When to butcher?

Date sort Score sort
ddub

ddub

Hatching
8 Years
May 4, 2011
3
0
7
Hello, I am new to this forum Thank you so very much for all the information. My question if this.
How do you time the butchering process wiyh multiple birds? We have six persons in our family that eat eggs, but only 2 of us eat chicken. I don't want to end up with a freezer full of chickens! How many birds should I start with and how old can I let them get before the meat gets too tough for frying / stewing? Thanks
 
Depends upon the type of bird you are planning on raising.


Dual purpose/heritage chickens - hatching your own chicks from your flock - with a broody or incubator?

or

Cornish x type meat birds?


Our house is a DP house - so we generally hatch chicks once a month and butcher once a month. DP are good at any age - older birds have more muscle tone and taste. This is a great DP bird article about age and cooking - it is not a guide for Cornish X birds. www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf






For Cornish X - I think you end up with a freezer full of meat - unless you only do a few birds at a time (I do not have any Cornish X experience - sorry)




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This is only my second batch of Cornish X but my first went pretty good. We kept feed available (24%) for the entire time. The main thing I learned was to keep the feed high enough to make sure the birds had to stand in order to eat. I had mine butchered at 8 weeks and they weighed approx 5.5 to 6.5 lbs.
 
My Cornish cross are 6.5 weeks and ready to go, honestly. They weighed between 4.0 and 5.5 lbs. last Saturday, and they're obviously bigger and more awkward now. It was hot today, and they were panting and holding their wings out when I got home. All of my processing helpers/supporters are busy this weekend, though, so either my husband and I are going to have to do some on our own during the week or I'm going to have to try to hold them until the following weekend. Uggh. I'd feel better if it was over this weekend...
 
Thanks guys. I don't know if we will have a freezer and will need to eat each bird w/in a few days. I just didn't want to waste any birds or worry about having to dress them w/in a certain amount of time before they just become pets. I guess that this will be a trial and error type of situation and only experience will provide me the best blueprint. I am just naieve about this and want to be as humane as possible. I would sure hate to dress a bird and try to eat it and end up throwing away the meat. I don't think that this will be prudent / ethical. Thanks again
 
Then hatching and raising your own Dual Purpose birds might be the way to go.


We hatch our own chicks.


We generally butcher the cockerels from the hatch when they are between 16 weeks old on up to a year or two. Just depending upon when we are ready to butcher, what we want to use the bird for (fryers are younger, grill/bakers a bit older and then the older birds we crock pot)
 
Thanks Alot Y'all. This helps alot!! I have some meaties and they're startin to get a little bigger and was wanderin when a good time to butcher would be...... Just got a few more weeks
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