Orpingtons for meat?

[DUCKGIRL89]

Would a orpington rooster be a good meat bird?

 

[Judy]

They're dual purpose, meaning for meat or eggs. I have read they tend to have larger dark meat portions. They are comparatively slow growers so will take longer to get to the desired weight.

If you mean will he be good to eat, sure; he will even be good for roasting or grilling (slowly) before 18 weeks or so. If you mean how cost effective will he be, will he taste like Cornish X, etc., that's a whole different matter.

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Ok, thwnk you....,wish there was some way,to make cornish X's

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I have them - Orpingtons - oh my word, just love them. On the foot or table.



I butcher any where from about 5 months on. My oldest that we have used was just over a year........and made many, many meals for us.


I have "breeder birds or heritage birds" not hatchery stock. They are much larger than hatchery stock.



They do grow slow - first they grow their frame (bone structure) and then they start to thicken up the muscle. They do eat a fair amount also, but are good free rangers.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
You will find the Orps have much more flavor.



Cornish X - are still chicks when butchered. Yes, they are large, but 8 weeks, 12 weeks - still young chicks.



20 weeks - these birds are building muscle.


It will be the difference between veal and steak.

 

[LilyD]

If you get Orps make sure to get heritage rather than hatchery birds. There are many people on this forum that breed them. I have had both and I have to say that the hatchery birds definitely don't grow as big. They definitely have large legs and thighs and their dark meat is great but they don't have as much breast meat as the cornish X. They still do have breast meat and I was not disappointed in how their breasts tasted just a little smaller than the ones you would see in the store.

I am processing two on Thursday I will let you know how they are after that.

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Quote:
Ok, thank you please pm me

or post here...

I am getting some hatching eggs from Bargain a BYCer, and I dont want to have to worry about giving away roostrrs. So we will just eat them... I want to breed them, and hatch eggs every now and then, so we can have meat...

 

[galanie]

Quote:
Ok, thank you please pm me

or post here...

I am getting some hatching eggs from Bargain a BYCer, and I dont want to have to worry about giving away roostrrs. So we will just eat them... I want to breed them, and hatch eggs every now and then, so we can have meat...

Sounds like you're getting a great start then. I've heard that Bargain does have some nice stock. I started with Orpingtons with exactly the same in mind. At the moment I'm only raising the breeding stock but I look to be able to start hatching my own chicks this spring. I've been pretty lucky with selling extra roos so far since they are not hatchery stock. I figure if I can't sell them for more than $15 then they're table fare. So far none of my roos have been table fare, but a hen was, believe it or not. I actually butchered a laying hen. Because she was a disruptive, crazy fool. But she was hatchery stock. I still have 3 of my hatchery ones. Love them so I guess they'll just be 'pets' their whole lives. Except one that is a GREAT mom. In fact she's broody right now, for the fourth time this year.

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

I've never butchered Orpingtons, but I have butchered Australorps, which are akin to Orpingtons. We did three Australorp cockerels and one Ameraucana cockerel Saturday. I think Orpingtons would probably be a little heavier than my Australorps, but aside from that I'd say they're probably similar. In other words, delicious! I butcher at about 6 months of age. When I did some over the summer that were closer to 5 months, there were still a lot of pin feathers to deal with. The extra time made these guys a little stouter and the plucking easier. You'd probably have a bit more downy feathering to pull on an Orpington compared to an Australorp.

 

[onthespot]

Mine are EXCELLENT meat birds. Trouble is, you gotta get them early or they are too big for the crock pot or even stew pot! They grow fast and are meaty from early on. I can't say enough good about them.