How can we close our chicken loop?
It’s a question that’s been rattling around in my brain since a long-ago podcast conversation with Kate from Venison for Dinner.
In that episode, we talked about reducing outside inputs in our home food production.
And I’ve been working towards it in small ways for a while by:
- Saving more seeds
- Shuttling volunteer seedlings around the homestead to eliminate buying certain plants
- Using cover crops in the absence of dependable compost (thank you herbicides)
BUT.
Closing the loop with our livestock has proven to be trickier– especially when it comes to chickens.
Despite my best intentions, I find myself dutifully buying bagged feed, meat chicks, and replacement hens each year for our laying flock.
And it bugs me.
Not only are these inputs pricey, but as we found in 2020, sometimes they aren’t available.
And my stubborn independent streak can’t abide by that.
This year when my son commandeered our (basically nonexistent) hatching operation and successfully hatched goslings AND chicks, a flicker of hope was rekindled.
In a perfect world, I’d LOVE to hatch all of our meat chickens and replacement layers.
But, the world isn’t perfect and I’ve discovered this “simple solution” isn’t always simple.
The Challenges of the Chicken Loop
1. Hatching has a ton of variables. Be prepared to take a deep dive into logistics if you want consistent, successful hatches.
2. The classic generic meat chicken breed (Cornish Cross) is a hybrid and basically impossible to breed/hatch on your own
3. Classic laying breeds are never going to be as meaty as the typical meat breeds.
So no, it’s not impossible to create a sustainable chicken system, but it certainly has its challenges.
Knowing this, I’ve hatched (haha) a three-pronged strategy:
A: Find (hopefully?) a dual-purpose breed that we can hatch on our own that lays well and matures with a decent amount of meat
B: Improve our hatching rates (aka out-source to my child who is more attentive than I am)
C: Adjust our expectations when it comes to meat birds
And down the rabbit hole I went.
Which led me to the question that prompted this post: what *is* the best breed for a fully sustainable chicken operation?
I mean, sure. You could keep and hatch multiple breeds– there’s nothing wrong with that.
But in the interest of efficiency, I’m most interested in seeing if a single breed could serve both purposes.
Is it possible? I’m hopeful.
When hunting for a dual-purpose chicken breed, I’m looking for:
– A chicken that still produces a solid number of eggs. I don’t need the hens to produce as much as a factory chicken (aka the white leghorn at 300 eggs/year) but I’m also not interested in feeding a flock of vanity chickens with token egg production.
– A chicken that reaches butchering weight quickly-ish. It doesn’t have to grow at the same insane rate as a Cornish Cross, but I don’t want to be feeding meat birds for years and ending up with a roast chicken that costs $97 by the time it gets to the dinner table.
– A breed that makes sense for meat production. Again, I don’t need the freakishly large breasts of the Cornish Cross, but I’d like enough meat for a meal.
After doing my own deep dive, I decided to ask my Instagram audience, and of course, the results were mixed.
- Many people recommended a handful of fairly new heritage breeds.
- Others said the tried-and-true breeds common work fine.
- Some said it’s not possible and hardly worth trying.
I suspect all of those things can be true at once. And in my typical fashion, I was determined to cut through the noise and develop my own opinions.
Here’s what I found.
Best Dual Purpose Chicken Breeds for a Sustainable Homestead
1. American Bresse
Number of eggs/year: 250 eggs per year, on average
Time to Maturity: This greatly depends on how and what you feed your flock, but it seems that 16-18 weeks is the sweet spot for butchering
Adult Weight: 5-8 pounds
Other notable traits: Sources report they start laying at 17 weeks, and seem to be well-suited for cold climates.
I’ve not had personal experience with American Bresses, but they were mentioned more than any other breed by my Instagram audience, and upon further inspection, I saw why.
The American Bresse Website calls them a triple-purpose chicken (I like the sound of that).
They are prolific egg layers, faster growing than other dual-purpose breeds, and have rich flavor (I will concede that my Cornish Crosses can be bland). American Bresse are relatively new to the United States (they were imported from France in 2011), but they’re picking up steam.
In my internet travels, I found some people singing their praises and others saying they are overrated and pointless (welcome to the internet). But from what I can tell, the people who love them seem to outweigh the naysayers.
And now I will confess my sins.
After briefly reading about the Bresse, I ordered a box of 25 straight run chicks that will arrive next month. I have a history of impulsive chicken purchasing so this is not surprising. We’ll see if they live up to the hype and of course, I’ll bring you along for the ride. Stay tuned…
2. Australorps
Number of eggs/year: 200-250 eggs per year
Time to Maturity: 16-20 weeks
Finish Weight: 7-10 pounds
Other notable traits: Easy to find and likely available at your local feed store.
Australorps were mentioned frequently by my IG crew which was reassuring since they are easier to find than some of the more rare breeds. The Black Australorp hens in our backyard flock have been great layers, super chill, and tough during the winter months. (I haven’t tried butchering any– yet.) If you don’t feel like hunting down “exotic chicks,” Australorps would be my first choice.
3. Orpingtons
Number of eggs/year: 200 eggs per year, although more is possible
Time to Maturity: 20-30 weeks
Finish Weight: 8-10 pounds
Other notable traits: Larger bodied and easy to find at your local feed store.
Another classic workhorse chicken and a good choice if you don’t live in an area with a lot of chicken breeders or resources (raising by hand). Our Buff Orpington hens have been good winter layers and are lovely with small children, since they have a gentle temperament.
Orpington chickens come in a variety of colors (lavender, blue, black, white, buff, etc) although I don’t think the feather colors affect meat or egg production much.
4. Jersey Giants
Number of eggs/year: 150-200 eggs per year (some people claim closer to 240/year)
Time to Maturity: 25-35 weeks, which is considerably longer
Adult Weight: 10-15 pounds
Other notable traits: A larger bird that is cold hardy. They have a tendency towards broodiness, which can be annoying but also handy if you don’t want to fuss with an incubator.
Jersey Giants are a heritage breed that was originally bred for commercial meat production, but got bumped by the faster growing Cornish Cross. Their biggest downfall is that they take longer to finish, which means you’re going to be paying for more feed. If you have solid sources of affordable feed, this may not be an issue (they are excellent foragers, so that may help).
5. Bielefelders
Number of eggs/year: 200-230 eggs per year
Time to Maturity: 15-22 weeks
Finish Weight: 9-12 pounds
Other notable traits: They are auto-sexing, which means you can easily tell males from females as chicks.
This dual purpose breed was mentioned several times in my IG poll. Bielefelders are a lesser-known heritage chicken from Germany that’s getting more attention lately. They are reported to be docile and friendly, handle cold weather well, and are great choices if you prefer to free range your flock. The biggest downfall is that they’re another specialty breed that may be harder to source.
Other Notable Dual Purpose Chickens:
So here’s the deal:
When I compile the results of my IG poll & Google searches, almost every chicken breed was mentioned at least once… which leads me to the conclusion that:
The “best” dual-purpose chicken is highly subjective.
Other breeds that were mentioned were:
- Barred Rocks
- Rhode Island Reds
- Sussex
- Chanteclers
- Wyandottes
- Marans
- Brahmas
- Buckeyes
- Delawares
One person even said they kept back Freedom Rangers one year (a meat production breed) and they laid decent eggs.
It all comes down to what you prioritize.
And if you’re committed to raising a dual-purpose breed, you’ll probably have to sacrifice something.
If you’re interested in producing the MOST eggs or the MOST meat, dual-purpose breeds will likely be disappointing.
If you prefer strong layers, stick to the Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, or Wyandottes, but know that you that the breast meat won’t look anything like Cornish Cross.
If you want more depth of flavor in the meat, try Bresses or Chanteclers, knowing it’ll take more effort to source them.
If you desire more meat, try the Jersey Giants, but expect to invest more in feed.
There’s a reason modern chicken breeds are so specialized:
In an industrial food system, versatility isn’t profitable.
But on a homestead, it might be.
It just depends on what’s most important to you.
So I suppose at the end of the day, my answer to “Which is the best dual-purpose chicken?” is once again…
It depends.
And I’ll keep you posted on how these American Bresses turn out. 😉
More Resources for Closing Your Chicken Loop:
- Regardless of what breed you have, you can always harvest old hens for stewing. Here’s how.
- Here’s how we process our meat birds on butchering day
- Using simple chicken tractors has reduced our feed bill and increased our meat quality
- If your chickens aren’t laying well, make sure you learn about the nutritional needs of chickens
After 2020 I too tried to figure out how to breed a meat chicken that was actually worth plucking. I read lots of internet ideas and ordered Dark Cornish hens and a rooster. I also crossed the rooster with some white rocks, and New Hampshire reds and some heave Marans cross hens I already had. the first batch of roosters have the great breast of the Cornish (their genetics is what gives the traditional Cornish cross its volume-that other “meat” breeds just don’t have) and while they have way more feathers than traditional Cornish crosses and the rest of the first generation cross were really not worth plucking. But- taking the 1/2 Cornish 1/2 larger meat bird cross babies and crossing back to a Dark Cornish rooster has given nice birds. and the Dark Cornish are pretty and they are delicious and the hens lay pretty brown eggs. Their “dark meat” really is dark! and flavorful. I would totally recommend adding them to your experiment.
Check with Sarah at Livingtraditons Homestead. Sarah and Kevin are also growing American Bresse chickens. I appreciate your information and insite. Boy your Kiddos are growing like weeds. You are Blessed Parents.
I love my dark Brahmas, the only downside is the days to maturity. For the past year, my chicken’s diet has consisted of clabbered milk (from my cow but of course I have to feed her too), kitchen scraps, and grain, usually barley or wheat. I do have to buy the grain, but I’m currently trading for it with my adult son who raising pigs and buys whole grains in bulk so I trade him eggs for grain. My chicken loop isn’t closed, but I’m working on it. Some of my hens will set so I get replacements every year plus roosters that I feel are big enough to butcher before they start crowing! I have considered Breese because they mature so much faster than my Brahmas, which take 6 months.
Before predators got to me and I got tired trying to market all the eggs my hens were producing, I was part of a small coop. We choose as our breed Bovans. These are a dual purpose layer, but may not be as large as some you list, but they are abundant egg layers.
The biggest cost in egg production is feed. So, early on I decided to make/grow my own feed. I have an excel code (somewhere) that allows me to vary inputs to produce an excellent feed. I don’t remember all the details, but there are some inputs that are especially important for egg production. I remember that amino acid composition was critical. It might have been Methionine. As a result, I ended up buying some supplements. We were selling “organic” eggs supplemented as high in omega-3. The latter was accomplished by adding flax to the diet.
What I settled on was field pea (I grew and harvested that myself) and purchased organic corn. I ground up and mixed all the feed myself. I had a grinder mixer. For smaller scales, I’ve used a Norwalk juicer to grind corn. It doesn’t take long to create 50 lbs of feed.
In the “old days” people didn’t care that much about what they fed hens. I’ve always wondered what the results would be if you were less focused on high egg production. Feed costs would necessarily be lower.
We’re on the same journey, in New Zealand. It has become nearly impossible to even buy day-old chicks, so we bought an incubator and we’re working on hatching our own. So far, we have hatched a cross between our egg-layers, who are hybrids, and Barred Rock, and learned how to use the incubator. Next, we’re going to try Black Australorps, since we were given two hens and a rooster (unrelated) that we are pretty sure are that breed. I’ll be following your journey with interest!
I like the Delaware. Breed…Pretty( well why not be first)..calm..good egg layers mine are currently 5 years old.. still laying big wobbly ( not good for frying at this point).. but HEAVY . Meaty in comparison to me holding my Wellsummers, Black Stars ( great layers) and either Buckeyes or Domenic’s.
We like the Wyandottes. We started with gold laced and have stuck with them. We also have a few other breeds in our flock for egg color (children) and production. We like the extra large tan eggs and good body size of our Wyandottes. Each year 2 of the hens gave gone broody and take care of their chicks for a good 6-7 weeks without any chick / flock introduction problems. They have great personalities; so funny. The hens seem to “talk” (cluck) to us often and the rooster is mild tempered / mannered with the children and family. He is fierce with any other animal that invades his territory though. Great birds!
You got it right Ma’am. It really depends. But I will also say that the biggest deterrent to selecting a breed for this purpose is the commercial food industry – folks want their large chicken breast, they want their wings, etc.. That’s what they know. And as such, no bird other than the Cornish cross will provide that to the same level. Even the freedom Ranger or similar such birds have their problems when marketing to folks who “want to know where their food is coming from” as their selection is tainted with this view of “perfection”. I too have explored trying to close the loop but this discriminations against “this less than perfect” product when trying to hatch enough eggs to support an egg business has placed me in a place of still buying from a hatchery. What do I do with 150 roosters? And besides, as I have explored in a couple articles, the incubation process is not always successful. I would also mention that added to the bonus of raising non cornish type birds is that you do not need a freezer – you freezer is walking around….It may mean that your bird cost more when doing a straight on comparison but the benefit of having fresh product should be part of the consideration. Anyway, my thoughts. Good blog with some good info.
Did you end up liking the American Bresse? We purchased some as well but have discovered that they aren’t quite what we want. And in doing more research, we discovered that there are many steps involved to getting the marbled meat including making them capones (castrating), keeping them in the dark the last few weeks, and feeding them in a special way. We also discovered that they didn’t grow as quickly and were still pretty small at the ideal butchering age of 14 weeks(otherwise they get too tough apparently). We haven’t personally butchered any of ours yet to test that out, it was through more thorough research about the breed. Anyway, just curious what your experience has been.