Growing Australorps to eat

[AustraHatch]

Hey guys, im raising 5 black australorps and 5 splash australorps. i have 2 excess roosters (1 splash and 1 black). They are currently 13 weeks so obviously not ready to eat yet. But i know that roosters mature much earlier than hens and was wondering at what age should i harvest them?
They are currently a maybe an inch taller than my isa browns

 

[kattabelly]

Depends. Do you want them to reach a certain weight? To be able to cook them a certain way? (Some people will advise cooking a bird low and slow if it's anything over 16 weeks; personally I'm happy roasting birds a fair bit older) Is flock harmony more of a priority, if you aren't able to let them range over a large area or keep the boys separately once their hormones start kicking in?

 

[iwltfum]

I find dual purpose birds get pretty tough and stringy meat after about 5 months old. You can cook them differently when they grt older than that, but it's more complicated and less like the store bought chicken that most people are familiar with.

 

[FernwoodHollow]

Hey guys, im raising 5 black australorps and 5 splash australorps. i have 2 excess roosters (1 splash and 1 black). They are currently 13 weeks so obviously not ready to eat yet. But i know that roosters mature much earlier than hens and was wondering at what age should i harvest them?
They are currently a maybe an inch taller than my isa browns

If you're looking for a specific carcass weight I would get them on a high fat/protein meat bird finishing feed if you haven't already. I would recommend processing before they hit 22 weeks whether that's hens or cockerels.

I start a finishing feed at 15 weeks and process at 20 to 22 typically for speckled sussex, which is a similar body type to autralorp (i have australorps for eggs)