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Buying guide
Raising birds for meat
The choice is mostly about time. A Cornish Cross is ready in about seven weeks, a ranger in about ten, and a heritage breed in four months or more.
The three kinds of meat chicken
Cornish Cross is the commercial broiler, bred to convert feed to meat as fast as possible. It is ready in six to eight weeks and cannot be kept much longer: its legs and heart give out. Rangers, sold under names like Freedom Ranger and Red Ranger, grow more slowly, forage, and suit pasture; about nine to eleven weeks. Heritage dual-purpose breeds such as the Delaware and Plymouth Rock take sixteen weeks or more and give a smaller, firmer bird, but the hens lay and the flock can breed itself.
| Bird | Listings | In stock | Straight run from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornish Cross | 1 | 1 | $2.70The Chick Hatchery |
| Coloured rangers | 8 | 5 | $4.00The Chick Hatchery |
Meat birds are usually bought straight run, because cockerels grow larger and nobody minds the mix. Order the number you can process in one or two sessions: Cornish Cross reach weight together and do not wait.
Heritage breeds that dress out well
- Delaware3 listings, 1 in stock
- Plymouth Rock8 listings, 8 in stock
- Jersey Giant2 listings, 2 in stock
- New Hampshire1 listing, 1 in stock
- Buckeye1 listing, 1 in stock
Turkeys
The same split applies. Broad Breasted turkeys are the commercial bird, ready in about sixteen to twenty weeks and unable to mate naturally. Heritage turkeys take about six months, live for years, and breed on their own.
- Broad Breasted turkey3 listings, 3 in stock
- Bourbon Red1 listing, 1 in stock
- Narragansett1 listing, 1 in stock
- Bronze (heritage)3 listings, 2 in stock
Figures on this page were computed from the catalogue reading of October 25, 2026.