Meat poultry.

Danzy

I'm wondering what is the best breed of poultry to run meat chicks off.

I have a few layers, 3 of whom are black rocks. I was wondering if I got an Indian game rooster, would he turn out chicks off them that would flesh well.

I farm, so I might be thinking i'm putting a Belgian Blue bird on a British Friesian hen.

Am I better going straight for broilers, the hens I have have a lot of space, indoors and out, so they have lots of foraging space, and i mean lots.

What ye recommend.

Base price

Danzy wrote: »

I'm wondering what is the best breed of poultry to run meat chicks off.

I have a few layers, 3 of whom are black rocks. I was wondering if I got an Indian game rooster, would he turn out chicks off them that would flesh well.

I farm, so I might be thinking i'm putting a Belgian Blue bird on a British Friesian hen.

Am I better going straight for broilers, the hens I have have a lot of space, indoors and out, so they have lots of foraging space, and i mean lots.

What ye recommend.

Black rocks are more like Holsteins rather than British Friesian and an Indian Game rooster is unlikely to breed much muscle into them. Personally I would go with broilers as they are great converters.
Always used to rear a dozen from day olds. Started them on chick crumb as normal then to growers and after a week or so on growers add in barley to slow down their growth rate otherwise they would all become fit at the same time. I preferred to kill the heaviest bird first, that way you had a fresh weekly supply. I also let them free range for as long as they are able too.

Danzy

7 broilers bought. We'll see how it goes. Seem o be fine and the have plenty in front of them. I post you a fillet if they do well. Tks.

Genghis Cant

Danzy wrote: »

7 broilers bought. We'll see how it goes. Seem o be fine and the have plenty in front of them. I post you a fillet if they do well. Tks.

Give us a few more details if you don't mind. I was think about getting a few myself to see how they went. I have a few Brahma here, cock birds that we hatched. They have serious growth rate. We're gonna grow them on for the table. I'm told the cocks can reach 12 lb mature but we'll hardly wait till then.
I'd be interested to hear a bit more about the broilers.

Danzy

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Give us a few more details if you don't mind. I was think about getting a few myself to see how they went. I have a few Brahma here, cock birds that we hatched. They have serious growth rate. We're gonna grow them on for the table. I'm told the cocks can reach 12 lb mature but we'll hardly wait till then.
I'd be interested to hear a bit more about the broilers.

Have them cornered off in the coop, the coop is an old weanling shed, 45 feet by 16, with about half as much in a closed run, so there is a lot of space. I closed them in, so the others wouldn't be pecking them and so as to keep them warm. I'm feeding them kitchen scraps, cut chickweed, and a scattering of rolled barley.

When I have them settled and see that they are thriving a bit, they'll be put in to the run with the others and in a week I'll let them forage with the rest.


It may take a week or two longer by having them more active but from what I hear it is a better bird for it and I'd like them to be as true to their form as possible.

They are lively enough. Here only a day or so but they seem like they are straightforward.

It may be a case of the blind leading the blind but keep em dry and warm till a bit stronger food in front of them and I don't think much will go wrong.

Danzy

Ringing a man about getting anIndian Game rooster as well, maybe a Brahma Hen would be worth checking out for putting to him, are they meant to be broody, good mothers.

Base price

Danzy wrote: »

Ringing a man about getting anIndian Game rooster as well, maybe a Brahma Hen would be worth checking out for putting to him, are they meant to be broody, good mothers.

Brahma's are a heavy breed and make good broodies like any other heavy breed.
However I always preferred to hatch/rear heavy breed eggs/chicks (Orps/Brahma etc) under RIR's, Wyandottes and Silkies as they have excellent mothering abilities.
TBH if ye want to rear table birds then you cannot beat broilers for meat to feed ratio.

Genghis Cant

What age do you buy the broilers, how much are they, what age do you grow them to and what weight do you expect them to die into?

I'm all questions :-)

Base price

Genghis Cant wrote: »

What age do you buy the broilers, how much are they, what age do you grow them to and what weight do you expect them to die into?

I'm all questions :-)

It's been a few years since I bought any so my figures maybe off.
Chicks €5 although you could get better deals if buying in a quantity.
I always killed the heaviest bird first (normally the greediest male) which was about 10 weeks old at 9-10lbs dw and ko over 6lbs.
Ye loose about a third liveweight to be oven ready ifykwim.
Heaviest birds that we would have would have were 16lbs lw - they were pullets that were starting to lay.

Genghis Cant

9-10 lb at ten weeks is monster gains. There's Brahma s here ten or eleven weeks old at the moment and they're a few pound max. I must weigh them.
It seems to me the broilers are nearer to Turkey than chicken in size!

Danzy

I got them for 7 a bird, broilers aren't a cheap in Ireland as one gets in other places, scale I guess.

I intend to start killing around 12-16 weeks. If they were indoors all the time they would not be able to move at that age but i want mine more active than atypical broilers and more feeding of themselves.

I'm hoping that they will be killing out at 8 lbs to 11-12 for the 16 week ones, figures that are not unusual.

If you wanted to drive them hard with grain i'd say you'd have no trouble killing them at 6 weeks and for a 6lb cooking bird. That is what a chicken farmer would be looking at, at the least.

These things are a quirk of cross breeding, if they don't stay active they will all be killed before 16 weeks, as their bodies would not support the weight from their growth.

A pound a week of live gain seems to be the expectation.