Butchering Hens Bred for Egg Production

[HensAndFriends]

I need the high egg production from Golden Comets and White Leghorns, and was curious about other's experience concerning the fattening up (I know that they will never reach the weight and size of meat chickens) and meat of White Leghorns and Golden Comets.

What is the average meat that is available on these chickens?

I know there are plenty of meat and dual-purpose breeds, but I like the high egg production from the Comets and White Leghorns. I was curious if it was possible to, not only enjoy their eggs, but also their meat once they are past their egg laying prime.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

You can as soup hens

 

[HensAndFriends]

Okay.
What about Barred Rocks? Are they soup hens too?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Okay.
What about Barred Rocks? Are they soup hens too?

Depends on where you get them. If they're bred for showing, not necessarily, but really past 16-20 weeks, chicken doesn't stay rltender enough for most things other than soup and shredding

 

[Molpet]

Cooking technique depends on age for heritage. Spent hens make great tasting soup. Pressure cooking will tender the meat after an hour or two.

CX are harvested 6 to 10 weeks usually.... and can be cooked anyway you want.

 

[HensAndFriends]

I didn't know that different ages of chickens resulted in different ways to cook.

So, how much meat (guesstimating) would I get from one golden comet or leghorn? 1 cup of meat?

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

You may still get your answer, but I just wanted to add that if you already have these breeds, the best way to find out may be to try it! I have also wondered this same thing. I have culled 2 of my Golden Comets, but I did not process them because they were dying of reproductive issues and were very skinny (and I do not eat sick chickens). I bet there wouldn't be a ton of meat, but they have to have some meat on those bones to be able to move!

Like others have said, if you are processing them once their egg-laying slows, the meat will be tougher since they are older. They are "stew meat" at this point. But honestly, even if there isn't a ton of meat, you could still make some amazing stock from the bones.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You will not fatten them up. Cull and stew or cull and dispose of. The choice is not about culling it's if the butchering is worth your time. You won't know that until you try some. Keeping spent hens or attempting to fatten is a waste of feed if you have no sentimental investment.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The choice is not about culling it's if the butchering is worth your time. You won't know that until you try some.

I totally agree with this. For some people the size and amount of meat is of high importance. Others butcher quail for the table. Quail are easier to process than old hens but are much smaller than a Leghorn.

There are different ways to cook an old hen. Probably the best chicken soup is made from old hens, I think old hens are better than old roosters for soup. They are good in stew too. Chicken and Dumplings is a traditional way for a farmwife to stretch a hen for a family and make real comfort food. You can pressure cook them and get really tender meat.

A hen should have a fair amount of fat in her, much more than a cockerel or rooster. You can render that fat to make schmaltz. You can use the bones to make broth of use the entire carcass to make broth and pick the meat out of the residue to get cooked meat that is great for tacos, chicken salad, or soup. I often use that meat to make sandwiches for lunch.

The question is not whether you can cook an old hen, the question is whether it is worth your time. It is for me but that doesn't mean it is for you. The only way for you to answer that for yourself is for you to try it. For some people it is not worth their time.

 

[Geena]

I haven't had layer breed hens in quite awhile, but I would expect that you would get a couple of pounds of meat from each. It's not that much individually, but if you were doing say five old hens that would be around ten pounds of meat and a lot of yummy broth. Old hens have a wonderful, rich flavor.
I sometimes turn my spent birds into dog food too, if you have dogs or cats there's always that option as well.