Best age to cull cockerels?

[Hybridchucks]

Hi, I'm planning on raising Rhode Island Reds for meat, only the cockerels though. What age is it best to cull RIR males?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It depends how you want to cook them. The older a bird gets the lesser heat can be used to cook. Most people raise em to 24 weeks for roasting. A roaster can not be fried or broiled/grilled. A broiler can be roasted. A young bird can be cooked anyway you want.

Up to 14-15 weeks Broil or grill.

Up to 18-20 weeks fried.

Up to 9 months, better at 6 months is a roaster.

Older than that is a stew bird or crockpot or some low moist cooking method.

And there you have it. The old names for birds that actually meant something- if you bought a fryer it was older than a broiler but younger than a roaster. The name of bird was the highest heat method of cooking you should use. Today's "roasters" at the supermarket are ConrishX that were butchered 8-10 weeks. So they are still broilers but the meat industry is marketing them as a bird large enough to roast and feed a family. Typical bastardising of the english language over time so words no longer have real meaning.

 

[Gray Farms]

I see. Do you know of any other breeds that are great layers and the males are pretty fast growing? Any specifically recommended?

Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Cornish would be good. I've also heard good things out Chanteclers, but never raised them myself. Iowa Blues are very fast maturing and very good layers, but they aren't as large as the other breeds I mentioned. Stay away from dark colors. Black pin feathers suck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are five of us, one child so basically 4 people. Lol.

Mom used to feed a family of seven off of one chicken, often a hen. In addition to the regular pieces, she served back, gizzard, liver, and neck. Not sure why she didn't include the heart. Another way to stretch a chicken is to make chicken and dumplings or a stew.

Planning for both foraging and fattening up.
What type of feed is best for fattening up?

I don't fatten up so I'll leave that to others.

Stay away from dark colors. Black pin feathers suck!

That's why "meat birds" are typically either white or buff. I know some of the rangers are darker but there will always be exceptions to anything to do with chickens. I skin mine so feather color doesn't matter. But if you pluck darker feathers can make an ugly carcass.

other breeds that are great layers and the males are pretty fast growing? Any specifically recommended?

I'm not a huge fan of breed. To me strain is very important. Before the Cornish X took over the commercial meat industry in the 1950's the common meat birds were New Hampshire, Delaware, and some strains of White Rock in the US. But with the superiority of the Cornish X for meat production, hatcheries stopped breeding these for meat properties. If the breeder does not select for certain properties each generation, it doesn't take long for that flock to lose those special traits and them to become just regular dual purpose chickens. Different hatcheries have different people who select which chickens get to breed and they can have different criteria so there can be differences by hatchery. I've had the same breed from different hatcheries so I do believe that.

I've also got several cockerels (about 20 at a time) to butcher, all the same breed. One time it was red sex link cockerels, Rhode Island Red over Rhode Island Whites. The other time was Buff Rocks. There was a world of difference in size and rate of maturity between the smallest and the largest of both batches. They were not bred for consistency in size or maturity rate. When I'm trying to breed for meat my goal is not to breed the largest one cockerel I can, my goal is to consistently make the smallest a decent size. That generally means breeding the one that is the largest at the age I like to butcher. I once had 18 Buff Rock cockerels. Only three were left to choose my flock rooster from after I butchered all of the ones that failed my criteria.

I don't order straight run chicks anymore. I order how many pullets I want of the breed I want. I order how many cockerels of the breed I want, usually many more cockerels than pullets. I once got seven pullets out of seven straight run Buff Orps. If I had been counting on a male I'd have been out of luck. Plus I can get enough to select a good male for my breeding program.

If you can find a breeder that is breeding to your criteria you will be far ahead in establishing your flock compared to a hatchery. But that is not always easy. Plus hatcheries are breeding for the mass market and charge mass market prices. Good breeders are specialists and charge accordingly.

My main suggestion is to get different breeds and compare them yourself. Then go back to the same source for any more. New Hampshire, Delaware, and White Rocks aren't a bad place to start but there are several other breeds out there that could be as good or better. I'd expect any of them to lay pretty well but compare them yourself. It depends so much on what criteria the breeder is selecting to.

 

[Gray Farms]

Personally I butcher my cockerels at around 3 months for fryers and 4 months for roasters. After 4 months they get to tough for fryers.

 

[Compost King]

if you are breeding and getting a bunch of cockerels at the same time then once a week from the time you discover they are cockerels until you get to the last bird process a bird. Then determine what age you prefer. I personally like to process at 5 pounds regardless of age but that only fits with what I am breeding. If I start eating birds with slower growth or smaller birds I would do what I just described and figure out a week suits me best. I personally do not like to have them grow out to their full potential because as they get bigger it takes more feed to put on the next pound.

Above I said to start as soon as you can tell they are cockerels, but if you can tell as you bring them out of the brooder then wait a bit longer but process the first one at a smaller size than you would normally expect. you may find you prefer a smaller younger bird especially when you consider how much less feed it took to get them there. You may be someone who likes the flavor of an older bird. Some people like an aged bird.

Everything posted above makes a lot of sense too. there really is no wrong time to process a bird unless you have strict preferences.

 

[Mosey2003]

It's all in the details and what you want to do.

I always say, if you're wanting to breed dual purpose with a view to meat, Buckeyes are highly recommended. As are New Hampshire. You are going to get the best results if you find a breeder who is also focused on meat qualities in their birds.

If you're only wanting to order from a hatchery, it's going to be a mixed bag. Black Sexlinks are good layers and the males aren't terrible for meat. Plus side there is you can tell them apart right away too. Otherwise, you'd probably want to try a few different breeds from whichever hatchery you prefer, obviously sticking to the heavier ones. Again, Buckeye, New Hampshire, White Rocks, Buff Orpington, Wyandottes, etc.

I like to cull mine around 16 weeks. I processed a 10 week one a little while ago because he was being an absolute ass to the pullets already, and I have no use for a bird like that. He's a cute little package, I can't remember what he weighed now, though I posted him in the Carcass thread. Just under 2lbs I think?

It's all up to you and what you want to try.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, I'm planning on raising Rhode Island Reds for meat, only the cockerels though. What age is it best to cull RIR males?

Depends on a few things. How do you plan to cook them, as Egghead said age is important.

How many people are you planning to feed? Or are you planning on selling the meat. There are only two of us so size isn't that critical. I can get two meals out of a small pullet, let alone a nice sized cockerel. The second meal for us is soup but it is still a meal. If you have a bunch of kids to feed size might be very important.

How are you raising them? If you are buying all they eat then you might want to butcher them relatively young. If they forage for a lot of their diet you can better afford for them to get older.

I target 23 weeks and bake them. In other posts Eggjhead said he targets 14 weeks and grills. There is no one right age. It depends on different things.

 

[Gray Farms]

It depends a lot on the breed as well. My Favorelle cockerels are much larger and more tender at 16 weeks than my Orloffs for instance. With RIRs is will also depend on if they are hatchery stock or heritage stock, which are much slower growing.

 

[aliciaplus3]

I have Delaware from privet hatchery in new Mexico and they turned out to be good sized birds

the cockrel here is out of them and a Large white rooster, he hit 5 pounds at 12 weeks. I have hatched quite s few out of him and I am excited to see them grow out!