Table Birds??

No, no, no, no, lala, lala, lala, I can't hear you Sorry I'm a veggie with chooks

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmm I'm supposed to be going to rear some for the table, but whether or not I can do the deed when the time comes I dunno! I think Snadger is the one to answer your question about breeds for the table though, he'll probably be along in a bit

If I was allowed to keep them, I'd have Light Sussex as they are supposed to be a good 'Dual Purpose' bird - you get a reasonable amount of eggs from them, and they make a decent table bird too.

I'm veggie too lol. So the chooks are for eggs only. The thing is lotsa peeps here keep chooks and view them as part of the family.

I personally commend you as I grew up on a farm and see things slightly differently.... I will say that if you name them, you'll have a tough time! I second Maureen, Snadger should hopefully be along in a bit with some help

Here I is!!!

Utility breeds are what I would like! Good for meat and reasonable egg layers

I am trying to hatch Light Sussex and Salmon Faverolles for table use as well as eggs! I reckon I'm in a no-lose situation as if I hatch cockerels I'll be able to knock em on the head as soon as they open there gobs to crow (we ain't allowed cockerels at the allotments!) and if they are hens they will either be layers or eaters......depending on how many of each hatch.

I think Birdie Wife is the expert here as she has some of my favourites, Dorkings among others which date back to Roman times.

Even some of the utility breeds have suffered after showmen have bread them for prettiness rather than there original egg/meat capabilities...........so I don't want posers, I want sound egg layers with a good breast and tasty flesh (that's why I REALLY want Dorkings!)

I think I will be going for a Ross Cobb this year my friend is looking at getting a few for the table so we are looking at splitting a minimum order of 25 day old chicks….It is something that I need to do as we eat a lot of free range chickens from the supermarket and I know I will give a much better life to some I have reared myself

Regards
Pat

whatever you do

Do NOT give them names, Do NOT watch every move they make, Do NOT keep them in the house for 10 weeks,and Do NOT sit cuddling them for hours, cos once they have been sat on your monitor helping you type or fallen asleep on your knee watching telly ....... you will never eat them

I had Cobbs many years ago and they grow at an amazing rate. Delicious meat too. Have gone much more squeamish with age so couldn't do it now!

Snadger you may remember my chicks from last August (they are light sussex) The boys started to crow before they are big enough to eat so you may have a problem or a small meal or you could ask a nice friend out of the Toon to keep them for a few weeks for you.

How long before they crow chicken slave? And how long to Sunday lunch size?
If it's only a matter of weeks I can take em home for a while and suffer the wrath of the neighbours!

mine are 11 weeks and sort of crowing, but not properly, and the neighbours haven't heard them yet if memory serves i think it's about 18-20 weeks ....... mine certainly aren't eatable yet, cos although they look big theres not much meat on em

It was about 19-20 weeks.

I dispatched 'Sunday' when he was 24 weeks and he was just enough for myself and OH. Kiev and Drumsticks are now about 28-29 weeks and they about the correct weight and roundness. I should know this weekend as I think Kiev is not fulfilling his position with the girls, so his new position will be breast down in the roasting tray.

Light Sussex are extremely vocal if they can hear people moving around in neighbouring gardens, they make excellent guard chooks. As I live in the country with about 6 neighbours in the hamlet nobody really has a problem with them so I am very lucky.

I wouldn't describe myself as an expert, I've only been raising meat birds for a year or so but thanks for the vote of confidence Snadger!

Pure breeds for meat - Dorkings are a good choice, they are big and placid. They were originally bred for that purpose so that when numbers of males were kept in the same place together they wouldn't fight much. Everything now depends on the strain - go for utility strains of whatever breed you choose, rather than show strains. Australorps, Ixworth, Barred Plymouth Rock, Marans and Wyandottes are dual-purpose breeds all worth looking at. Ixworth are a plain-looking white chicken that was bred to be the ultimate dual-purpose bird but are pretty rare and many strains are a bit inbred and don't lay as much. On the plus side, they have suffered much less from dilution of utility lines with show lines, because the show breeders aren't really interested in them.

My choice was to keep different dual-purpose pure breeds so that I could breed my own egg layers and when males hatch then they could grow to a decent eating size. My cockerel is a different breed to the hens though - this gives hybrid vigour, which only happens in the first cross of two different pure breeds. In theory, they grow faster and mature quicker than either parent bird. In practice, I haven't done any tests beacuse I haven't the space to do large scale experiments, hybrid vigour is just something I remember from A-level Biology.

The third way is to go for meat hybrids which have been bred from specific strains of parent birds and mature very quickly. THey don't have to be your average Frankenchicken, have a look at Sasso and Ross Cobb for example. There are a couple of guys who can supply eggs or chicks and both are highly rated on the other chicken forums I'm on - I can get details if you're interested.

I'd always go with the Marans (if you can get 'working' types) as the hens lay nice deep brown eggs, the cockerels are (the ones I had anyway) too timid to fight, and not as noisy as some, and they have white skin, which is good for roasting (but you do need to get all the feathers off, because any leftover ones show up). I never found the 'dark feathers' a problem, because I am very 'picky' and I want to get every last feather OFF, so being able to see them if NOT a drawback!
AVOID RIR. Most cockerels are bolshie so-and-sos, and they start fighting as soon as they learn to crow!