These differ markedly from laying strains by having special qualities such as rapid growth, broad breasts, early maturity, white flesh, a heavy carcass and an -excellent ability to convert feed to meat. Anyone wishing to grow meat chickens exclusively should use broiler strains of chickens and feed them proprietary broiler rations. The poultry used in the modem egg and broiler industries are crosses of hybridized strains. As a result of this breeding practice, many other breeds of poultry are becoming difficult to obtain. There are four main options available for producing table birds.
Broiler chickens Buy day-old broiler chickens of mixed sex.
Buy day-old first cross cockerels. First cross cockerels are inferior to broiler chickens in carcass conformation, take almost three times as long to achieve an equivalent slaughter weight and eat twice as much for the equivalent gain in liveweight. Slaughtering can start at 10 weeks of age, with birds weighing about one kilograrn liveweight with a FCR of 3 to 1. At 20 weeks of age, first cross cockerels will not be too heavy or over-fat, and should weight just over two kilograms liveweight with a FCR of about 5 to 1. Meat production using dual purpose or utility type breeds of poultry Utility poultry breeds perform as well as first cross cockerels, but have superior carcass conformation.