the feed than the Buckeyes but since the chicken tractor is moved twice a day, three times when wet, they are on clean ground and have to move for dinner. They are slower movers/learners than the old fashioned breeds but eventually they get it. Raising the CX's is a short term committment, 6-8 weeks and you are done.
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Permalink Reply by MyBackAchers Farm on
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Hi ALL-
Sounds like you all know your way around birds!
I gather Lilac Hill is somewhere south as I had planned on the Cornish over summer to avoid the MN cold spring. And that's a good idea to take the roos early and your method seems sound so that's now my plan.
Nice blog Deborah. I think you made a convincing argument and I will also see if pastured cornish x have the same results. I will also add some more heritage breeds to the flock - Barred Rock are a for-sure. I also have been reading on the Jersey Giants which also are like Delaware Giants. I may also pick up some Freedom Rangers to see where that leads us.
The reason I have been asking about capons is because we raised Lourpes last year and even at 3 months the pastured roos started tasting "off", though I have yet to butcher a hen so I can't compare it to anything. We also raised White Rocks and Red Production - both of which were easy to pluck compared to the furry Lourpes. The Lourpes are great egg layers but not a choice for meat birds as even the largest roo I let live isn't half the size of the Red Production or White Rock.
Live and Learn!
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Permalink Reply by Happy on
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This is a great study and comparison. I have been thinking about raising chickens for eggs but not for meat. For some reason I always gag while eating it. I remember liking it when I was very young, but somewhere along the way I could not stand it. Around the time I stopped eating chicken was when several chicken houses popped up around the area and a bird illness spread and the birds had to be destroyed. According to my dad this is also when the Cornish X became popular.
Deborah @ Antiquity Oaks said:I greatly prefer the dual-purpose heritage breeds. We raise our own replacement layers, which means half of the chicks hatched are males. I am especially partial to barred rocks and New Hampshire reds. Both are great layers and good meat birds. I also like the fact that we can start butchering them around 3 months and them just butcher once a week as we need them up until about 4-5 months, and we'll still have a tender chicken. We also don't have to worry about them dropping dead from getting too big like the Cornish Cross. At about 4 1/2 months, we butcher whatever roosters are still around, and we put those in the freezer. When our hens are 3 years old, we butcher them for stew meat, which is delicious!
Last year, I raised some of the modern hybrids as an experiment, and I wrote about it in these blog posts:
http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/chicken-for-dinner.html
http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com/2010/05/chicken-for-dinner-part-2...
http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com/2010/08/chicken-for-dinner-part-3...
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Permalink Reply by SusanLea2 on -
The very first batch of meat chickens we raised were Naked Necks (sometimes called Turkens). They are a heritage breed, one of the ones used for Label Rouge in France. They spent the night in our chicken tractor and free-ranged during the day. They were adorable and personable, and it was very hard to butcher them. They have a darker, leaner meat than store-bought (Cornish-Cross). I call them the "super models" of chickens because they have long, slender legs and little breasts! :) Before we butchered ours, we ate one of Nature's Harmony Farms Naked Necks next to a store-bought chicken and agreed that the CC was mushy and bland.
By the way, we saved two Naked Neck hens, named them Grace and Mercy, and they are laying eggs now. They are far more friendly than my Ameraucanas.
Since it was so hard to butcher the NNs, we next tried some Freedom Rangers. While they were quite silly when living in the brooder, as soon as we moved them out to the chicken tractor, they began to behave quite normally. We decided not to let them free-range for safety's sake. We learned that we gave them too much supplemental grain, and they had lots of yellow fat when we butchered them. They gave a larger carcass than the NNs, lighter colored meat, still delicious. Since they all look almost alike, we didn't see them so much as individuals, and it was easier butchering them. We are very happy with the process of raising both breeds, and like the meat of both. After reading the comments below, I think next time we might try some of the FRs along with a mix of heritage breeds to see which ones we like best.
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