When you think of meat chicken breeds, your mind probably goes straight to the Cornish Cross broilers. This breed is most commonly used for meat. The very fast growth rate of this breed is appealing, but there are plenty of heritage meat chicken breeds that can give you a good amount of meat without the health issues that come along with hybrid breeds.
Choosing a Heritage Meat Chicken Breed
If you have found yourself thinking about bringing meat birds onto your homestead, consider choosing a heritage chicken breed.
What is a heritage breed?
Heritage chicken breeds are defined by the Livestock Conservancy as breeds that adhere to the following:
- American Poultry Association Standard Breed
- Naturally Mating
- Long and Productive Outdoor Lifespan
- Slow Growth Rate
That last one, the slow growth rate, sometimes causes homesteaders to avoid raising heritage breed chickens for meat. We like the idea of fast growth and quick turnarounds.
However, slow-growing heritage breeds tend to have more flavorful meat and they are more sustainable because they breed true.
12 Heritage Chicken Breeds for Meat
Take a few minutes to browse these quick breed profiles of twelve different heritage meat chicken breeds that might work out perfectly for your family.
1. New Hampshire Reds
The New Hampshire breed was developed through an intensive selection of Rhode Island Red chickens. This breed was admitted into the APA in 1935. New Hampshire chickens produce more meat and fewer eggs when compared to Rhode Island Reds.
New Hampshire Reds are good foragers and appreciate the ability to free-range. These birds will weigh between 6-9 pounds at maturity and can be processed around 16-20 weeks.
- Size: 6-9 pounds
- Skin Color: Yellow
- Process Age: 16-20 weeks
2. Buff Orpington
Buff Orpingtons were developed in England with the intent to improve on the dual-purpose birds that were available at the time. This breed isn’t known for their foraging so they will eat more feed than heavy foraging breeds.
These chickens will weigh between 8-10 pounds at maturity. Orpingtons take a little bit longer to reach butcher age than many other meat chicken breeds and they can be processed between 18-24 weeks.
- Size: 8-10 pounds
- Skin Color: White
- Process Age: 18-24 weeks
3. Cornish Chickens
The Cornish breed is a heritage meat chicken breed that makes up half the parent stock of the commercial Cornish Cross breed. This breed was originally developed as a fighting bird, but quickly made its way into the meat production category instead.
Heritage Cornish chickens weigh between 8-10 pounds at maturity. They grow quite a bit slower than commercial chickens and a little slower than most heritage meat chicken breeds, but can still be processed at 18-22 weeks.
- Size: 8-10 pounds
- Skin Color: Yellow
- Process Age: 18-22 weeks
4. Sussex
It is difficult to trace the origin of the Sussex chicken breed, but we do know that it is an ancient breed that came over from England. These birds are excellent foragers so they are a good choice for a free-range system.
This heritage breed chicken puts on fat quickly which makes their meat extra tender and juicy. Sussex chickens can reach 7-9 pounds at maturity and can be butcher around 16-20 weeks of age.
- Size: 7-9 pounds
- Skin Color: White
- Process Age: 16-20 weeks
5. Dorking
Like the Sussex, the specific origin of the Dorking breed is a mystery. Rumor has it that Romans brought five-toed chickens over during the British invasion. This Five-toed chicken breed was likely the Dorking.
Dorkings made it to America and were recognized by the APA in 1874. The meat of the Dorking chicken breed is considered some of the most flavorful available. These chickens also have white skin which has become a desirable trait in meat chicken breeds.
These birds reach 7-9 pounds at maturity and can be processed around 16-20 weeks of age.
- Size: 7-9 pounds
- Skin Color: White
- Process Age: 16-20 weeks
6. Black Australorp
The Black Australorp (Australian Orpington) is a dual-purpose breed that was developed in Australia from the Black Orpington.
Birds of this breed will weigh around 5-8 pounds at maturity and can be processed at 16-20 weeks.
- Size: 5-8 pounds
- Skin Color: White
- Process Age: 16-20 weeks
7. Jersey Giant
Jersey Giants are a dual-purpose chicken breed that was originally developed to replace turkeys on the dinner table. They grow to weigh between 10-13 pounds at maturity. This is the largest purebred chicken breed in the U.S.!
This chicken breed is a slower grower reaching processing age between 20-24 weeks.
- Size: 10-13 pounds
- Skin Color: Yellow
- Process Age: 20-24 weeks
8. Barred Plymouth Rock
Barred Rocks are known as one of the oldest American breeds. This breed was used commonly as a meat source until WW2 when more commercial production breeds were developed.
Barred Rock chickens will weigh between 7-10 pounds at maturity and can be processed at 16-20 weeks.
- Size: 7-10 pounds
- Skin Color: Yellow
- Process Age: 16-20 weeks
9. Brahma
Brahma chickens are known for their large size and their feathered feet. They are good foragers, but can handle a feed-only diet in confinement.
Brahma birds are very cold-hardy, but their feet can get frostbite easily if the foot feathers get wet or muddy.
These birds will reach 9-12 pounds at maturity and can be processed between 16-20 weeks of age.
- Size: 9-12 pounds
- Skin Color: Yellow
- Process Age: 16-20 weeks
10. Dominique
The Dominique breed was used interchangeably with Barred Rocks for years. Finally it was decided that the birds with pea combs would be considered Dominique and barred birds with single combs would be Barred Rocks.
These birds will reach 5-7 pounds at maturity and can be processed between 16-20 weeks.
- Size: 5-7 pounds
- Skin Color: Yellow
- Process Age: 16-20 weeks
11. Wyandotte
The Wyandotte breed was one of the first dual-purpose chicken breeds in the United States. These birds are cold hardy and good foragers.
Wyandotte birds will reach 6-9 pounds at maturity and they can be processed between 16-20 weeks.
- Size: 6-9 pounds
- Skin Color: Yellow
- Process Age: 16-20 weeks
12. Delaware
The Delaware chicken breed was developed through a crossing of the Barred Plymouth Rock and New Hampshire Red breeds.
These chickens are great foragers so they will do well (and reduce your feed costs) if they are allowed to free-range.
Delaware chickens will reach 6-9 pounds at maturity. These birds have a faster growth rate than most heritage meat chicken breeds and they can be processed as early as 12-16 weeks.
- Size: 6-9 pounds
- Skin Color: Yellow
- Process Age: 12-16 weeks
Raising Poultry for Meat on the Homestead
Poultry is an excellent way to raise protein on your homestead, no matter how much land you have. Learn even more about raising poultry for meat on the homestead!
- The Basics of Raising Chicks
- Tips for Raising Turkeys on the Homestead
- Reasons to Raise Pastured Livestock
- Cornish Cross or Freedom Ranger? Which Breed Should You Raise?
- Free-Ranging Chickens: The Pros & Cons
- 10 Dual Purpose Chicken Breeds
Great article will save
Thank you for the great info!
I am one of those going for the Cornish crosses every year but will definitely give these other breeds a try.
When we first got chickens, we made sure to go with Jersey Giants because we wanted a dual purpose bird. We’ve actually had good success with breeding them, getting eggs, and this last year, we harvested 8 birds that we raised from the flock. I am not sure if our particular Jersey Giants are just smaller, or what, but they tend to be around 4-5 lbs after processing. We let them go for the full 24 weeks, but that’s as big as they got. I almost wonder if we got some sort of hybrid Jersey Giants or something because everything says they should be bigger birds.
The % of protein and fat in your feed makes a big difference, also how much you feed them. Rooster/capon vs hen also. If you’re just free ranging these are good weights for hens imo.
It’s hard to leave the White Plymouth Rock off a list like this, especially with the situation as it is with the poultry industry. Wonderful layers, their fat is yellow, the young cockerels are plump and tasty and the fact that they are half of the Cornish Cross mix already is not lost on me if it’s dual purpose you are looking for. Hey, Joel is selective breeding these birds and adding carcass weight. That speaks volumes.
I raise white rocks and RL standard Cornish to cross for future meat birds on our small farm👍🏻
I’m raising white rocks (the other breed in the equation for CCs) and standard Cornish to cross for our future meat birds.
Thank you theses chicken with help me in future
I raise Wyandotte. Rooster @ 20 weeks dressed out at 4.5lbs. Pasture raised
For several years, I’ve raised RIR, Black Aussies, Bielefelder and Welsummer chickens during different summers. Sadly all breeds were extremely small without decent weight or size except the bielefelders. It was Very disappointing to me just how small they were even if I left them to go a yr old. They had no breast and small legs. I prefer dark meat but seriously they couldn’t have reached but about 4 pounds. I don’t know if was genetics or what I was doing wrong because they were always provided all they could eat organic grains always with lots of feed wasted because they didn’t eat it all.
The birds also free ranged everyday after morning feeding. Because of all of that, I don’t have any chickens right now. Ducks do well for me though they are extremely hard to pluck. I do grow a large productive garden with plenty of fresh to feed yard birds from it throughout the year. If I could raise a chicken to actually be 7-9 pounds that is acceptable. Less than that just isn’t worth the hassle of butchering.