At what age do we cull the roos?

[BarkerChickens]

We are getting a large straight run order in soon and are getting ready! 51 chicks!!!

We're getting dual purpose breeds...Buckeyes, Delawares, Salmon Favorelles, Jersey Black Giants and Mottled Javas.

The posts I found on here usually referred to meaties and Cornish Xs. What age should be cull our roos? I know they won't be as meaty as "meat" birds, but I don't want a tough bird or a crower...what's a good compromise?

 

[Mahonri]

For dual purpose, you won't get much meat until at least 16 to 20 weeks, but by then they'll make nice fryers.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Wow... Ok. They'll be loud by then too, right? (We've only raised layers...these are our first roos/meat birds).

 

[scooter147]

A while back I ordered straight run of Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks I too ordered 50. Well I ended up with 30 roosters!!!!!! (never did that again.) I think it may have been done purposely. Anyway, I butchered them at about 4 months of age. They were not meaty but what I did was cut them in half and BBQ them that way. If I normally cooked two chickens I would cook four of these. I easily ate a whole bird myself.
I also used them to make BBQ pulled chicken sandwishes and in crockpot dishes.

To answer the crowing question, mine did not crow.

 

[Indiana hens]

4 months for fryers, 6 months for stew birds, 1 year for le coq au vin. Jersey Giants are wonderful meat birds, very tasty!

 

[jossanne]

We butchered twelve 18-week-old BR cockerels today. They dressed out at 2.5 to 3.5 pounds. Not real large, but they looked good. We won't eat them for a couple of weeks, so I can't tell you if they're tender or not.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
Wow! 30 out of 50 were roos! If we end up with that many roos, then who cares if they are not that meaty! That is a ton of meat still!

We butchered twelve 18-week-old BR cockerels today. They dressed out at 2.5 to 3.5 pounds.

Heck...2.5-3.5 pounds per bird on an 18-wk bird...I wouldn't complain. If we end up with Scooter's odds on the roo count and Jossanne's meat (in lbs) per bird, that'll be between 75-100 lbs of chicken meat!!!!

I am glad to hear that at four months they were noisy. I'd like to wait that wait til 4 months. I know the Jersey Giants are slow to mature, so they be a little older. That just means more stew chickens (or BBQ pulled chicken!!

)!

Thanks so much! You guys are SO awesome!

 

[Kim_NC]

We butchered 8 cockerels yesterday - 17 weeks old. They dressed out to an average 2.75 lbs.

I brined them in the refrigerator for the afternoon. Then made Chicken Piccata from the breast of one. Delicious! We drained and bagged them, then left them in the refrigerator to age overnight. I'll probably go ahead with freezing, canning, etc this afternoon. Sometimes we age them 2-3 days, but these are already tender enough.

They really hadn't gotten all that noisy either. Two had been crowing for about a month. The others hadn't started yet.