Beilefelders and first time in 30 years questions!

[janit]

I just did 2 Biel x Dominique cockerels, 10 months old. I used a kill cone, but you can easily make one or hang the bird by its feet. Same result in the long run.

The feathers came out far more easily than expected. Plucking both birds was probably a ten minute job. The whole process took me about 2 hours. Probably 30 to 45 minutes per bird if you don't run into snags. Skinning took longer when I did it that way.

Setup and cleanup time should be taken into consideration as well. It's a lot harder than the YT videos make it look!

I have no idea how they compare as far as meat flavor.

My suggestion would be to think about time and space. You don't want to process ten birds if you don't have room for them. If you have adult help ten is not out of reach, but by yourself I would stick to five at a time, especially the first time. Maybe do ten and plan to butcher them in separate sessions?

thank you! very helpful! So I am thinking for my first attempt 5 is a good number. Likely over a few days. Just to stick my feet in and get a feel so I can then figure out what is best to do.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I cooked one up last night. The taste is really good but it was pretty tough, probably because of age (10 months) and the fact that these were free range birds. The meat was fine, but lots of sinew and tendons. I am going to make chicken soup tonight with the rest.

The flavor was a little stronger than I am used to, but delicious, with a soft mouthfeel. As if that makes any sense.

 

[Molpet]

I cooked one up last night. The taste is really good but it was pretty tough, probably because of age (10 months) and the fact that these were free range birds. The meat was fine, but lots of sinew and tendons. I am going to make chicken soup tonight with the rest.

The flavor was a little stronger than I am used to, but delicious, with a soft mouthfeel. As if that makes any sense.

How long did you rest the bird? Rigor mortis usually passes in a day or 3

 

[LaurenRitz]

How long did you rest the bird? Rigor mortis usually passes in a day or 3

I let them rest overnight, but that probably wasn't enough.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Is 20 weeks too early?

I am thinking 10 birds my first year is plenty to tackle?

A 20 week Bielefelder will be pretty lean. They grow really really slow.
My personal experience with Biels is they eat way too much to be worth the wait for meat.
If you love them then keep a male and a few females for selling either fertile eggs or hatch and sell chicks.

An old timer said skip the beils and just get cornish cross

Agree on this. Feed conversion can’t be beat for the CC. They get big fast, easier to process—hand plucking is much easier on a young cross compared to a 5-6 month old dual purpose, and you are done with filling the freezer in 6-8 short weeks.
one person hand plucking 10 cross may take a full day for novice.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I did the other Biel crosses at 20 weeks. There was a little less meat, but not by much.

The plucking went far more easily than I expected.

It won't hurt to try a few and see how you like them that early.