The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: smudger on February 11, 2012, 01:43:49 pm
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Looking thru some earlier posts and article on chickens for meat here, I have an initial list of dual purpose chickens:
Light Sussex
Wyandottes
Orpingtons
RIR
(Hubbard and Sasso mentioned for meat, but don't know anything of them).
Any others I should consider, especially anything rarebreed?
We want to breed our own hens (kept them for eggs for a few years now and ready or the next stage!), with reasonable but not commercial laying rate. Accepting the consequence of breeding is 50% cockerals, then we need to eat them but want something tasty and decent size. Is an autosexing breed of any use or not matter much if keeping for table anyway?
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Why not add English Cuckoo Marans to your list under consideration
A good utility line lays a fair quantity of eggs, of an excellent size, plus the eggs always sell at a premium. Even one or two added to a mixed box of eggs will increase the price.
The boys in my line reach around 2- 2.5 kilos (killed and dressed) in 24-30 weeks, and the flesh is gourmet standard, fine textured, white and delicious.
I allow spare males total free range and unlimted straight wheat (after rearing normally to about 8 weeks) Then pen for the last 10 -14 days for fattening - check out this
PAGE (http://www.darkbrowneggs.info/#/marans-as-meat-birds/4554492879) for more info
I find them a placid easygoing breed to keep.
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Have a look at Utilitypoultrykeepers on facebook.
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I had the same search as you're doing two years ago and I went for 6 eggs each of RIR, le bresse (french poular bird), speckled sussex and Barred Plymouth Rock in the incubator.
This year I'm going to get a indian game cockerel to add to my flock as I've heard that they're have really good breast meat.
Apparently breeding for show has reduced the dual purpose efficiency of all the birds but to be honest the laying rate of mine is probably too high for my family and the meat is delicious. The dark meat you get from free range birds is wonderful!
I wouldn't say an autosexing bird is much use unless you want to raise the cocks in a contained area but I prefer the free range meat so don't bother.
Good luck
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i would also say marrans
we have marrans and eat the surplus birds
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Marans look good (love the colour of their eggs...).
Indian game and speckled Sussex are rare breeds so good option as well, fitting with our approach. (Oink have you noticed any difference in the meat/ carcase quality between the breeds you have used?).
Another website uses Barnvelders as a utility breed as well.
Anybody tried any more from the RBT list : https:// www.rbst.org.uk (http://www.rbst.org.uk) / poultry-breeds-at-risk.pdf (spaces to remove the link).
I'm thinking now probably best to get an incubator and different eggs for the first year, see what we like then look to build a small flock from there.
An interesting point picked up both here and on castlefarms site is feeding ie not pellets but wheat - any reason? Is it cheaper, more natural?
Also, I will need to get a new house for the youngsters, then for the boys to be kept in. Any tips on design of a house? Thinking that maybe a garden shed is cheaper than a poultry house? Is there an optimum time to seperate cocks and hens and also to introduce young hens to the laying flock?.
Thanks for the responses.
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sorry smudger but I haven't eaten any of my 1st generation birds, only the mongrels so I can't really tell you about a difference in meat quality, although I do think the offspring with le bresse in them seem to to be my favourites but this may just be my preference for their look affecting my opinion on their taste.
I keep our youngsters in a partitioned area of our spare room, under a lamp until the moment they are ready to brave the cold and then put them in with the main flock in the shed. I haven't had any problems with the youngsters getting bullied yet but I think the younger they are when they get introduced the less chance of problems between the cockerels.
I'd say an old shed would be cheaper (amazing how expensive poultry coops are!) plus it has the advantage of being high enough to walk in when you need to clean. On a side note, I keep my chickens in a small area of a huge shed that was built for maybe 200 chickens after the war and it has 1m square gaps in the foundation that are just soil. I'm not really sure what the purpose of these were but I've put the birds perch above one and its amazing how much it reduced the frequency that I have to empty their s**t. I guess the worms are working on it as it falls! Maybe something you could consider if you do end up converting a shed.
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the tastiest chook we ever had was marsh daisies..so good, just not that big. we eat our white sussex and they are great layers.
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My Wyandotte and Sussex boys make the biggest birds (5lbs at 6 months, very free range!), the Marans a bit lighter (maybe 4-4.5 lbs) and the cream Legbars are small (3-3.5 lbs).
I can't say I've noticed much difference in taste between them, maybe it's more to do with their diet which is the same? They are all in a different league from the wet cotton wool that passes for chicken in the supermarkets.
I feed mine all layers pellets and then they disappear up the fields and find whatever they can.
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Orpingtons don't roast well. Have been told Transylvanian Naked Necks taste really good, but haven't got to that stage yet. They do lay well so that's good on the Utilty front, but they are fairly small.
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Cornish Game crosses do very well, loads of breast and leg meat and well flavoured.