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
