Maybe in Texas they are fryers at that size but, north of highway 40, I think I'd have to special order "pullets" for a three pounder.
Just poking a little fun. Now it's about "time" rather than "size" in poultry production. Breeding for breast size, fast weight equals profit.
Heirloom poultry? Talk about a "niche market"!
There's a producer here who claims "All Natural" which honestly means nothing but, they sell for more than I feel is fair market. They are not organic, heirloom, fed on only naturally resourced red worms and Peruvian blue corn or really as far as I can tell anything special. If I am speaking out of school I apologize but, as far as I know "organic" has parameters, "natural" does not.
My mother used to talk about how poultry had become "flat" in her life. It makes me think about the difference in taste of "Wild" and farm salmon, I used to like the farmed stuff but after living in the Pacific Northwest, the farm product tastes like "Purina fish chow" to me. The relatively new "Black Pearl" product from Scotland is a darned close second to wild!
Let's face it, over farming/breeding is kind of turning people's palates into neutral zones.
Sorry, kind of go off on a rant there.
Maybe I had too much bacon!