13 week Heritage Roos; How to fatten and when to Process

[TaraBellaBirds]

Okay so this is our first year to raise chickens. We wanted meat as well as eggs so I ordered a "heavy assorted straight run". We were quite happy with our mix although I ended up with mostly Rhode Island Reds. While not expecting the size we would get from CC hybrids I was expecting for them to be bigger than they are. The RIR's are tall but thin. My research has told me not to expect heavy breast but is there anyway to get more meat on these guys. I am happy with the size of the Speckled Sussex and our single Delaware but will be quite discouraged if our first batch is 3 out of 11. We are keeping them from free ranging at the moment and plan to move them to a smaller pen, because they are getting quite aggressive with my girls.I would be happy for some advice on fattening these guys up, s well as on what heritage breeds that fill out (and taste) the best!


P.S. I also have some 13 week old Black Jersey Giants that will not be ready for processing for quite some time any advice there as well?

 

[bigredfeather]

Most people let them go to at least 18 weeks. Even then, they will be bony compared to what you're used to seeing in the store. Not trying to discourage you, just revealing the reality. I process my Buckeye roos at 22-24 weeks. They always look so much bigger with all those feathers. I would suggest feeding a quality 18% protein feed for the next 4-6 weeks and see what happens. Make sure you pick them up and feel how big they are, don't just look at them to evaluate.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

18 weeks sounds more reasonable to me. There are so many conflicting ideas on when and even how to cull a chicken. I was told that most heirloom Roos would be ready after just 12 weeks and after that they would just start to toughen up. We did physically check the larges roo at 12 weeks and I felt that to cull them at that age would've just been a waste. In the last week we have broadened their diet with some choice kitchen greens, garden herbs, and fruit. We will see where they are in 5 weeks and just go from there!

 

[bigredfeather]

They need protein. Giving them those other things will actually slow down their growth.

Just FYI, cull means the following:
The process of removing breeding animals from a group based on specific criteria. This is done either to reinforce certain desirable characteristics or to remove certain undesirable characteristics from the group.

I used it the same way you are when I first got into chickens, but you are not culling, you're going to butcher them. I know cull sounds a lot nicer, but it gets used wrong on here all the time.

 

[Elke Beck]

You have to adjust your expectations when you raise non-meat birds, or you will be disappointed. They are never going to reach the size and bulk of Cornish X meat birds, and they will take much, much longer to get to the point where they have enough meat on them to be worth the time and effort it takes to butcher them. They taste better (to me) and I believe they are healthier, so it is worth it to spend the extra money on feed and extra time of having the little jerks hang around causing trouble (One of the RIR cockerels from this spring's hatch pecked me on the foot a few days ago and left a bruise because I wasn't getting his food fast enough to suit his royal highness. I will eat him first.). You have to be okay with the longer time and skimpier carcass in the end.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Thanks for clearing that discrepancy up BigRed. I don't have my birds separated yet, will a higher protein food affect my layers in any harmful ways? I hope to separate by this weekend. Elke Beck, I have a royal pain as well. Those RIR are not the nicest birds in the flock that is for sure. Like I said, being my first year I am expecting more error in my trials......I have already chosen some other heirloom breeds to raise for meat next year. I want 20 total and am looking more for quality as I said and I also have small children so very aggressive birds are out. Any suggestions?

 

[ChicksandWeeds]

i do not know about heritage breeds - but buff catalanas are very good dual purpose breeds - with a very good weight. mine were grown enough at 4 months - but 5 was better for some (since we did not manage to harvest them all at once, and a couple really seemed to put on weight still at 8 months) taste is great imo. mine have a good temperament- very sweet chicks, roos included, actually, the hens are more shy and the roos more curious and friendly. i do have a rooster management to procedure which has worked well.(32 roos out of 53 chicks last year). buff catalans are supposed to be heat tolerant, but they are pretty big and triple digit temperatures are hard on them, despite large combs for temp control. of my chicken breeds, they are the biggest. i do not raise birds for meat and these were recommended by someone local who tried out a few different dual purpose breeds. i separated male and females at about 5 weeks and kept them separately. the guys in the pic are 4 months and the first, biggest batch of them is gone. as a group, as a breed, catalanas are shy enough that i make sure not to scare them as babies and make sure they are homed to the coop. moving the roos to a new roo only pen was no problem. they do need a little space though at about 3 months.





this is them at 3 months

in case anyone is having a large flock with many roosters - here is something i wrote about how to deal with roosters. so far this has worked well for me. Rule number one: don't overreact when their hormone kick in - and always be aware - and move slowly - if they start seeing you as someone to protect the flock against - it might be too late. mine never got there, and for my 32 roos, none was aggressive. http://www.chicksandweeds.com/2013/07/how-to-deal-with-roosters/

i do not know how these birds would do in really cold climates.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Hello ChicksandWeeds those are some gorgeous birds. Thanks for the information.