These are a heritage cross chicken. They are a cross of your standard meat bird (Cornish Cross) and a heritage chicken. That means you get some of the benefits of a Cornish Cross (large breasts, easier to pluck, and able to be slaughered when younger so the meat is very tender) and some of the benefits of a heritage chicken (hardy against bad weather, very active, great forager, beautiful!).Since these heritage cross birds are better foragers they are eating more grass and bugs, which we have found to make them exceptionally delicious! And the skin is significantly thicker, and therefore crisps up when roasted in a way that is very tasty! You gotta try one. Often our customers don't go back. Since they are more expensive as chicks, take more labor to grow out, and are harder to process, we have to charge more than our standard chicken.