[bedifferent]

We are at the other end of the meat bird saga and are culling ours at the moment. I must say it will take a lot for me to buy meat hybrids again. They stink.

Mine all they do is eat and poo - usually at the same time. They have no idea what a preen gland is for and are monstrous when compare with the pure breeds.

I think I'll stick to culling excess cockerels.

Got this from another forum as i am thinking of keeping some chooks for meat - just a few.
I have images of mutant hens!

[Bodger]

They are bred to simply eat and make meat and thats exactly what they do. If you simply want birds for meat, then you can't beat the 'Ross Cobb' type hybrids.
As for them stinking, IMO they are no worse than any other type of chicken. Its quite often that smalltime producers are lead into the trap of buying more than they need at any one time. Its quite easy to fall for a minimum order requirement of a minimum order of 50 day old chicks :shock:  They are nice and fluffy as day olds, but soon grow and believe you me, fifty take a lot of housing, feeding and cleaning out.
To top the experience off, fifty table birds all maturing at more or less the same time, take a lot of killing, dressing and then freezing. Its a big undertking and is quite often an experience that puts people off fattening their own chickens for life.
In an ideal world, four or five people living close to each other would share an order of day olds and make numbers much easier to handle. I'd love to have a handful of commercial fatteners a couple of times a year.

[bedifferent]

I would have thought that the taste of the meat would have been better in a slower growing egg and meat producer? I know that they may not have as much meat but perhaps the sacrifice for quality over quantity needs to be made?

[Wildeone]

In my opinon free range slow growing birds that i get from my local farmers market don't have much 'tender' meat on them but the flavour is beautiful!  I think that everyone (well me at least) had got used to eating pure white buttery breasts from supermarket birds who can't even walk let alone run and scratch around a field.  IMHO i would much rather chew my meat knowing the bird had some sort of a life.

Well done for growing and culling your own i take my hat off to you.  But don't be disheartened maybe try different breeds next time. :!:

 

[Foxy]

someone I know has crossed hubbards with cochins for a slower growing and stronger meat bird I thought an interesting combination. I also have heard that sussex crossed with faverolles is a exceptionally tasty bird! makes sense as  faverolles are dual purpose -I wonder what a faverolles crossed with a hubbard would be like?
Agree with bedifferent prob only ever cull the odd cockerel though for meat. :?

[Lost in France]

They stink.

Interesting comment...I have found that my cockerel does smell different to the girls and he does bigger poos! The henhouse he lives in definately needs more cleaning and smells different to the other with just hens in! Anyone else found this or is it just me?!

Judi

[mumsy]

They stink.

Interesting comment...I have found that my cockerel does smell different to the girls and he does bigger poos! The henhouse he lives in definately needs more cleaning and smells different to the other with just hens in! Anyone else found this or is it just me?!

Judi

     
He's a bloke

[babe]

   

[woodburner]

So I'm not imagining it! I have two LS chicks and four Cobb chicks hatched at the same time. The LS are being hand raised so I pick them up a lot and have never noticed any smell at all, not even from their box, which is on the landing. Every time I have picked up one of the Cobbs though, I have been struck by the pong!
It's not diet either, as I take the LS out into the garden, whenever the weather is mild enough that they won't get cold in five minutes, and leave them out until they do start to get cold, or start napping.

Edit: Just realised the silkies don't smell like that either! Perhaps a tad more odour than the Ls but not offensive.