Breeds for Meat Birds?

samanthaoverton said:

Hey what's their max weight top out at? I was wondering because I know you can butcher before that and didn't know if you did.

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trescloudy said:

Im not sure. I need to get some kind of chicken weight scale. I read they get over 8 pounds dressed. I dont doubt that a bit because i had 7 plis pounders. Im sure my biggest rooster would dress out well over 8 pounds though. These NHs are the most solid birds ive ever picked up outside of CX.

I do like meaty birds so i dont usually harvest early but if you wanted to i dont see why you couldnt harvest at 12 weeks or so for 3 lb birds. Im guessing here but they grow fast as they were bred to. These are straight utility birds. I didnt try freedom rangers etc. They are hybrids and i want something self sustainable.

NH were the first real broilers imo.

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samanthaoverton said:

I would weight for full weight for sure if I got them..they breed true?

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trescloudy said:

Ive tried all kinds of chickens and always planned to be self sustainable. What ive found are New Hampshires. Dont get these for egg layers though and get a good utility bred strain.

I personally like Henry Nolls' New Hampshires and you can get them from Freedom Ranger Ranch. These birds get freaking huge. I got several roosters over 7 lbs in 16-18 weeks. They are the closest thing to CX but these birds are self sustainable. They lay decent for utility birds.

They are nice gentle birds but have a zest for life. They breed well and their meat is fine textured and reminds me of pheasant meat.

American Bresse are being touted as the greatest meat birds lately. They are not meat birds, more dual purpose. They are somewhat meaty compared to most heritage birds but they cant shine a light to NHs.

AB are decent layers and their eggs are delicious But... they are not a stabilized breed yet.

I highly recommend Henry Nolls New Hampshire's. You will be blown away!

Here are some pictures of my biggest NH rooster. Hes in a coop with the 4 biggest NH hens. He came from my second batch. First batch was only 12 birds. Second batch i got 100 of Henry's NHs because i was so satisfied with my first batch a year prior.

I gave some away some frozen carcasses for Christmas and my friends loved them.

I dont think you will buy a better chick for self sustainable meat production!

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Tre3hugger said:

Couldn't agree more. Here are some of my Henry Noll NHs.
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I just hatched my first chicks from these birds. Some pure breds and some sex links (NH cock over delaware hen). I am hoping by using my largest birds I can get my sex link males xlose to the size of these NHs. Eat the boys, sell the girls. Here are some of the chicks at 3 weeks old.
Chunky NH next to one of my sex link females
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Some sex link males
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sex link male, NH female(?)
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StartFarmingNow said:

So I'm thinking of trying the McMurray Deleware Broiler hens and adding a rooster of another breed (their deleware roos seem to have a reputation for being aggressive so we just won't keep whatever males we get from a straight run order). Anybody have experience with this line? Or recommendations on a breed for the rooster?

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/delaware-broiler.html

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LittlesNBigs said:

Forgive my ignorance, but why aren't Cornish Crosses self sustainable? Couldn't one keep a set of Cornish hens and Rock Roos (or would it be the other way around) and breed them at home? Why is a commercial supplier necessary?

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3KillerBs said:

where did you get your broiler-strain Delawares?

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3KillerBs said:

They are a crossbreed that don't breed true.

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StartFarmingNow said:

Thanks for sharing! Are you going to be selling chicks? I'd love to buy from a breeder rather than a hatchery. I just haven't found one yet.

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Tre3hugger said:

Got them from Freedom Ranger Hatchery. They were hatched at Art's Hatchery in PA. Freedom Ranger does not seem to be offering them this year tho.

Very conflicting info about that on the McMurray website. here's a quote right from the site.
"you say they are enhanced what makes them enhanced ?
They were bred to be a little more meatier than the traditional Delaware breed. They are still a heritage breed and will breed true."

Where did you hear that they don't?

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3KillerBs said:

Let me find that old thread .....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-murray-mcmurrays-delaware-broilers.1409619/

Here's the first post from a person interacting with Murray McMurray's customer service: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...rrays-delaware-broilers.1409619/post-23344132

" Delaware Broiler — a new breed to the group, I’m most excited about this heritage hybrid. A lot of people enjoy raising heritage breeds for their homestead. The meat is darker and sweeter. And the chickens don’t look like aliens. These will dress out between two to five pounds, but can take longer to grow out depending on how big you’d like the bird to be."​

https://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2020/02/27/selecting-the-best-chicken-breeds-for-your-homestead/​

And another post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...rrays-delaware-broilers.1409619/post-23353882

"Our Delaware Broiler will provide more meat then comparable Heritage birds, but retain the great characteristics that make this bird a traditional barnyard favorite. They will mate naturally but offspring will differ slightly."​

And a different person confirming their hybrid status this year: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...rrays-delaware-broilers.1409619/post-25497851

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