Eating An Early Cull???

[Hazard]

My 13 Dual Purpose hens are now 6 weeks old. Of that I have 3 Welsummer's, and 1 of those is definitly a ROO!!!

My intent is not to keep Him, but that only depends on how loud he crows. I don't want to annoy the neighbors in my suburban area. Supposing I decide to cull him, (I'm guessing he would be about 12 weeks or so when he starts making noise?) will that be too small (young) a bird to clean and eat? I suspect he would be larger than a game hen sized bird then.

What do you think?

 

[Linn Bee]

My first chickens were 100 leghorn cockerals. We started butchering them at 15-16 weeks. I would think that a dual-purpose bird would be pretty close to the same size by about 12 weeks. My Nesco (Australorp-Brahma mix) is nearly as big now as my leghorn hens and she/he? is only 2 months old.

At any rate, your choices are few. 1. Cull and eat. 2. Trade with someone for an older cull to give the roo more time to grow. 3. Give the roo away to a country home. 4. Pray it's a pullet or mute.

One noisy bird is not worth upsetting the neighborhood.

 

[Tena03303]

I have a mixed flock - Wyandottes, NH Reds, Cochins, Brahmas and Rocks. Of the 10 roos, the Wyandottes started crowing at 8 weeks. We're now at 11 weeks, and all but the Cochins & Brahmas are crowing. I don't know how soon Welsummers start making noise, but good luck!

Since you mention living in suburbia, where regulating poultry is more common, are there any restrictions in your town? Even if you're OK with the town, you may still want to poll your closest neighbors.

 

[bruceh]

chicken roosters i let go to about 20 weeks. i did some today at 16 weeks. there was not much meat but great for chicken corn soup. looked liked one of those rubber chickens.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

My straight run of 35 (now 31 due to predator loss) Freedom Rangers are a little over 8 weeks. A few of the roosters are crowing, although perhaps I should say "trying to crow". The sound they make is sort of comical, like a kid trying to play a trumpet for the first time with a mute. The chickens are housed between my house and my mom's house, and we both sleep with the windows open (both our windows are on the chicken side of the house. So far, we haven't heard the crow from the inside...only when we are out and near the pen.

So, you probably have a few more weeks to let your rooster grow before you do the deed. Perhaps if you poll your neighbors and tell them that the rooster will be in the stew pot within hours of the first complaint, you might have a week or two more before anyone cares enough to contact you.