Meat Bird Options

Click to shop Day Old Meat Bird varieties.

Meyer Hatchery offers a variety of meat breed options. Use this helpful chart to determine what option is best for you. The age listed is weeks and weights are in pounds.

Breed	Process  Age	Live  Weight	Processed    Weight	Feed Conversion	Skin   Color	Plumage	Notes
Cornish Cross Chickens	6 - 9	6 - 9	5 - 8	1.8	Yellow	White	Cornish Game Hens are Cornish of any gender processed at 4-5 weeks
Pioneer Broiler Males	9 - 10	6.3	4 - 5		Yellow	Red	Particularly heat hard and very well adapted for foraging/free range
Rainbow Ranger Chickens	9 - 11	5 - 6	3 - 4	2.7	Yellow	Mix of red, yellow, gold, and black	Excellent free-range option
Gray Ranger Chickens	9 - 11	5 - 6	3 - 4	2.7	Yellow	Mix of black, red, white, gold, some barring possible	Excellent free-range option; also known as "Kosher Kings"
White Ranger Chickens	9 - 12	6+	4.5+	2.42	Yellow	Mostly white, with some with flecks of black	Excellent Cornish alternative -- heat tolerant, great at foraging, and excellent flavor
Fry Pan Bargain Chickens	16 - 20	6 - 8	4 - 5	n/a	Various	Various	Mix of heavy breed roosters
Red Broiler Chickens	11 - 13	5 - 6	3 - 4	n/a	Yellow	Red or red with black tips	Developed to have a longer keel
Sasso Broiler Chickens	10 - 12	7 - 8	6 - 7	n/a	Yellow	Light tan and slightly barred or speckled	Unrelated to Ranger broilers with a similar "country feel"
Broad Breasted White Turkeys	16 - 22	Female: 23 - 29 Male: 33 - 48	80 - 85% of live weight	n/a	White	White	Same breed raised by commercial producers
Broad Breasted Bronze Turkeys	16 - 22	Female:  23 - 26 Male: 32 - 38	80 - 85% of live weight	n/a	White	Copper bronze, brown/black	The traditional Thanksgiving turkey bird
Meyer Hatchery’s Signature Broad Breasted Black Turkeys	16 - 22	Female: 20 Male: 29	80 - 85% of live weight	n/a	White	Black	Plenty of meat but at more of a heritage size vs traditional broad breasted
Meyer Hatchery’s Signature Broad Breasted White Turkeys	16 - 22	Female: 20 Male: 29	80 - 85% of live weight	n/a	White	White	Smaller than traditional broad breasted white, lower feed consumption
Duclair Ducks	12	5 - 6	3 - 4	3.0	White	White	Known for their rich elegant flavor
Muscovy Ducks	12 - 20	6.5 - 15	4 - 7.5	n/a	White	Black/White	Meat is 98% fat free
Jumbo Pekin Ducks	18 - 24	10 - 13+	5	n/a	White	White	For minimal pin feathers, ideal processing age at 7, 12.5 or 18 weeks
Grimaud Hybrid Pekin Ducks	20 - 24	8 - 13+	5 - 8	2.4	White	White	A hybrid mix of Pekin lines
Rouen Ducks	20 - 24	5 - 7.25				Brown and Tan	Second only to Pekins and Muscovy in size with the most flavorful meat.
White Embden Geese	16	15 - 16	11 - 12	5.0	White	White	One of the oldest, and tallest, domestic goose breeds
Toulouse Geese	16	14 - 16	10 - 13	n/a	White	Shades of gray with the chest and abdomen a creamy white color
Pearl Guineas	14 - 16	1.75 - 3.5	1.5 - 2.5	3.0		Dark gray with white dots	Rich, dark, flavorful meat
Ringneck Pheasant	15 - 19	2.7 - 3	2 - 3	n/a	White	Brown with white, green, copper, and red markings	Very fine meat, feathers often used for jewelry and other crafts
Chukar Partridge	16	1.3 - 1.6	1	n/a	White	Gray with brown and black markings	Succulent single-serving meat
Assorted Jumbo Coturnix Quail Hatching Eggs	6 - 10	8 - 15 oz	6.5 - 10 oz	n/a	White	Varies	Dark meat full of flavor, fast-growing.

*Feed conversion is the pounds of feed it takes to produce one pound of live weight gain.

These are results published by the breeder. Results vary according to management and environment.