Just wondering about breeding for meat.

[Skinny rooster]

OC, just a thought that was itching in my little head, since I already have the Cochins and I liked the carcass shape, as opposed to say my Barred Rocks who have this long body and were awkward to deal with.

I see a lot of Chantecler around and they bring a good price, I think they are a favorite with small flock owners (hopefully). As a side note, I know someone who kept the hens when he ordered meat birds and bred them to his Chantecler rooster the following year. The chicks did really really well.

[Ontario Chick]

Never hurts letting your imagination run wild a bit, I am more of a "economical" person, and if somebody has already done the work, why not take advantage of it. :)

[Robbie]

You'll probably want a meat bird that packs it on quickly- I wonder if the cochin cross might take too long to produce a good meaty bird. But it might be a good grandparent cross. The Buckeye has Barred rock, cochin and Indian Game cross in its background, and is shaped similarly to a chantecler, so perhaps if you crossed cochins with chanteclers and then picked a third breed to cross into? A lot of people are having success breeding with the rock cornish cross pullets. It's more difficult I hear to raise the roosters of the rock cornish cross to breeding age, and even if successful they are sometimes too big for the hens.
I've got some Buckeye/cornish crosses in the incubator, we'll see how those turn out. They should make a reasonable meat bird, but I think they will be slow to grow.

[G Williams]

QR_BBPOST As a side note, I know someone who kept the hens when he ordered meat birds and bred them to his Chantecler rooster the following year. The chicks did really really well.

It would be challenging to produce a fast growing broiler or 1 lb. carcass with heritage breeds. The inclusion of hatchery meat birds may get a meaty project along faster.

[Skinny rooster]

OC, made me rethink this thought, it's not worth all the time and effort, I would have to start keeping other breeds, extra pens etc and there are enough mixed chicks in the world. Our contribution to the poultry hobby is we are key to keeping the rare breeds going. Every now and again, one of our breeds becomes popular for one reason or another. We are a hidden gem amongst the agriculture community, even though they don't see us that way. Example, I once took some agricultural courses, one day a man came in to give us a lecture on today's agriculture. He told us with a slight panic that in north America, all chickens had lost the ability to hatch their own eggs and that all turkeys had not only lost the ability to hatch their own eggs, no turkeys could naturally mate any longer. I tried to put a stick in that spoke but he became very annoyed with me, I mean after all, what would some kid with a poultry addiction know compared to an adult who read some government pamphlets.

[Killerbunny]

QR_BBPOST one day a man came in to give us a lecture on today's agriculture. He told us with a slight panic that in north America, all chickens had lost the ability to hatch their own eggs and that all turkeys had not only lost the ability to hatch their own eggs, no turkeys could naturally mate any longer..

Please don't tell my turkeys that! They seem to be doing just fine. Same goes for the broody chickens. I value them very highly although I did have a "country wisdom guy" tell me I should kill one of my broodies because she's "vicious".
STick to your guns SR!

[Robbie]

QR_BBPOST OC, made me rethink this thought, it's not worth all the time and effort, I would have to start keeping other breeds, extra pens etc and there are enough mixed chicks in the world. Our contribution to the poultry hobby is we are key to keeping the rare breeds going. Every now and again, one of our breeds becomes popular for one reason or another. We are a hidden gem amongst the agriculture community, even though they don't see us that way. Example, I once took some agricultural courses, one day a man came in to give us a lecture on today's agriculture. He told us with a slight panic that in north America, all chickens had lost the ability to hatch their own eggs and that all turkeys had not only lost the ability to hatch their own eggs, no turkeys could naturally mate any longer. I tried to put a stick in that spoke but he became very annoyed with me, I mean after all, what would some kid with a poultry addiction know compared to an adult who read some government pamphlets.

Did they teach you in biology that when you cross white chickens with black ones you get grey chickens? I've seen that gem floating around. Oh yeah, and the photo of wheat in a high school biology text that I saw........ was buckwheat. All that proof reading and none of the "experts" spotted it.
I'm glad you challenged the guy, he should be double checking his facts before he spreads those kind of rumors around.

[JimW]

I am thinking the "expert guy" was talking about commerical white turkeys, which cannot naturally breed and most production leghorn laying strains have probably lost most instinct to brood eggs. Similar to coturnix quail, which have pretty much lost any instinct to make a nest and sit on eggs.