[Mikey]

We are looking move one step further with chicken keeping by getting to a position where we can breed our own stock. 

We are fairly hard nosed about this and are looking to supply our own needs for chicken meat and eggs. 

We believe that we need a general purpose bird and have read good reports about 'utility' Rhode Island Reds.   

Do any members have experience with such a bird or would other breeds be better?

[Brian Green fingers]

Hi Mikey, we're hoping to follow the same route as you. I believe the light sussex makes a good utility bird not sure about Rhode Islands.

[joyfull]

Grannie Annie has Rhodies so perhaps you could ask her 

[GrannieAnnie]

We've got some Rhodies, but we haven't eaten any yet!! 

But yes, there are quite a few utility breeds, the Rhode Islands Reds, Light Sussex, Welsummers, Naked Necks apparently, but we haven't eaten that one either yet!  Leghorns, but my Exchequer is a bit small, so I won't eat him yet!!  Mind you if he flies at me once more, he may be on the menu!!!!

[Mikey]

Hi Annie

FRom your experience - would you go for the Rhode Island or for something else?

[Spana]

For eggs you cant beat the hybrids and for meat you cant beat the meat birds.  The trouble with the traditional breeds is that they are not the best at either.
 Something like a light sussex or RIR will lay a fair number of eggs and the cockerels make quite good eating but they take forever to get to a good weight and put on enough fat to make a good roasting bird. The oldtimers hatched in March for Christmas cockerels.
A decent hybrid will lay an egg most days and something like a Sasso can be ready in 14-16 weeks and make a lovely roasting bird.  Cobbs can be so big by 10weeks that they cant stand, I think Sasso are better.
We cull most Light Sussex cockerels at 16-18 weeks, skin and take the meat off the bones.  That way you dont have to pluck and gut and the meat is good for quick frying or casseroles.  Also you dont have the cost of the feed to get them to roasting weight, we leave  a few until 26-28 weeks.
But, after saying all that, I'm going to try some RIR this year

[SnooziSuzi]

Hi Mikey,

Spana is right; there isn't a breed that is fantastic at everything, however I have eaten one of my Light Sussex who are also good layers and he tasted OK to me.  I say OK because I hadn't raised him on the right feed to plump him up - he was just eating layers pellets that were given to the girls.

I am keeping my sussex hens for laying but next weekend I am off to the Carlisle auctions to see if I can pick up a couple of Dorking females to x breed with my Buff Orpington male for meat birds - I have heard (from HFW) that this combination is a superior bird with lots of meat which stands to reason as they are both big breeds.

Hope you find the one's you are after

Su

[GrannieAnnie]

Like Spana Mikey, we also grow meat birds.  They are Hubbards and can get to eating weight by 8 weeks, but over the winter they were a bit disappointing although they ate us out of house and home, the biggest was only 4kgs dead weight and the smallest just under 2kgs.

From what I can see, the Rhodies and the LS are of similar weight, but like I said, I haven't eaten any yet.

But Spana is right, the dual purpose birds do take longer to get to any decent weight,  but if you are wanting to start incubating your own eggs.  Having the pullets for eggs and eating the cockerels, it would save you trying to re-home the cockerels.

Can't you try a mixture of the 2 breeds and see who gets biggest and best? 

Be interesting to see how Snoozi gets on with the DorkingxBuff orpingtons!!!

[dizzylizzie]

Like Spana Mikey, we also grow meat birds.  They are Hubbards and can get to eating weight by 8 weeks, but over the winter they were a bit disappointing although they ate us out of house and home, the biggest was only 4kgs dead weight and the smallest just under 2kgs.

From what I can see, the Rhodies and the LS are of similar weight, but like I said, I haven't eaten any yet.

But Spana is right, the dual purpose birds do take longer to get to any decent weight,  but if you are wanting to start incubating your own eggs.  Having the pullets for eggs and eating the cockerels, it would save you trying to re-home the cockerels.


I would listen to Grannie to be honest. We have had a fair few birds from her to eat and my family LOVES Grannies birds. They are sooooo much nicer than the ones in the supermarkets. I dont eat meat, but even i could see a difference in the way they cooked and the way the meat just fell off the bones...Grannie certinly knows her birds
Can't you try a mixture of the 2 breeds and see who gets biggest and best? 

Be interesting to see how Snoozi gets on with the DorkingxBuff orpingtons!!!

[Mikey]

Thanks for the good information.

I know that hybrid birds make economic sense.  We have three hybrid hens which we raised from day old.  They started laying this Christmas day and each has laid pretty well every day since, through the gloom of this bad winter.  They are good natured curious birds that look happy to me.  No problems here.

We have also raised 10 Cobb cockerels from day old.  It was a bad experience.  About 7 suffered lameness to various extents.  Once lame, they were unable to get onto a perch or to move away from the peckers, so they ended up half naked and covered in s**t.  There was a lot of pecking leading to abrasions and bruising on the skin of the final carcass.

One bird died when very young.  Two were lame to the extent that they culled before they were 6 weeks old. Two more were culled and eaten at about 10 weeks while still very small.  The remaining birds, got to a good weight but there was more chicken meat  more than the family needed.  They were dispatched and eaten over a number of weeks.  The freezer was full.  The last birds were growing at an enormous rate to enormous sizes to the extent that we were getting a meal for 4 of one leg.  The final suprise came when we were dressing the last 'cockerel', which turned out to be at point of lay.

It might be that with more skill we could grow these birds to a good weight with less lameness but they would need to be kept in semi darkness to control the pecking and aggression.  A lame bird can sit on its haunches next to a feeder.  It doesn't waste energy running around but this is not humane.

Ideally, we would bring on smaller batches that better met the families needs for chicken meat but where do you source small quantities of chicks at vaguely economic prices?

From these replies, Sasso's seem to be a better bet.  Will they be significantly better than the Cobbs or will we still have lameness?

 

[Spana]

I think Sasso's are better, they are slower growing.  What you describe happened with the Cobbs sounds terrible but typical, Cobbs will just grow and grow even if food is withheld poor things.   
Have you thought about giving them a straw bale to roost on instead of a perch. You dont getting marks on the breast  like you get from perching but it allows them to get up of the ground, if you see what i mean

[Mikey]

Sassos sound good.  I just need to find a local (to Norfolk) supplier.  Thanks for the help Spana.