Left bird is a 20 week old white leghorn the right is a super market bird. The flavor of the leghorn was great meat not stringy and the liver was good too. My first home grown bird was a buff orpington she was a year old and did not taste good at all, it was so tough and gamey I had to make soup out of it instead of meat.
by TickletheEther
6 Comments
May I recommend a meat bird breed? Cornish cross, etc….
Buff Orps and Leghorns are both egg laying birds.
You think 20 week old leghorn is good, wait till you try meat birds at like 6-12 weeks
Rhode Island reds are a decent breed for layers and meat. I grew up on a farm, and we had 40+ chickens. All were Rhode Island reds. My dad killed two every Saturday for Sunday chicken. Brinded them and yum. We only had one tough one. He was an old rooster that attacked us kids for years. One day, he attacked my dad, and my dad shot him.
You can hang old ones after bleeding for 3-7 days in a cold room/fridge. This is done whole, do not pluck or gut.
I raise delawares and rocks for meat birds. 5 month processing time. finished bird is probably 2 to 4 lbs. I would not wait much past the 5 month mark to harvest, thats when the meat get tough, especially the legs. Cockerells are roasters and pullets are fryers.
I raised cornish x for years. I wont go back. Heritage birds take a lot longer but taste better imo. Cornish x are freaks of nature. shame people have created them really.
“This is another fine mess you’ve gotten me into, Stanley”
Freedom Rangers at 13 weeks are where it’s at. They are SOOO good