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Author Topic: Table Birds  (Read 9552 times)

Eve

  • Joined Jul 2010
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #30 on: November 20, 2014, 09:19:24 pm »
Have any if you ever had your meat birds too fatty?

I have just put 5 month old birds in the freezer, Ixworth X white Dorking (though one or both may not be pure breeds as some birds are beige and a few have some black speckles).
Fed on chick crumb and then grower/finisher pellets. Very little corn, reasonable sized run moved onto new grass weekly but not free range.
Flavour's fine.
Very good sized legs, though I prefer breast meat so might just cross one of the female offspring with an Indian game cockerel.They grew very well, and the girls weighed around 1.5kg with the boys well over 2kg, but there's quite a bit of fat on them. Did I feed them wrong, is it due to the parent breeds, or could it be that supermarket chicken is too lean and creates the wrong expectation (similar to supermarket versus smallholder pork)?


What diet do you give your meat birds and how do they turn out?
« Last Edit: November 20, 2014, 09:21:08 pm by Eve »

Stereo

  • Joined Aug 2012
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #31 on: November 20, 2014, 09:58:41 pm »
Poultry fat should just melt away really. We had some Marans that had a lovely turn of fat and they were the tastiest birds we ever did. None of it was 'in' the meat, just at the edges and melted in the oven.

Dave C

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Teesdale, Co Durham
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #32 on: November 21, 2014, 02:43:10 pm »
Got myself 3 La Bresse Galouise hens and a Cock bird at the weekend
A lad local to me selling up, 1 hen has a bit scaly leg and the cock bird looks a bit older than he said but couldn't let them pass me by as they were only 5 miles from my home.

Will be keeping quite a few back next year then probibly give these older birds the chop.
The Cock bird is massive !!!!


Well they have settled in well and today free ranged for the first time
Think I might invest in some lights to get them laying so I have plenty eggs for the Incy early next year

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #33 on: November 21, 2014, 05:39:28 pm »
We breed for Dorkings for eggs and conservation purposes so don't actually eat 'em but they grow and mature into a heavy bird very quickly compared to the other large fowl breeds we've bred over the years.

Fowlman

  • Joined Apr 2012
  • Wiltshire
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #34 on: November 29, 2014, 11:43:55 pm »
Keep us up to speed on their progress Dave c
Tucked away on the downs in wiltshire.

Dave C

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Teesdale, Co Durham
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #35 on: November 30, 2014, 10:57:28 am »
Will do Fowlman, gona get some lights in there house to try to bring them into lay early.

I think I might be a case of trying to get a stock of pullets from these old birds before giving them the chop.
As their condition isn't the best.

Stereo

  • Joined Aug 2012
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #36 on: November 30, 2014, 11:17:54 am »
We hatched a silver dorking hen and she was very heavy. Unfortunately died before she even laid an egg. Nice placid bird as well.

Cjnewton82

  • Joined Nov 2012
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #37 on: November 30, 2014, 09:44:35 pm »
We run astralorps great birds tough to get hold of tho

Hevxxx99

  • Joined Sep 2012
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #38 on: December 04, 2014, 11:07:00 pm »
I've got 4 Le Bresse chicks at the moment, from two strains for growing on and breeding next year and have high hopes. 

I had Hubbards before and they were fantastic and delicious but I made the mistake of letting them feed ad lib so some were rather fat - ie their innards were enveloped in fat.  Not a problem, but a bit wasteful in terms of cost.  I tried crossing both cockerels with egg laying Marans, LS and Barred Plymouth Rock and the offspring were dissapointingly egglayer sized.

Stereo

  • Joined Aug 2012
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #39 on: December 05, 2014, 08:04:43 am »
I'm thinking of starting with Australorps this year. I've done Ixworth this year and the cockerels come out very heavy but I'm not convinced by the breed as yet. They take a very long time before you can sex them which is fine if you want to eat all of them but not if you want to keep the hens and need to know what you've got. Also the ones I hatched seem prone to illness and always want to sleep on the floor or in a nest box. Also very flighty. I may persevere with them though.

Dave C

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Teesdale, Co Durham
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #40 on: December 06, 2014, 07:38:18 pm »
Have you found some good utility Australorps as there is a lot of show types around that are all frame

Stereo

  • Joined Aug 2012
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #41 on: December 06, 2014, 08:31:31 pm »
There's a chap down here who breeds them but I haven't seen the stock as yet. I'm hoping to get something like my RIR strain which lay well, are a good standard and produce a good sized table bird with plenty on them.

Dave C

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Teesdale, Co Durham
Re: Table Birds
« Reply #42 on: December 09, 2014, 08:57:35 pm »
Good luck with them mate
If they are a good utility strain they will have plenty meat on them.

Will make a good cross for the table as well if you've thought down them lines.

 

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