We butchered a four year old BR hen last year and it didn't seem worth it because there really wasn't that much meat. I don't think these roosters have much more since their only 5 months old. I was just wondering if this is typical? And, I guess why anyone would be interested in going to all that work for so little.
It might be worth your while trying again with the younger guys - a four year old hen IS a lot of work and I can see it putting you off the process. I find skinning to be much tougher on the older birds whereas I did a cockerel a few days ago whose skin peeled off like taking the onesie off a baby. I was done with the kitchen cleaned up in under 30 minutes - including catching, butchering, skinning, eviscerating, putting in the crockpot, taking out the trash, wiping down the counters and vacuuming up the stray feathers. He was exactly 18 weeks old - 4 months - and I got 1.5lb of cooked meat off him. I.e, after the crockpot, I pull out the bones and save just the cooked meat, ready to go into a casserole. I freeze the meat in ½ pound portions so we will get 3 meals out of him.
The one I did before him was a fully mature 1 year old rooster. I got 2 ½ pounds of meat from him.
Those numbers probably sound small because if you talk to meat processors they talk in terms of 5-pound or 7-pound birds. But that is their hanging weight with skin, bones, organs, head, feet etc on. The weights I am giving you is the cooked weight, which is a lot less because in cooking you cook out the juices of the birds. I save the fat and juices and use the fat for cooking and the juices for soup bases, to cook rice or couscous to go with the casserole, and so on. So if I added in the weight of the juices - usually several cups worth - the final weight would be much higher.
The innards mostly go back to the birds, so I consider it extra protein and a little less grain they will eat that day. I save the heart, kidney, liver and gizzard and we also eat those. I don't count the weight of them since I freeze them separately until I have enough to use in one meal.
suburbchick the cement is only the first step but after two months prep it's the first real step forward. I am so happy that part is done.
Congratulations on getting your concrete poured!
I've had a whirlwind of stuff going on lately, with several close family members going through major ordeals, so my online time has been spent doing what I can to help, and I haven't been around much. I'm falling behind on the homestead again so will need a few days to catch up.
