The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: GRAHAM 1 on January 28, 2015, 10:31:46 am
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Can anyone recommend a breed or breeds to cross for meat birds as id like to have my own family of parent birds
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As no-one has replied to this I though I would... but this is all secondhand info as I have not done it... I would suggest you look at Light Sussex, Ixworth and Indian Game or a combination of those breeds... hope this helps. :)
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It depends how quickly you want them to grow. I have Orpingtons and we eat the excess males and they're great for meat - over 3kg dressed, bigger frame than supermarket birds but loads of meat for a family (normally we get two meals out of them). BUT they take 6 months to get to that size so they wouldn't be profitable because they eat a lot too!
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Tanx for the replys
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Classic cross seems to be Indian game over light sussex as mentioned. Ixworth is a good bird on its own but probably 5-6 months to get a really meaty bird. Hubbard is the slow grow version of the Ross or Cobb so might be worth a look.
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Ixworth cross pic of the 2 birds the black is marran
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Lovely looking birds VF! I like Indian Game/ Wyandotte cross for size and flavour.
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sorry to hijack-would you use an IG cock over say a LS hen? or vice versa? Or does it not matter? I've always fancied some IG hens but have enough males of other breeds without bringing in another.
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It depends on size .You won't a good sized Sussex hen for the cross.The marram as you can see not suitable frame
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you could try astralop chickens (thats what I have) they are very good birds and the cocks get very big you can improve them using Indian game to
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I am trying La Bresse this year as I bought a breeding group late last year.
There real good layers of large eggs every day
As regards to table quality, I will let you know
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I'm kind of biased but the Ixworth is superb eating and a British rare breed. Otherwise an Indian game cock crossed with a light sussex or rhode island red will give you a good traditional table bird. As for hybrids the Hubbard would be my choice slower growing than the Ross cobb but worth it.
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Have you decided on what you are going for Graham1 ?
Are you sticking with a cross between pure breeds or looking at hybrids ?
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Would these be of any interest to you Graham?
They are parent stock for the commercial table birds.
I have a few spare
http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=55467.0 (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=55467.0)
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Hi Clansman, would they cross with traditional heavy breeds ok ?
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I'm sure they would, although I have no information on it ever happening.
However I do have someone taking some females which they are going to cross with a La Bresse male and a Scots Grey male.
If I end up with more than I planned on keeping I may also try them with a Scots Grey male.
They are a highly developed commercial hybrid but at the end of the day they are still chickens, albeit very fast growing chickens so I would think crossing them with virtually anything would give a fairly decent table bird.
we'll have some info by the autumn but i'll try and see if I can get a few more out there to cross with some pure breeds
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I have La Bresse and can imagine they would make a cracking cross.
Although I would like something with a bit more colour as I am getting a little bored with white, as I have a lot of La Bresse and White Leghorns, ha
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Over the years I've tried the lot! Most successful in terms of looking like a supermarket chicken but tasting much better were the ross/cobb/hubbard bought in eggs and grown as broilers. I did try to keep a couple of hubbards on for breeding but they eventually lost a lot of feathering and looked awful.
I've tried Bresse de Galouise twice now, the first lot more successful in terms of coming to any decent weight before 20 weeks. This second batch of eggs bought last autumn have grown differently and I suspect have been crossed with something else as the spare cockerels at 18 weeks were about 3 to 31/2 lbs. Not really enough to get excited about is it, but and it is a big but, they were not fed growers ad lib just mixed grain and they were trying to grow on at the worst time of year - winter. The taste and tenderness was exceptional and I did manage to get three meals out of one - so not all bad.
I've kept the heaviest boy with two of the heaviest girls and we'll see how they fare this summer.
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Yes I will be trying my La Bresse this year as a pure breed, also on the look out for some dark Indian Game which I think will make a nice cross
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I'm also doing La Bresse this year. I've got a flock of 25 split into four breeding groups. I'm chucking in a Jubilee IG to see how they cross. Also doing L/S cross dark IG and Brahma cross dark IG to see what my strains cross like
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Look forward to hearing how your La a Bresse get on and compair to mine
Also your cross IG breeds sound great when are you looking I hatch ?
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I just need to finish off converting my shed into a brooding area. I think I'm going to have to buy a proper brooding cage that accommodates chicks up to 4 weeks as we seem to always have rats round her and from experience they can chew through pretty much anything unless it's properly made. Then source an incubator, so hopefully start the beginning of next month. Most have started laying so far. In one group I'm getting 4 eggs a day from 3 pullets!
What about you, when do you hope to start? How are you getting on with your La Bresse?
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Will be setting mine in 2 weeks like you I am trying to build my stock up this season and spare cockerels will be getting tryed on the table
Am very impressed with laying ability and size of egg, so if the rear to a good size and taste good I will be over the moon