Best eating chickens

oldute · **Posted:** Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:01 pm

What is a good eating chicken? My first attempt at trying a "home prepared" one was not good.
A neighbour gave me some young roosters, not sure of the breed. I fed them until they were big enough, maybe 3-4 months and when cooked, the meat on the legs was a very dark brown, stringy and unapealing.
So instead of what I thought was going to be a delicious chicken we all ended up a bit hungry as we left most of it.
Was it because they were roosters?
What is a good one to try and what age? Does anyone know what breed the ones you buy in the shops are?

Simo · **Posted:** Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:29 pm

Check out

http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/27_2710.htm

I have Australorps but have not eaten any yet.

earthbound · **Posted:** Wed Feb 17, 2010 4:43 pm

Sounds like they were probably layers... There are different breeds of chooks for different purposes. You get laying breeds, that lay hundreds of eggs a year and all of their energy goes into that. They have very little meat on them and aren't great to eat. Then you have multipurpose breeds that are ok layers and also put on a reasonably amount of meat. Then Meat breeds, that don't lay a lot of eggs but put on lots of meat quickly.

I wouldn't recommend the breeds they use for standard shop bought meat chicken, when you see them it's enough to put you off chicken, even the ones that are free range. Current commercial meat breeds can grow to 2 kg in 35 days, they have been bread to grow incredibly quickly but they grow so quickly that there are some major problems with the breed, they have to keep sitting down all the time because because they can't support the weight, they have heart problems, and many of them don't even survive till the 7-8 week mark where they are culled.

Much better to look at an all purpose traditional breed like an Australorp or similar..

oldute · **Posted:** Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:13 pm

Thanks. So is a hen better eating generally, than a rooster?

earthbound · **Posted:** Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:25 pm

No, don't think it makes much difference at all in that department. Roosters are normally the ones that get eaten in a "backyard" situation because roosters don;t lay eggs and they make a lot of noise, and fight over the girls.

So generally people hatch out eggs or buy young chicks, wait for them to grow a bit before they can sex them. Then once the roosters start to get to crowing age they are knocked on the head for food, while the females are kept for egg laying and reproduction.

oldute · **Posted:** Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:34 pm

Thats what i thought. I'd better find out what that breed was that I tried so I dont try it again.

stretchman · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:00 pm

G'day Oldute

Roosters are best eaten young, between 8-12 weeks. As you found out they are tougher and stringier, and have a stronger flavour. Keep them in a small pen to limit exercise and feed on demand (continuously) to fatten them quickly.

When it comes to cooking they need to be cooked long and slow. Curries, casseroles and stews (with lots of flavours) are best. Crock pots, slow cookers and pressure cookers all work well. Backyard chooks will generally be a lot tastier than the shop bought mush and have a better texture. The shop bought ones can be as young as 4 or 5 weeks and generally never older than 7 weeks at slaughter.They grow so fast they can snap their legs, have you noticed how many broken legs are in a pack of budget chicken pieces? They are usually a trademarked hybrid, like Isa Brown or HiLine laying hens. They are a white chicken, I am not sure what they are called though. Chances are they have a patent number not a name. If you ever get the chance have a look at a commercial grower operation. If the sight of tens of thousands of birds jammed into a shed, where they can't/don't move from feed troughs doesn't get you growing your own nothing will. It should be noted now that Australian growers do NOT use hormones. They do use antibiotics, which I personally think is nearly as bad.

I have tried before to breed specific table chooks using different breeds, with various degrees of success. Currently I am setting up again with Light Sussex hens and Indian Game rooster. Rhode Island Reds also make a good meat bird. Australorps have the added advantage of being a good all round backyarder, and are one of our favourites.

earthbound · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:23 pm

Yeah it's shocking isn't it stretchman...

Both the commercial layers and the meat chickens, are kept in pretty disgusting conditions. Here some info I gleaned from a website..

Quote:

The chickens live on the ground on litter (wood shavings, rice hulls etc) in huge sheds. Overcrowding is a major problem as stocking densities of 20 birds or 40kg per square metre are allowed are this is common towards the end of their short life in the shed.. This includes space for feeding and watering equipment, which means that for birds that are slaughtered at 2 kilograms, each has the equivalent of 500 square centimetres floor space (less than the size of an A4 page). As the chickens near their target weight the floor of the shed can barely be seen as it is carpeted with birds.

The sheds are dimmed to keep the birds as inactive as possible so that food conversion is maximised and pecking and fighting through frustration and over-crowding minimized.

The production system is “all-in/ all out” which means that for the whole of the 5 - 7 weeks that the birds are in the shed the droppings are allowed to accumulate on the floor As the chickens grow the air may become polluted with ammonia, dust, bacteria and fungal spores which cause health problems for both people and chickens.

Attachment:

fpar_broiler_chickens608.jpg [ 186.13 KiB | Viewed 14338 times ]

There were much worse pictures but I didn;t want to get too morbid.

oldute · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:42 pm

I'll give it another go soon stretch. But I want a nice white meat one that I dont have to slow cook.

pistolknight · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:32 pm

oldute wrote:

What is a good eating chicken?

A dead one preferably plucked

chillidude · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:13 am

stretchman wrote:

It should be noted now that Australian growers do NOT use hormones. They do use antibiotics, which I personally think is nearly as bad.

That's 'cause it is bad :swear:

Mt Barker free range for me, until I can finally bring Mrs Chilli around to my way of thinking....

BatonRouge Bill · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:59 pm **Posts:** 60

I think the winds of change are coming to the chicken industry. I believe several states have started making laws requlating the maximum density chickens can be commercially grown. No real big improvements but I think the public is getting educated in the conditions of chicken farms.

earthbound · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:34 pm

Perhaps they should put warning pictures on the chicken packs like they do with cigarettes. Non free range eggs and chicken meat wouldn't sell to well if they had to do that...

But unfortunately people are always going to be swayed by the mighty $. If you can buy chicken pieces in a pack for $2.99 per kg or chicken pieces that look exactly the same for $4.99 per kg, the uneducated populous will buy the $2.99.

Marketing departments will try all sorts, I've noticed recently in the cold meat section at my supermarket that one company selling sliced ham/salami/etc have changed their packaging, now it's all bright green grass on the front of the packaging. Obviously done their research and found people like green grassy fields. Now if they put a picture of intensively farmed pigs on the front, what was actually in the product they wouldn't sell any.

Faye bought some eggs the other day and they were called "Multigrain eggs". I guess trying to make it sound better for you? :confused:

Well, I guess they probably feed their caged battery chickens mixed multi-grains that are in chook pellets.

Lord Viykor · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:58 pm

earthbound wrote:

Marketing departments will try all sorts, I've noticed recently in the cold meat section at my supermarket that one company selling sliced ham/salami/etc have changed their packaging, now it's all bright green grass on the front of the packaging.

I've been told some supermarkets are also using red lighting in their beef and lamb freezers to make the meat more red looking.

Can't say I've noticed this myself, then again I don't do the groceries that often.

edit: to the topic at hand I'll be going for some Ausralorp/Isabrown hybrids for eggs and eating.

Granny Smith · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2010 7:42 pm

Guys, Jamie's doing another show called 'Jamie's Fowl Dinner' next Tuesday 2 March on Lifestyle Food (6.30 our time and 2+ on Lifestyle Food +2.

In the promo he asks how people can produce chicken for humans at a cost less than dog meat. Guess there are no prizes for working that one out.

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