Dual purpose birds for meat

[triplepurpose]

When I was a little bitty boy many moons ago, my mother would take the intestine and clean it. She then would wrap it around the drumstick and tie it off. Then cook . I ate it and did not really think what it was. Your statement above brought pleasant memories back from my childhood.

Okay, so actually this could be going slightly off-topic--but I've been doing a little research on intestines, since they are just about the only edible part of a chicken I have never personally cooked or eaten. I found this recipe which actually looks kinda tasty. I might have try this sometime just for something different:

(For obvious reasons you might want to wash thoroughly, using something like a stick to turn them inside out, which seems like a lot of trouble--i don't know that a tiny bit of well cooked poo from home-grown chicken is going to hurt you, but it's supposed to give a bitter off flavor that most don't care for... or so i read... though i do recall watching a bizarre foods episode once where the host partook of some stewed chicken intestines which were NOT washed very thoroughly and he described them as interestingly "rustic," i believe...)

 

[kesrchicky16]

Okay, so actually this could be going slightly off-topic--but I've been doing a little research on intestines, since they are just about the only edible part of a chicken I have never personally cooked or eaten. I found this recipe which actually looks kinda tasty. I might have try this sometime just for something different:

(For obvious reasons you might want to wash thoroughly, using something like a stick to turn them inside out, which seems like a lot of trouble--i don't know that a tiny bit of well cooked poo is going to hurt you, but it's supposed to give a bitter off flavor that most don't care for... or so i read...)

Slightly off topic?!? LOL
Not sure I will ever make use of this piece of knowledge but good to know I guess.

I believe my original question was how old should I let then get?

I keep telling my kids we have to be "good indians". Not kill because we can, pray for every animal including preditor to help their spirit understand why they are dieing, send the spirit back to God, make full use of the body when death is for food. All that being said I don't plan on ever consuming the guts, using the organ meat will be a stretch for me. Luckily my mother In law loves hearts or liver (I don't remember) so she will think it's a present. The cats will probably get the necks so I don't have to pick the bones.

I'm just glad I have a year to build up my courage for any of it.

 

[triplepurpose]

Slightly off topic?!? LOL
Not sure I will ever make use of this piece of knowledge but good to know I guess.

I believe my original question was how old should I let then get?

Fair enough--i won't presume to start lecturing about cultural relativity and "one man's trash," then...

Anyhoo, in regards to that original question, please do check out the following article, if you haven't already.
https://livestockconservancy.org/images/uploads/docs/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

that, along with some of the fine input from folks on here should help you decide on the answer that best fits you...

Cheers!

 

[kesrchicky16]

Fair enough--i won't presume to start lecturing about cultural relativity and "one man's trash," then...

Anyhoo, in regards to that original question, please do check out the following article, if you haven't already.
https://livestockconservancy.org/images/uploads/docs/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

that, along with some of the fine input from folks on here should help you decide on the answer that best fits you...

Cheers!

My boys are of the age I'm trying to avoid "What happens if I aim my bb gun at that little wild bird?"

I did read that article. I found it very interesting. I love the input I get from this site.

My sister in law wants the ornamental feathers off any mature roosters I have to put down. So I'll consider that a fair trade for trashing the intestines.

 

[Fairview01]

Okay, so actually this could be going slightly off-topic--but I've been doing a little research on intestines, since they are just about the only edible part of a chicken I have never personally cooked or eaten. I found this recipe which actually looks kinda tasty. I might have try this sometime just for something different:

(For obvious reasons you might want to wash thoroughly, using something like a stick to turn them inside out, which seems like a lot of trouble--i don't know that a tiny bit of well cooked poo from home-grown chicken is going to hurt you, but it's supposed to give a bitter off flavor that most don't care for... or so i read... though i do recall watching a bizarre foods episode once where the host partook of some stewed chicken intestines which were NOT washed very thoroughly and he described them as interestingly "rustic," i believe...)

It's not the pooh pellet treasures that would intimidate me but the resident salmonella does. Until you have it you can appreciate it. Will kick your butt for about a week. They shoot horses when they feel that bad.

But on post, dual purpose birds lay eggs and grow out to respectable size over a longer period at generally a below average rate as opposed to Cornish Xs or speciality laying breeds.

I butchered a few of my dual purpose birds when I could for sure know they were roosters. They weren't much bigger than a fat pigeon but too big for a single serving. When I got ready to grill I split them length wise. Perfect serving size. Had all the tenderness of an eight week old Cornish Xs and the flavor of a heritage breed.

 

[cavemanrich]

It's not the pooh pellet treasures that would intimidate me but the resident salmonella does. Until you have it you can appreciate it. Will kick your butt for about a week. They shoot horses when they feel that bad.

d.

Follow safe handling guidelines and bacteria will be under control. Remember that proper cooking will kill bacteria.

 

[Birdinhand]

I have tried eating dual purpose birds in my quest for a good suburban meat bird and gave up and have focussed all my attention on learning how to grow health, happy and very tasty Cornish Cross. I hear people complain about how CX are bland but that has not been my experience, I grow them out on good organic feed and then add yummy herbs, spices and lemon and I have had people tell me that the birds I serve up are the best they have ever had. I'm not trying to brag, I just am not sure what people expect when they eat a chicken and say it's not flavorful, if this is what they are talking about. It would be great if CX bread true and there were a way to get the eggs to place under a broody.
It's a bit of a moot point though, I can't have roosters here so I have to mail order my chicks anyway. I have 36 CX coming along right now, my best batch yet. conversion rate, final weight and time to slaughter are all important things to me given the constraints I have here and the four hungry members of my family to feed. I think CX get a bad rap, most of the bad stories come from strains that are over bread and people expecting too much from them without taking careful care of them. moderate the feed, use nipple waterers for water to keep the microbes down, keep them moving and wow, they are wonderful to work with, IMHO. I've found the COBB 500 strain to be the best for back yard production.

 

[kesrchicky16]

I have tried eating dual purpose birds in my quest for a good suburban meat bird and gave up and have focussed all my attention on learning how to grow health, happy and very tasty Cornish Cross. I hear people complain about how CX are bland but that has not been my experience, I grow them out on good organic feed and then add yummy herbs, spices and lemon and I have had people tell me that the birds I serve up are the best they have ever had. I'm not trying to brag, I just am not sure what people expect when they eat a chicken and say it's not flavorful, if this is what they are talking about. It would be great if CX bread true and there were a way to get the eggs to place under a broody.
It's a bit of a moot point though, I can't have roosters here so I have to mail order my chicks anyway. I have 36 CX coming along right now, my best batch yet. conversion rate, final weight and time to slaughter are all important things to me given the constraints I have here and the four hungry members of my family to feed. I think CX get a bad rap, most of the bad stories come from strains that are over bread and people expecting too much from them without taking careful care of them. moderate the feed, use nipple waterers for water to keep the microbes down, keep them moving and wow, they are wonderful to work with, IMHO. I've found the COBB 500 strain to be the best for back yard production.

I got duel purpose because they supposedly do better over winter. I got them for eggs. Got roos for added protection and preditor alarms. Got tired of fighting broody chickens and so I needed to know what to do with chicks especially the 50%ish cockerels. I'm just glad I have months to psych myself up for slaughter. Not sure how I feel about that yet. And yes I eat store bought chicken but I never saw that ones eyes. Harder for me personally to eat something I heard talk and watched eat. I'll get over it. Especially if it means not wasting.
I believe animals are happiest when they are fully utilized for the purpose if their creation.

 

[Maeschak]

I got duel purpose because they supposedly do better over winter. I got them for eggs. Got roos for added protection and preditor alarms. Got tired of fighting broody chickens and so I needed to know what to do with chicks especially the 50%ish cockerels. I'm just glad I have months to psych myself up for slaughter. Not sure how I feel about that yet. And yes I eat store bought chicken but I never saw that ones eyes. Harder for me personally to eat something I heard talk and watched eat. I'll get over it. Especially if it means not wasting.
I believe animals are happiest when they are fully utilized for the purpose if their creation.

It will be much easier for you to butcher once those little guys turn into serious jerks... Challenging you, chasing the hens, fighting between themselves, and of course cock-a-doodling at all hours! Soon you will look forward to their demise and fantasize about chicken enchiladas!

 

[Parront]

I got duel purpose because they supposedly do better over winter. I got them for eggs. Got roos for added protection and preditor alarms. Got tired of fighting broody chickens and so I needed to know what to do with chicks especially the 50%ish cockerels. I'm just glad I have months to psych myself up for slaughter. Not sure how I feel about that yet. And yes I eat store bought chicken but I never saw that ones eyes. Harder for me personally to eat something I heard talk and watched eat. I'll get over it. Especially if it means not wasting.
I believe animals are happiest when they are fully utilized for the purpose if their creation.

You only have about 3 months before they turn into annoying roosters that you look forward to putting into the pot.