We ate our first farm raised chicken for dinner last night

[carolinagirl58]

And now I understand why raising my own chickens is so well worth the effort. I had no idea that chicken could taste SOOOO good! Commercial chicken is rather bland; I thought it was supposed to be that way. This chicken, however, was so flavorful and delicious. It actually has a taste that stands alone and does not need sauce to give it flavor. Amazing! I guess the grocery store chicken that's in my freezer is going to be given away or fed to the dogs because I am not interested in eating it.

 

[Manningjw]

And now I understand why raising my own chickens is so well worth the effort. I had no idea that chicken could taste SOOOO good! Commercial chicken is rather bland; I thought it was supposed to be that way. This chicken, however, was so flavorful and delicious. It actually has a taste that stands alone and does not need sauce to give it flavor. Amazing! I guess the grocery store chicken that's in my freezer is going to be given away or fed to the dogs because I am not interested in eating it.

Glad to hear you had a positive experience with your first go processing. I have been increasingly thinking about processing my extra roos that result from my breeding project.

What type of chickens did you get? How old were they at slaughter and how were they cooked?

Right now I have Australorp/White leghorn crosses growing up. I imagine they will be 10-12 weeks when I process the roosters if I decide to do so. Wasn't sure that that is too old to try baking them or using them for chicken curry or something along those lines.

 

[carolinagirl58]

They were Cornish Rock X from Tractor Supply Store. They were 8 weeks old and some of the birds weighed close to 10 pounds cleaned. I was shocked at the size of them. I sliced a breast up and sauteed it with onions, salt and pepper and a little soy sauce. Man was it ever GOOD!!

 

[Lexiluke]

Congratulations! So, when is the next batch due? It's addicting!

 

[Elke Beck]

Right now I have Australorp/White leghorn crosses growing up. I imagine they will be 10-12 weeks when I process the roosters if I decide to do so. Wasn't sure that that is too old to try baking them or using them for chicken curry or something along those lines.

I suggest going to 14 to 18 weeks because they are going to be pretty scrawny at 10-12 weeks. You should be able to bake them.