Chronicles of Raising Meat Birds - Modern Broilers, Heritage and Hybrids

[RUNuts]

Sympathies. I had venison slide and knock the door ajar. Enough that everything in front was slushy.
That got pulled in and we had a bit of cooking. The dogs got the questionable portions.

Best be safe. Another learning experience.

 

[aart]

I feel a little better already writing this down. So that’s a plus. Onwards and upwards.

Never underestimate the process of catharsis.
Hard lesson
but you will never not fully close that fridge again...and then double check it.
At least you got to eat one of them!

 

[Molpet]

different folks do things differently .. in europe they age the chickens.. like game bird... someone on byc has a wine cooler set at 55 for aging
My frig is old and runs around 55 in the hottest part of the summer... freezes things in the winter... depends on house temp
https://georgiapellegrini.com/2012/09/13/blog/hunting/tips-for-field-dressing-game-birds-part-1/
Age the meat, hanging whole by the neck with the feathers and skin on and the guts in tact at a temperature in the range of 50-55 degrees F. Pheasants are best if eaten as soon as the aging is completed. 3-4 days is best for a smaller bird, 5-7 days for a larger/older one.

 

[NewBoots]

what a day.

I thought if I should even post this embarrassing and sad story, but, I feel like many who read it will feel my pain and to be true to my intentions of chronicling the process, I feel I must.

I feel for you and I've made plenty of my own embarrassing mistakes.

 

[jolenesdad]

30 Cornish Rock straight run from Ideal will be waiting for me to pickup Monday!

Im hoping I have enough time before the extreme heat. We will see. I’ve got one of those big port-a-cool units I had to have for a horse on stall rest with a broken bone once, so if I have to I think maybe I can use that to keep that 400sf pen cool. It’s 100% shaded and plenty of outlets for fans to create airflow if needed.im hoping to take these to 10 weeks as those older Cornish from Ideal I had were 9 weeks this time.

Has anyone ever processed a Marans cockerel? Would 13 weeks even be worth it? I’ve got a Welsummer cockerel and a couple Marans cockerels that are three weeks old from my EAster hatch a long hatch.

I wonder if I could hold back a couple female Cornish until they are 12-13 weeks so those cockerels are 16 weeks?

That would be pushing those Cornish into mid August though. Hmmm.

Maybe the DP cockerels need to be processed separately, maybe I could have someone help me here? Regardless, with their slight age boost, I’m going to pop them in with the Cornish to see if they get them moving more.

It will be interesting! Thanks for the support today.

 

[aart]

Has anyone ever processed a Marans cockerel? Would 13 weeks even be worth it?

Yes and Yes(might wait a 1-2 more weeks).
Just don't expect a ton of meat like your CX...
...and make darn sure you rest the carcass for 2-3 days.
To me it's 'worth' it to put extra cockerels to good use...
...crispy skin on the grill , then bone broth...Yum!

 

[jolenesdad]

Thanks @aart!

 

[RUNuts]

I will second that. Last year's hatcher cockerel tasted great in gumbo. Truthfully, the cockerels can be harvested at any time. The cost to meat for grow outs depends on what they are eating. Free range versus store bought feed.

I let the cockerel go to first crow. 16 weeks, but I had space and wasn't in a hurry. With 31 eggs hatching, it will be interesting this time.

 

[LilyD]

I will second that. Last year's hatcher cockerel tasted great in gumbo. Truthfully, the cockerels can be harvested at any time. The cost to meat for grow outs depends on what they are eating. Free range versus store bought feed.

I let the cockerel go to first crow. 16 weeks, but I had space and wasn't in a hurry. With 31 eggs hatching, it will be interesting this time.

I currently have 45 growing out 20 cornishX and 25 heritage chicks that are 5 weeks I kind of like the heritage breed roosters better than the cornish X for the simple fact that you get a much wider processing window. I can process anytime from 12-16 weeks up until 24 to 30 weeks and not have any major effect on toughness or health issues prior to processing. It' s so much nicer to process maybe 5 or 6 at a time rather than all of the birds I have lol.

 

[RUNuts]

I currently have 45 growing out 20 cornishX and 25 heritage chicks that are 5 weeks I kind of like the heritage breed roosters better than the cornish X for the simple fact that you get a much wider processing window. I can process anytime from 12-16 weeks up until 24 to 30 weeks and not have any major effect on toughness or health issues prior to processing. It' s so much nicer to process maybe 5 or 6 at a time rather than all of the birds I have lol.

Did that with the CX last fall. At 8 weeks, processed 4 largest cockerels. At 9 weeks, processed 4 on Saturday and 6 on Sunday. At 10 weeks, family commitment. At 11 weeks, processed the remaining 7. 7 birds are a bit to do by yourself in one day, but I got faster at it. Hand plucked all but the cockerel with pin feathers coming out. I was over pin feathers by then.

You don't have to process all at the same time. Spread them out. Work at your pace. The first time, I segregated and with held feed from 6. The last 2 got a reprieve after I got aggravated.