Has anyone ever processed DP roosters really early; 9-12 weeks or so?

[DanIndiana]

I'm looking for the rough equivalent meat of a cornish hen. I've been trying to get an idea of what the carcass will be like with White Plymouth Rocks, Buff Orps, etc. after maybe 9-12 weeks? I've got a batch of 25 that I would like to take sooner rather than later. Has anyone tried this? I know it won't be much meat, but maybe enough for two, and more tender perhaps?

 

[emys]

Yes. If you're going to cull, don't waste the meat. Twenty five birds should feed more than 2 people.

They have no body fat, so cook with that in mind. (If headed for the oven use a covered pan and baste or steam.)

If they are scrawny, sometimes I just skin them and make stew in the crock pot using LOW setting! (When I do this I cut the last part of the wings off because they are so small). I then cook for 8-10 hours, de-bone them and cook another 8-10 hours spiced however I want -Curried, Chipotle pepper recipe, traditional soup, or whatever.

 

[mcf3kids]

I have a batch of 12 BO's that I was raising for meat birds and they are 14 weeks - not thinking that they will yield a lot of meat compared to the batch of 25 cornish I am raising that are almost 8 weeks and weigh 6 1/2 - 8 lbs live weight. We had one BO roo in the batch that we just sent to freezer camp - he will make a nice soup this fall. He dressed out I believe about 2 1/2 lbs (guestimate not real weight). He was crowing so he had to go but the other 11 I am letting grow longer. I think after raising the cornish and raising the BO's I will raise more cornish because of how quickly they grow and the amount of meat they yield. (unless the BO's are

in comparison) Hope that helps

 

[DanIndiana]

This should be an interesting experiment. Our fry pan special included 4 breeds: the largest by far at 5 weeks, White Rock, then Barred Rock, then the Buff Orps are about tied with the Rhode Island Reds.

 

[Red&Yellow]

We've done 3 that were 10 weeks. Two were at least half white Rock, if not pure. The third was an EE. Both the Rock crosses were really quite meaty for that age, I was impressed. The EE wasn't bad, but still a bit on the scrawny side. We haven't eaten them yet, though.

They did have some fat on them, not a whole lot but about the same amount that an older cockerel would have, in porportion of course.