The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Dave C on August 12, 2014, 07:21:55 pm
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Hi (New on here), just wondered what table birds you are rearing this year?
Last year i kept some Ixworth Cock birds for the table and found them large framed with poor brest meat!
This year i am rearing some Sasso farm rangers which are 10 weeks now and will be ready in about 2 weeks time, dont like them much they are too much like broilers for me, un natural looking with bad movement.
I also have some Salmon Poulet Gaulois which i think are a Hybrid La Bresse, they have great movement and are really healthy birds free ranging well, not as heafty as the Sasso but thats fine.
Thinking of keeping some back to breed from or cross to a pure breed Cockerel!
What you think?
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We kept a batch of 20 Hubbards from day old. Not the bonniest but the nine cockerels have yielded 40.4kg. We'll be killing the 11 hens at the weekend but they aren't anything like as big.
We keep them in a pen on grass and move it twice daily. Best way we've found to keep them.
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Sassos - free range. Like Rosemary, the cockerels generally finish at a dressed weight of about 4kgs. Delicious flavour and don't go off their legs. We've got 8 finishing week after next.......and 12 ducks ;)
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We're doing Ixworth this year to try. They look good so far I must say. I expect it very much depends on the strain. I'll be keeping the hens and have heard that it's good to cross them with an Indian Game cockerel so might try that next year. We'll also have a load of spare Copper Marans in a couple weeks so they'll go. We found them excellent last year. Very tasty if only 2.5kg or so.
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We've had hubbards and they were ok, I much prefer the flavour of the maran cockerels even if they are a lighter bird!
Now I have more space I am planning on trying a meat strain as close to fully free range as possible next year!
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Thanks for the replys :thumbsup:
The Salmon Gauloise are a much smaller healthier bird to the Sasso Ranger, so i am thinking of keeping two hens to breed on from next year, also one of the Sasso cock birds is quite fit, thinking of keeping him.
Has anyone tried this?
If so did they breed true to type or did you cross them with a pure breed?
I have also heard they are not bad layers, duel purpose is what i am aiming at.
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Hi
I have found that to get exactly what you want you have to use x's. First of all you have to decide the key feature (meat wise) as flavour usually comes in the second breed. I usually go with breast meat so I always go for the Indian game now, as one year I didn't and regretted it as the quantity of meat was poor compared to that of my usual sire breed. Now that you have decided your key breed the next step is all about flavour and hardly anything to do with size as the Indian game will provide that. I have found that the in my case the the best x's have been the Dorking, light Sussex, cuckoo maran and the Plymouth Rock. But it is really up to you and how creative you are.
Hope this helps :chook: :chook:
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Sorry also lohmann brown x's loos work really well.
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Growing some Ross cobbs on at the moment free ranging and grain fed so much slower than normal. I have a breeding group of Ixworths that won't be ready until next spring for breeding. Big fan of the Ixworths, great layers and fantastic eating plus a rare breed that needs help.
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Hi
I have found that to get exactly what you want you have to use x's. First of all you have to decide the key feature (meat wise) as flavour usually comes in the second breed. I usually go with breast meat so I always go for the Indian game now, as one year I didn't and regretted it as the quantity of meat was poor compared to that of my usual sire breed. Now that you have decided your key breed the next step is all about flavour and hardly anything to do with size as the Indian game will provide that. I have found that the in my case the the best x's have been the Dorking, light Sussex, cuckoo maran and the Plymouth Rock. But it is really up to you and how creative you are.
Hope this helps :chook: :chook:
I have some good Utility LS and Cuckoo Marans, anyone on here breed IG ?
As there dosnt seem to be many around
Also would you alway do first cross or is it worth crossing back a second time?
Anyone ever tried La Bresse as a pure or cross breed?
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I would like to do some meat birds but I would prefer to hatch them here at the beginning of next summer and free range them to begin with.
Can I get eggs from anybody for Sassos?
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Dave C, if you are aiming for dual purpose you might want to try Buff Sussex. They free range, which means that they are slow growing, but they turn into a good sized table bird. The flavour of the meat is exceptional.
I kept two hens from last year's chicks and they have laid an egg every day. Cannot ask for more. :)
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The Light Sussex i have are very good layers and a nice size, i would just like a bit more meat on the bone and finish a bit quicker, so i think a cross with an Indian game could be the thing.
If i can source a good IG Cock bird i could put it over my LS, Marans, Ixworth and Poulet Gaulois.
exciting times next season i think.
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I'm going to keep a ross cobb pullet back and cross it with my Ixworth, worth a try.
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Defenetly worth a try mate
A lot of people are against using hybrids as crosses saying they will not carry on any of the meat gene.
They must bring something to the table, pardon the pun, ha.
I am going to do something similar, just not sure which way yet.
But look forward to hearing how you get on Fowlman.
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Experimenting with crosses is always fun to try and sometimes worth while.
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Well it's back to the drawing board, a fox has just taken all 8 table birds :rant:
Can't believe it, gutted :-[
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Bugger, sorry to hear that Dave.
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I have just hatched 9 Indian game chickens for this very purpose. Bought them as hatching eggs t Maidstone poultry auctions. Going to run 1 pen of pure bred IG and put a IG cockerel across our light Sussex hens.
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Good cross Montana :thumbsup:
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Bugger, sorry to hear that Dave.
Thanks Fowlman, it's nacked up all my plans.
So I will be starting from scratch again next year
IG is also whT I will be looking for as I already have LS, IXworth and Marans.
I will do some more Sasso ranger types and try to keep a few hens back to add to the mix the following year.
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I'm tempted to try some Le Bresse next year.
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They are definetly on my hit list, but have you seen the price of pol stock wow!!
So hatching eggs seems the way
Just wish I could find the grey version as I already have enough white birds
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Seem to be a few around with them now, i know a couple of people. A black version would look smart.
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You right there mate, but when I researched them it said the Blacks do t hold quite as much meat as the Whites
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Oh there actually is a black version , sorry didn't realise.
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Just reading this a bit late :innocent: we are running on a few marans cockerels for the table at the moment after hatching eggs. Hoping to hatch a few utility light Sussex next year so will keep you in mind Dave C if you sell hatching eggs as you are a drivable distance :wave:
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Hi, sorry don't have a LS cock bird, I will be looking to put something like an Indian Game over them.
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Oh there actually is a black version , sorry didn't realise.
Yes they are White, grey and black
I think the Poulet Galouise is a hybrid of theirs, the ones I had were kind of salmon in colour
Might keep a cock bird next year as they are very healthy birds, not quite as big as the Hubbard or Sasso.
Unless I can find a pure Grey la bresse in the mean time :fc:
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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 !!!!
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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?
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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.
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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
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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.
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Keep us up to speed on their progress Dave c
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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.
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We hatched a silver dorking hen and she was very heavy. Unfortunately died before she even laid an egg. Nice placid bird as well.
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We run astralorps great birds tough to get hold of tho
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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.
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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.
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Have you found some good utility Australorps as there is a lot of show types around that are all frame
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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.
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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.