Anyone breed meat chickens and not just egg layers??

[jono]

Evening,
I was just wondering if anyone buys chickens for food not just egg layers?? If so what breeds are good and how long do you "plump" them up for??
Many thanks,
Jono

[Peasticks]

Hi, I have bought day old chicks in to grow on for meat, they were the slightly slower growing hybrid ones and were ready at about 15 weeks although I left them to about 22 weeks plus

Its a cheap way of doing it, around £1.70 a chick, no breeding stock costs and no hatching costs just the  brooder and heat lamp to start them off indoors

I have now moved to a more self sufficient solution and have accumulated a small group of pure breed 'meaty' birds (Welsummer cockerel with Maran, Indian Game and Wyandotte wives) the offspring will need to be grown to 6-7 months before they will be meaty enough, I have added one of the hybrid table birds in to this flock in the hope of producing a cross breed that will be faster growing than the rest so spread the culling over a longer period

Pure breeds that are good for meat include Ixworths, Marans, Indian Game, Dorkings, Light Sussex, Welsummer and Wyandottes - Ixworths and Light Sussex will probably give you better weight birds quicker than some of the others, the plus side of keeping a pure breed flock (as opposed to my cross breedings) is that you can sell the girls on reasonably easily

using pure breeds does give you a darker, denser, gamey meat, very different to a supermarket offering - if you are looking for lots of light meat then hybrid chicks is probably the way to go

[small]

We did a few batches of chickens for meat some years ago, used Ross Cobbs (don't know if these are still available), they grew really quickly, it was as if they'd been inflated with a balloon pump.  The resultant birds were just as you'd buy in a supermarket, which is not meant as a recommendation!  I am uncomfortable with the breeding of these unnatural birds, not just the rapid weight gain but the resultant inability to perch, scratch, or flap around.  I don't know what would happen if you kept this type of breed in a more natural situation and on a lower protein feed, but if I wanted to rear meat birds again I'd follow Peasticks excellent advice, using Wyandottes if possible. Hope this helps.

[Jeannine]

We kept Buff Orpingtons which are a dual purpose chicken. They are also known for their very gentle nature too..we loved them.

XX Jeannine

[chriscross1966]

We kept Buff Orpingtons which are a dual purpose chicken. They are also known for their very gentle nature too..we loved them.

XX Jeannine

Illegal in this country, we're only allowed to eat them and their eggs....

[Peasticks]

We did a few batches of chickens for meat some years ago, used Ross Cobbs (don't know if these are still available), they grew really quickly, it was as if they'd been inflated with a balloon pump.  The resultant birds were just as you'd buy in a supermarket, which is not meant as a recommendation!  I am uncomfortable with the breeding of these unnatural birds, not just the rapid weight gain but the resultant inability to perch, scratch, or flap around.  I don't know what would happen if you kept this type of breed in a more natural situation and on a lower protein feed, but if I wanted to rear meat birds again I'd follow Peasticks excellent advice, using Wyandottes if possible. Hope this helps.

I agree Ross Cobbs are grotesque to look at as they fatten, they can go 'off their legs' too when they get very heavy, not nice to see.

The hybrid ones I tried were not as fast growing as Cobbs, still looked large but not horrible but the one we kept does have to be chased around a bit to make sure she doesnt get too heavy though 

[Jeannine]

Chris, you are blooming disgusting   XX Jeannine

[growmore]

I am trying Sasso x Sussex ,Sasso c-ock to Light  Sussex Hens.
From just the 8 eggs I put in to try, I got the first 6 out of the incubator about 6 weeks ago ...Apart from 1 which is head and shoulders above the others they seem to be growing uniformly..
If you want to run  the hybrid type meat birds on for breeding you have to bring them on steady .It's no good feeding them ad lib.
They need a run where they have to scrat about for the food you give them as in wheat, corn etc.  Give them plenty of green stuff as they need to fully develop  their bone structure.   Jim

[tonybloke]

for good tasting, largish  birds for the table,  try crossing 'english game' cockerel (for the height) with a light sussex or similar hen. 

[les65]

i have sussex light utility only 3 left but im going to get some more this year, nice brown eggs too

[GodfreyRob]

I get Hubbards from this supplier: pouletanglais@ukonline.co.uk
They are 80p each (I get them in batchs of 6) and make lovely table birds - we found the utility types were too gamey for our taste. We kill them at about 10-15 weeks depending on the time of year (they grow much slower in the winter).
They have quite large runs with access to lots of grass and seem perfectly happy and healthy-yes they are quite plump (but thats the whole idea!) but have strong legs and I have not seen any problems there.

His name is Simon and he keeps costs down by adding small orders to his regular drops. He is based in Lincoln I think and travels up to Yorkshire once a fortnight (but goes to lots of other places as well).

[moobli]

hi all,
the other half and i were talking last night about meat birds and was wondering if you needed a license to kill your own chickens

[jonny211]

hi all,
the other half and i were talking last night about meat birds and was wondering if you needed a license to kill your own chickens

Like James Bond?

No I don't think you do if it's for your own consumption... but that's just what I heard from word of mouth.

[Peasticks]

You can kill and butcher your own chickens no problems you can also give them  to friends/family etc.. you just cant sell them to the public as I understand it

Simon (as recommended above) is excellent, very helpful and can provide other chickens besides the very fast growing ones too

[moobli]

thanks for that
just got to source the coop and run for them now
trying to go the recycled route (cheap) as ive been out of work for a year and dont start the new job for another month so while i now have the time i dont have the money and when i have the money i wont have the time
ill have a look and pop some photos from last years garden crops

[PaulaB]

We kept Buff Orpingtons which are a dual purpose chicken. They are also known for their very gentle nature too..we loved them.

XX Jeannine

Illegal in this country, we're only allowed to eat them and their eggs....

How can it be illegal I have found at least 3 places that you can buy buff orpingtons from.

[TommyTomato]

We kept Buff Orpingtons which are a dual purpose chicken. They are also known for their very gentle nature too..we loved them.

XX Jeannine

Illegal in this country, we're only allowed to eat them and their eggs....

How can it be illegal I have found at least 3 places that you can buy buff orpingtons from.

 

I'm not explaining....lol

[Macy]

As per my other post, I'm in providing a home to a light sussex thingy and hybrid hens. Ultimately, I'll be looking to get light sussex hens as well, but will the male chicks of the current stock be likely to produce reasonable meat birds?

Also, just a long term question - if i were to keep the female chicks as layers, are they ok to run with their dad? Will the thingy mate with them, and what potential inbreeding issues would I be creating? Sorry for the questions - I haven't had a chance to properly research as I wasn't planning on hens quite so soon (I'll be off to the library tomorrow!)

[PaulaB]

Come on I have looked all over the net and can't find anything to say buff orpingtons are illegal.  Please put me out of my misery and tell me why they are supposed to be illegal when you can buy them in so many places.

[knottygal]

  The Buff Orpingtons are not illegal Paula - bestiality is though! 

Read the relevant post again...see?!