Cream Legbars

[k2coppenger]

Thank you all for the advice!

 

[Gray Farms]

Everyone has their own way of doing things but when I butcher a chicken I prefer sooner (if I am paying for feed) because its not cost effective to see them fill out all the way. The younger the bird the more cooking options you have and the less it costs per pound of meat. I also skin my birds and the younger the bird the easier it is to skin them. Others like to grow them out because they like the flavor of an older bird. If you have more than one try one really young and one a bit older and see which way you prefer. The Legbars however ... take care of them ASAP.

Agreed. Younger is better in my opinion as well. Both for feed cost and tenderness of meat.

 

[aart]

The BCMxCCL cockerels were tasty but pretty darn slim.
I slaughtered at 14 weeks, tender enough for the grill after 2-3 days in the fridge.

 

[GaryDean26]

I have been working with Legbars since 2012 and have processed about 30-40 Legbars each year in that time.

What are your goals for the breed? I have processed them as young as 6-8 weeks old to use as Poussin and as old and 3-1/2 years old when I need to thin the flock of older breeding stock to make room for younger birds in the breeding flock.

You have many options for the management of your flock for meat and it really comes down to what your goals are for your flock.

1) if you just want to eliminate excess cockerels a have them still serve a useful purpose then do them at 6-12 weeks old. They will be tiny but if you are like me and don't have a lot of freezer space it may work out better to spatchcock 4 of them for a single meal to use them up quickly than to put the time/money/space into growing them out to 7-8 months to get a bigger carcass. Also, the younger birds are going to be easier to process. the younger they are the softer the skin is. Some of the older birds are really hard to process when the skin gets tough while the younger birds are super easy to process

2) If you are trying to improve your flock through selective breeding you need to wait longer to process birds so that you can evaluate them for breeding before processing day. The old the bird is the easier it is to select your best breeder. Some defects like heart problems, weak hocks, color defects in the plumage, etc will not show up until the bird is 2+ years old. Two years ago I was trying to determine what combs were susceptible to frostbite and which were resistant so I kept 15 cockerels over the winter and didn't make my final cull until the cockerels were over a year old. I also did some test mating and progeny testing and breed out recessive defects. For that, I breed cockerels and 6 months old and then had to wait until eggs hatch from the test pairing before I culled cockerels. Test mating took about 4 months so those test cockerels were almost a year old when I culled all the carriers of the recessive genes I was breeding out. If you want to improve your flock I would cull about 75% by the time they are about 20 weeks old and then work through the rest at about 9-11 months old.

3) if you want slow-grown pasture raised chicken then you need to wait until the cockerels are at least 16 weeks old and 18-20 weeks would be better. I can't remember the exact reason for the age requirement on the certified red labeled slow-grown chickens but it seems like the bone density is low and sinews are not fully developed until that age. I wil say that the older a bird is the more flavor it will have. The Poussin are very mild and the cocks very rich. Put them side by side and they don't even taste like the same species. We have had holder cockerels and cocks that had meat that was so dark that we thought we were eating beef. The texture also can be greatly improved with age. Warning: Older cockerels and cocks have to process and stored right and slow cooked or they could have the meat go tough. Also, the meat quality is dependant on the feed and care of the bird. Some grains like corn can cause a grainy texture so may have a special finishing gruel that the feed the week or two before processing to fatten the bird and improve the texture of the meat. Also, many traditional finishing processes involves putting the birds in small cages (this something like a show cage) to restrict the bird's movement the week or two before processing. if the bird is lazy and relaxed the meat will be softer than if the birds are chasing after pullets or bugs or if they are fighting with other cockerels. The strain on the muscles makes it tougher.

There is a bit of a learning curve. I would say if you want to just eliminate surplus birds do them at 6-8 weeks and make Poussin. If you want slow grown pasture raised meat then do them at 18-20 weeks. If you want in improve your flock you can cull any early defect at 10-20 weeks and then save those with better potential for 8-12 month to make your final cull. I have never made Coq al Vine but that is an excellent option for old cocks. I personally have been using old cocks for the chicken enchilada and they are heavenly. Finally, make sure to rest the meat and use recipes with meat tenderizers of that slow cook the meat (i.e. crock-pot) if you process slow-grown meat. The 6-week old commercial birds do NOT cook the same as an 18+ week old bird. If you do things right the slow grown meat will the most flavorful chicken you have ever had. if you do it wrong it will just be the toughest chicken you have ever had.

Oh an now that I am posting this photo I might add that a Legbar is going to be a lot more Leg and a lot lest Breast than what you are used to getting on commercial birds. The bark thigh meat on the slow grown Legbars is excellent (but the drum sticks have too much sinew for my liking).

 

[Parront]

I have been working with Legbars since 2012 and have processed about 30-40 Legbars each year in that time.

What are your goals for the breed? I have processed them as young as 6-8 weeks old to use as Poussin and as old and 3-1/2 years old when I need to thin the flock of older breeding stock to make room for younger birds in the breeding flock.

You have many options for the management of your flock for meat and it really comes down to what your goals are for your flock.

1) if you just want to eliminate excess cockerels a have them still serve a useful purpose then do them at 6-12 weeks old. They will be tiny but if you are like me and don't have a lot of freezer space it may work out better to spatchcock 4 of them for a single meal to use them up quickly than to put the time/money/space into growing them out to 7-8 months to get a bigger carcass. Also, the younger birds are going to be easier to process. the younger they are the softer the skin is. Some of the older birds are really hard to process when the skin gets tough while the younger birds are super easy to process

2) If you are trying to improve your flock through selective breeding you need to wait longer to process birds so that you can evaluate them for breeding before processing day. The old the bird is the easier it is to select your best breeder. Some defects like heart problems, weak hocks, color defects in the plumage, etc will not show up until the bird is 2+ years old. Two years ago I was trying to determine what combs were susceptible to frostbite and which were resistant so I kept 15 cockerels over the winter and didn't make my final cull until the cockerels were over a year old. I also did some test mating and progeny testing and breed out recessive defects. For that, I breed cockerels and 6 months old and then had to wait until eggs hatch from the test pairing before I culled cockerels. Test mating took about 4 months so those test cockerels were almost a year old when I culled all the carriers of the recessive genes I was breeding out. If you want to improve your flock I would cull about 75% by the time they are about 20 weeks old and then work through the rest at about 9-11 months old.

3) if you want slow-grown pasture raised chicken then you need to wait until the cockerels are at least 16 weeks old and 18-20 weeks would be better. I can't remember the exact reason for the age requirement on the certified red labeled slow-grown chickens but it seems like the bone density is low and sinews are not fully developed until that age. I wil say that the older a bird is the more flavor it will have. The Poussin are very mild and the cocks very rich. Put them side by side and they don't even taste like the same species. We have had holder cockerels and cocks that had meat that was so dark that we thought we were eating beef. The texture also can be greatly improved with age. Warning: Older cockerels and cocks have to process and stored right and slow cooked or they could have the meat go tough. Also, the meat quality is dependant on the feed and care of the bird. Some grains like corn can cause a grainy texture so may have a special finishing gruel that the feed the week or two before processing to fatten the bird and improve the texture of the meat. Also, many traditional finishing processes involves putting the birds in small cages (this something like a show cage) to restrict the bird's movement the week or two before processing. if the bird is lazy and relaxed the meat will be softer than if the birds are chasing after pullets or bugs or if they are fighting with other cockerels. The strain on the muscles makes it tougher.

There is a bit of a learning curve. I would say if you want to just eliminate surplus birds do them at 6-8 weeks and make Poussin. If you want slow grown pasture raised meat then do them at 18-20 weeks. If you want in improve your flock you can cull any early defect at 10-20 weeks and then save those with better potential for 8-12 month to make your final cull. I have never made Coq al Vine but that is an excellent option for old cocks. I personally have been using old cocks for the chicken enchilada and they are heavenly. Finally, make sure to rest the meat and use recipes with meat tenderizers of that slow cook the meat (i.e. crock-pot) if you process slow-grown meat. The 6-week old commercial birds do NOT cook the same as an 18+ week old bird. If you do things right the slow grown meat will the most flavorful chicken you have ever had. if you do it wrong it will just be the toughest chicken you have ever had.

View attachment 1817942 Oh an now that I am posting this photo I might add that a Legbar is going to be a lot more Leg and a lot lest Breast than what you are used to getting on commercial birds. The bark thigh meat on the slow grown Legbars is excellent (but the drum sticks have too much sinew for my liking).

Sounds a lot like my little Brown Leghorn cockerels! Let's just say, 12 weeks was 4 weeks too old!

 

[Compost King]

I have 5 silver leghorn cockerels and 6 Pullets good chance 3 of the cockerels are going to make a nice tiny meal for me. They turn 11 weeks old at Midnight tonight. I think I might give them another week, not so much to size out but for me to figure out which 2 are worth keeping and which 3 are culls.

The coop and run are only big enough for 7 birds and I have 11. One male goes to cross breeding tractor with another patterned leghorn, the 6 females stay, 3 males get culled and 1 male gets to be the Silver Leghorn Stud.
Thanks @GaryDean26 for the picture of the Legbar cooked. Not exactly a Leghorn but close enough. I kinda feel bad butchering up this breed its actually really pretty. But if someone near by wants them I would much rather give them away.

 

[Parront]

I have 5 silver leghorn cockerels and 6 Pullets good chance 3 of the cockerels are going to make a nice tiny meal for me. They turn 11 weeks old at Midnight tonight. I think I might give them another week, not so much to size out but for me to figure out which 2 are worth keeping and which 3 are culls. View attachment 1818075
The coop and run are only big enough for 7 birds and I have 11. One male goes to cross breeding tractor with another patterned leghorn, the 6 females stay, 3 males get culled and 1 male gets to be the Silver Leghorn Stud.
Thanks @GaryDean26 for the picture of the Legbar cooked. Not exactly a Leghorn but close enough. I kinda feel bad butchering up this breed its actually really pretty. But if someone near by wants them I would much rather give them away.

Good luck on one more week! They will still be small. The nice ones are the ones I kept, and let's just say that they weren't all that nice! Beautiful birds, though. I like leghorns, but then, I like parrots!

 

[Compost King]

.....I like leghorns, but then, I like parrots!

Leghorns are my favorite large fowl breed. Not much meat on them but they lay well and forage great. They also scratch up leaves sticks and straw rapidly for better compost piles and as you can tell by my screen name that is a priority for me.

 

[GaryDean26]

Old cocks can be very tender . We have got some that cooked up really good. If the cockerels starting fighting and don’t get along together then even 11 weeks can be too old though.

 

[k2coppenger]

I have been working with Legbars since 2012 and have processed about 30-40 Legbars each year in that time.

What are your goals for the breed? I have processed them as young as 6-8 weeks old to use as Poussin and as old and 3-1/2 years old when I need to thin the flock of older breeding stock to make room for younger birds in the breeding flock.

You have many options for the management of your flock for meat and it really comes down to what your goals are for your flock.

1) if you just want to eliminate excess cockerels a have them still serve a useful purpose then do them at 6-12 weeks old. They will be tiny but if you are like me and don't have a lot of freezer space it may work out better to spatchcock 4 of them for a single meal to use them up quickly than to put the time/money/space into growing them out to 7-8 months to get a bigger carcass. Also, the younger birds are going to be easier to process. the younger they are the softer the skin is. Some of the older birds are really hard to process when the skin gets tough while the younger birds are super easy to process

2) If you are trying to improve your flock through selective breeding you need to wait longer to process birds so that you can evaluate them for breeding before processing day. The old the bird is the easier it is to select your best breeder. Some defects like heart problems, weak hocks, color defects in the plumage, etc will not show up until the bird is 2+ years old. Two years ago I was trying to determine what combs were susceptible to frostbite and which were resistant so I kept 15 cockerels over the winter and didn't make my final cull until the cockerels were over a year old. I also did some test mating and progeny testing and breed out recessive defects. For that, I breed cockerels and 6 months old and then had to wait until eggs hatch from the test pairing before I culled cockerels. Test mating took about 4 months so those test cockerels were almost a year old when I culled all the carriers of the recessive genes I was breeding out. If you want to improve your flock I would cull about 75% by the time they are about 20 weeks old and then work through the rest at about 9-11 months old.

3) if you want slow-grown pasture raised chicken then you need to wait until the cockerels are at least 16 weeks old and 18-20 weeks would be better. I can't remember the exact reason for the age requirement on the certified red labeled slow-grown chickens but it seems like the bone density is low and sinews are not fully developed until that age. I wil say that the older a bird is the more flavor it will have. The Poussin are very mild and the cocks very rich. Put them side by side and they don't even taste like the same species. We have had holder cockerels and cocks that had meat that was so dark that we thought we were eating beef. The texture also can be greatly improved with age. Warning: Older cockerels and cocks have to process and stored right and slow cooked or they could have the meat go tough. Also, the meat quality is dependant on the feed and care of the bird. Some grains like corn can cause a grainy texture so may have a special finishing gruel that the feed the week or two before processing to fatten the bird and improve the texture of the meat. Also, many traditional finishing processes involves putting the birds in small cages (this something like a show cage) to restrict the bird's movement the week or two before processing. if the bird is lazy and relaxed the meat will be softer than if the birds are chasing after pullets or bugs or if they are fighting with other cockerels. The strain on the muscles makes it tougher.

There is a bit of a learning curve. I would say if you want to just eliminate surplus birds do them at 6-8 weeks and make Poussin. If you want slow grown pasture raised meat then do them at 18-20 weeks. If you want in improve your flock you can cull any early defect at 10-20 weeks and then save those with better potential for 8-12 month to make your final cull. I have never made Coq al Vine but that is an excellent option for old cocks. I personally have been using old cocks for the chicken enchilada and they are heavenly. Finally, make sure to rest the meat and use recipes with meat tenderizers of that slow cook the meat (i.e. crock-pot) if you process slow-grown meat. The 6-week old commercial birds do NOT cook the same as an 18+ week old bird. If you do things right the slow grown meat will the most flavorful chicken you have ever had. if you do it wrong it will just be the toughest chicken you have ever had.

View attachment 1817942 Oh an now that I am posting this photo I might add that a Legbar is going to be a lot more Leg and a lot lest Breast than what you are used to getting on commercial birds. The bark thigh meat on the slow grown Legbars is excellent (but the drum sticks have too much sinew for my liking).

You have given me a lot to think about! I have several pairs of breeds right now and I trying to determine which I like best. I did go ahead and process most of the legbar and bcm cockerels on Monday. It was my first time doing it and it actually went fairly well. The genetics fascinate me... so once I lock onto a breed or two it'll be game on.... I have a cull Speckled Sussex rooster that has a sudden hock issue that I will be able to try. He is somewhere around 20 weeks now.