[nicandem]

Hello,
may seem a daft question, but is there anything in particular I need to consider?


Next year I intend to grow on some Chooks for meat rather than eggs.  I have 4 hybrids that give me more eggs than I can eat.  But want to get in 20 or so young birds preferably a breed more suited for meat... grow them on and then move them to the freezer.
This is so that I get tastier quality meat that I know the providence of.


is it better to buy just after they come off of needing a heat lamp?


they will be kept separately from the others.


Thanks for any help

[devonlad]

We generally only have layers (warrens, black rocks, Goldlines etc.) and although we have tried eating the occasional surplus cockerel its not usually been a hugely satisfying experience. Best dual purpose breed, or one of the best is Light Sussex although I've heard Orpington and Dorking aren't bad. As far as table birds go we did do a few Sasso's a while back which were very easy and ready at about 14-16 weeks. my sister in law who regularly raises for the table always uses Hubbards, which again are ready at about the same time and are absolutely yumptious. They are almost a different species to the other birds, seeming to do little other than eat and grow, and she always raises them separately. partly because as they grow they cant negotiate the ramp or fit through the flap plus her layers tend to pick on them remorselessly as they don't really run away.. Obviously the younger you get them the cheaper they'll be but do need to watch they don't get chill as they don't move about too much. Plucking and preparing 20 though seems like hard work. My SIL used to bring ours round all oven ready- no more- her arms have had enough- we usually find it intact hanging in our barn

[Bodger]

Hybrid layers aren't a good starting point for breeding your own meat birds. They've obviously been bred for egg production and even crossing them with a heavier meaty bird is unlikely to improve them much. I'm always surprised at just how light Warrens are when you pick them up. They're all feather and eggs.

[suziequeue]

I would like to get hold of Hubbard eggs to hatch under a hen in the summer and bring them on ready for autumn freezer.

Once I finish my chicken plucking machine (for some reason - this has taken on a prominent role in my preparedness for meat chickens  !!)  then we will be all set for next year.

This year we have a couple of cream leg bar cockerels left over from a hatch which will be "practising" on.

[Carl f k]

Light Sussex are said to be a utility breed and Ixwoths are suppose to be a good duel purpose bird so I'm told(not tried them myself) 

[Stereo]

Probably the best dual purpose is the Ixworth (I'm told). Rhode Reds have done well for us and also Marans, Copper and Cuckoo. We have raised 'warren' boys (RIR over LS) and we did it because we wanted to cost it as everyone told us it was a waste of time and I'm stubborn like that. Feed came to £4 (not cheapest) up to 18 weeks and there was a decent amount of breast meat. We could have fed them cheaper / maybe better with some mixed corn so I don't think we got the best of them. But for £4 feed, certainly not a waste of time and we're not into culling at day old. Would rather honour the bird and get some use from it. It's sister will make for any shortfall in meat with zillions of eggs. Just our way of thinking, some people have no problems culling boys at day old and I have no issue with that as long as they do it themselves. Not for me.

If you want to buy in chicks for just meat then Hubbard I guess or Sasso. I'm not keen on these myself as the breeding system seems all a bit unnatural and I'm concerned about any breed that can't be sustained without major aggro.

If I were going to buy chicks / eggs just for meat I would find some reputable Ixworth stock and go with that. If you are hatching you might find that the hens are worth a bit at POL anyway.  I'm thinking on these lines myself for 2014. We plan to buy in a lot of copper black eggs and try to get 50 for layers to go with our cockerels and 50 cockerels in the freezer. But I might also try and start down the Ixworth road if I can find a good starting point.

[nicandem]

perhaps I should have been clearer on my plans,
What i want is a traditional meat breed, don't mind that it takes a bit longer to get to table weight, the taste will make up for it. cost ... well you can't seem to buy 'proper' tasting chicken any more so what can i compare it to?
i think its the same as rare breed pigs compared to commercial.


as for plucking, most will be skinned and jointed - a lot quicker proposition.... i also have a home made plucker like the one from the bush wear site.... just need to find a slower motor 
so far this week i've alreday had to do 2 ducks and 4 pheasant.... often during the season theres geese as well
 

[devonlad]

As far as I know there isn't really any such thing as a traditional meat breed- in as much as up until the 1950s a chicken was a chicken- generally used for eggs or meat or both. like most things, including pigs, we have become cleverer at fiddling with nature and can now grow monstrous things that don't usually taste as they should, but is cheap and quick to produce. having said that The home produced chicken (Sasso and Hubbard)that we are used to is infinitely superior to a Tesco's even if they are slightly odd and don't really behave like inquisitive sprightly chickens. I guess the other option is one of the more "traditional" dual purpose breeds already mentioned on here

[Stereo]

What about Indian Game? That's a meat breed if ever there was. Never tried them myself.

[hughesy]

We've grown and eaten quite a few traditional breeds over the last few years Light Sussex, Rhode Island Red, Marans, Ixworths. None of them are anything like the modern meat hybrids like hubbards etc. Of the ones we've eaten the Ixworths have the edge in terms of meat content and eating quality.

[Castle Farm]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Utility-Poultry-Keepers/231571570247281

[Steph Hen]

Ate a cuckoo marans cock the other day, five months old, tough as leather, stronger than pheasant. The legs were tough as hell so muscular! The cat got them. I didn't like him at all. I know 5 months is a bit past it, but its not like he was years old! But that's free range living - He was a great looking specimen from good parents and I wanted to keep/sell him, but alas, got too many and it wasn't to be. Will stew next time.

My neighbour swears by light Sussex for dual purpose. He doesn't get to the shops much and mostly eats what he grows/rears. I have a little flock of buff Sussex (5 pullets, 3 boys of different blood lines) who's future is looking a bit shaky at the moment. Going to take the breed standards book outside and see just how well they measure up.


 

[THE HAPPY POULTRY FARMER]

Commercial birds can taste good, try varying diets and encourage them to range, I have conducted numerous trials with commercial birds trying to introduce flavour and texture, tried everything from feeding birds milk to Lucerne , feed has an enormous part to play in creating flavour introducing different forage such as chicory on the range also is very beneficial, the most important thing with any diet is to create finish ie a nice covering of fat all chefs will tell you that fat is flavour and without doubt is the most important thing to achieve wether the bird is a traditional or a commercial , I always relate back to my late father one of his favourite sayings "takes the same amount of time to feed a good un as bad un" true to this day its always disappointing when you put a lot of effort into feeding a bird and end up with a bag of bones, a commercial will rarely disappoint in the growth stakes but can be a let down on taste but with a bit of imagination and thought with feeding can stand up to its traditional counterpart,       

[Castle Farm]

Flavour in a bird comes with correct feeding and the age the bird is taken at.


You will not get anywhere near the texture or flavour in a commercial breed because you have to take them before the texture and flavour of the meat has 'aged'.


It's the same as lamb and mutton or veal or beef.


Traditional breeds of a strain bred for purpose and fed correctly and that means no pellets or shop bought mash taste totally different from commercial or for that matter traditional breeds fed with pellets.


One of the best ways to finish a traditional bird is to feed cut maize and oats/wheat, but you can bet your life someone will have an ill informed view on a maize feed.


You need Indian Cornish Game in the strain or the birds will not be worth the cost of the feed.

[Stereo]

Well I suppose 'worth' is in the eye of the beholder as such. How do you value a home grown bird? You hatched it, brooded it, reared it, fed it and killed it. So, you know every single input into that bird and exactly the environment it lived in. That's worth a few quid to me. I'm no expert on this but I've been most impressed with copper marans. Rhodes are good. Welsummers not so. But this could be all down to the strains / rearing I had / did.

I went on a course to kill and dress and we got a hubbard to 'practice on'. I was not overly impressed to be honest. Thought my coppers were as good.

We even hatched some 'ginger rangers' this year. RIR cockerel over LS hen. The hens come out as super layers and the boys come out off white and are supposed to be a waste of time. I kept a record and they came in at £5 feed to slaughter at 18 weeks. That was buying Fancy Feed growers at £11 for 20kg. There is probably a HUGE margin for improvement there in terms of cheaper / better feed. But I was pleased on the whole. The breast meat was generous and sweet. One bird fed 2 families for a roast although nothing left at all. Would I do it again? Probably not. I would take a slightly worse layer such as a Rhode and get a better cockerel.

I really want to get started on Ixworths next year. That looks like a very sensible breed to me.