Advice on treating the face of a "Biter"

[Ebony Rose]

The 3 of them are hatchmates and they established their bachelor Flock almost 2 years ago. I've been saying that two of them need to be culled but haven't been able to do it. Are they good for eating at nearly 2 years old? (20 months to be exact) I really hate for their life to have no purpose. I guess I could think of their lives as a lesson. I am such a softie.

Younger birds are naturally more tender, but older birds are much more flavorful. Older birds can be tenderized with cooking process; low and slow, or pressure cooking. I prefer to pressure cook my older birds, even if I'm making stock or soup with them as I like the meat to literally fall off of the bone.
A couple of carrots, a potato or two, some celery stalk and/or leaf, a clove or two of peeled garlic cut in half, salt & black pepper to taste, a bay leaf or two, and the bird in question cut and quartered and water. Put all of that into the pressure cooker and cook for 35 minutes or so, allow the pressure to release naturally (don't quick release the pressure). Basic comfort food.
Want to dress that up a tiny bit without much more work, or as an addition for day-two on this bird? Consider dumplings cooked in the leftover chicken broth. For day-three, perhaps shred the leftover meat, add barbeque sauce and serve on toast or as 'sloppy joe' sandwiches.
Bon Appetit

 

[Geena]

The 3 of them are hatchmates and they established their bachelor Flock almost 2 years ago. I've been saying that two of them need to be culled but haven't been able to do it. Are they good for eating at nearly 2 years old? (20 months to be exact) I really hate for their life to have no purpose. I guess I could think of their lives as a lesson. I am such a softie.

The boys are really tough and stringy at that age. I cook them down in a stock pot, strain off the stock for us, and pick the meat off the bones for dog food.

 

[bhawk-23]

The 3 of them are hatchmates and they established their bachelor Flock almost 2 years ago. I've been saying that two of them need to be culled but haven't been able to do it. Are they good for eating at nearly 2 years old? (20 months to be exact) I really hate for their life to have no purpose. I guess I could think of their lives as a lesson. I am such a softie.

We just had to cull 6 cockerels. I prefer to think their lives did have purpose. They had a happy and spoiled life before nourishing my family

 

[Mrs. K]

I am with Geena - I did an older rooster in a pressure cooker and it was just so tough even the dog couldn't eat it.

Mrs K

 

[MissE]

Pressure cooking works well. If you don't have one, they turn out pretty good in a crock pot. Hi temp for the first hour or so, and then low for the rest of the day. I would start it at 5am when I was getting ready for work, turn it to low when I left around 6am, and when I got home in the evening, the house smelled amazing. Save the broth for soup.

 

[aart]

I am with Geena - I did an older rooster in a pressure cooker and it was just so tough even the dog couldn't eat it.

The key is not the pressure cooking but the resting the carcass before cooking.
I've gone as much as 4-5 day on old hens.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I have a pressure cooker (instant pot) and a crockpot. Anyone tried both and have a preference? I'd really like for my family to be nourished, if possible. I have two small dogs but I don't feed them any poultry (I'd be willing to try them on poultry that I raised though since the birds have been fed well and taken care of. Actually the more I think about it, I definitely want to share some with the pups to see if they handle it better than commercial poultry).

So once they're butchered (if I have to do it personally, I plan on skinning them to skip one step for myself, unless plucking them will make a very noticeable difference) and the carcass is cleaned, etc. I just package it and let it sit in the fridge for 3-5 days and then cook it?

 

[aart]

I just package it and let it sit in the fridge for 3-5 days and then cook it?

That's what I do.

I prefer pressure cooker because it's faster.
I cook for about 45-60mins, then remove meat,
then everything back in for a couple hours for stock.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I personally skin all my poultry as it allows me to skip the plucking stage. I'm old. I no longer have the manual dexterity that I once had and even a properly blanched bird takes quite a bit of work to remove all of the plumage.
I own a pressure cooker, a slow cooker, and an instant pot. Hands down, I prefer the instant pot. Not only is it easier to clean than my pressure cooker (with less nooks and crannies for food to stick to), but it does a better job of it. I only use my slow cooker for fixing beans; the ceramic insert has that "I've only ever had beans in me" taste, and I like it like that (seasoned for fixin' beans). Sadly, I don't cook beans as often as I like, as electricity is expensive in Panama, and a good pot of beans takes about 12 hours.
Knowing precisely what your poultry has ingested ought to give you the confidence to feed the leftovers/unwanted portions to your dogs. I give my dogs all of the bone, including the feet (I scald them and peel the skin off of these and remove the toenails), and any internal organs (except for the bowels/gall bladder) that I don't personally consume. I feed some of the innards back to the flock; trust me, they don't realize that they're eating their ex-buddy, they only know that they're getting meat, precious meat, and they love it.
Any home butchered bird tastes best with a few days rest in the refrigerator (In a zip lock bag works well as it seals in moisture, seldom if ever leaks, and you can work it into a space in the fridge that a bowl might not fit), an older bird could use a couple more days than the younger ones.

 

[Geena]

The key is not the pressure cooking but the resting the carcass before cooking.
I've gone as much as 4-5 day on old hens.

I think old hens are delicious, roosters not so much. I've eaten a few, but no matter how long you rest or cook them, they're still too tough and stringy for me.