Can you eat Cornish Cross roosters?

[Jsweevil]

Well I am sure you CAN eat them, but one of the six I bought is definitely a roo. I am wondering if he is going to be tough like most roosters are. Anyone with experience on the taste/toughness of these roos?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Well I am sure you CAN eat them, but one of the six I bought is definitely a roo. I am wondering if he is going to be tough like most roosters are. Anyone with experience on the taste/toughness of these roos?

toughness comes with age - cornish cross develop and reach processing weight far too quickly for that to be an issue regardless of gender (this is the point of the breeding that has gone into them)

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Meant to add, even old, "tough" roosters (or laying hens) can be eaten -- the older/tougher the bird just dictates the appropriate method of cooking.

 

[Jsweevil]

Oh thanks! This one will be butchered by 7-8 weeks and he is HUGE already. He looks like a turkey. I could probably do it now without waiting, but I would prefer to butcher them all at one time.

 

[donrae]

Half the chickens sold in the grocery store are male

 

[Jsweevil]

Really? So I guess the big chicken houses just buy straight run?

 

[junebuggena]

When you are only raising them for slaughter, gender does not matter. Cornish Cross are processed months before they are mature adults. That's what makes them so tend. And yeah, about half of store bought chicken comes from male birds.

 

[Jsweevil]

I appreciate everyone's answers, you have all been very helpful! I'm not sure I will raise cornish crosses again, they are ridiculously fast growers, but I think I would rather have a dual purpose breed instead. These things are like frankenchickens.

 

[junebuggena]

Bare in mind, if you choose a dual-purpose breed, it will not look the same when dressed out. They will not have the same large breasts of the Cornish Cross, and if you put off butchering the cockerels in hopes of more meat, you will be compromising the tenderness of the meat.

 

[Jsweevil]

True, I didn't think about that. As far as the huge breasts, that is always a plus, but I think (it may all be in my head) but the smaller birds seem to taste better even if they don't have as much meat.