Help- I have separated a rooster

[SBlanton]

As others have pointed out, he's not going to gain much.
Have you ever eaten a layer breed bird?

No I haven’t. We are new to raising chickens. Is it a big difference from a boiler breed?

 

[NatJ]

No I haven’t. We are new to raising chickens. Is it a big difference from a boiler breed?

Broiler chickens are bred to have a giant breast and a very round body shape.
All other chickens look thin and bony by comparison, even when they are at a healthy weight, and even if they were overweight. They just do not pack on the muscle like the broilers do.

If you've never butchered a chicken before, read up on it before you do it. Pay special attention to information on resting the bird, and what methods of cooking are appropriate for what age of bird. Otherwise, you can end up with a very tough chicken. (If it does come out too tough, chopping it very finely will always make it chewable again.)

 

[aart]

Is it a big difference from a boiler breed?

Huge difference.
Not only are broiler breeds or grocery birds bred to gain muscle fast, they are slaughtered at about 8 wks old so those muscles are tender.

 

[Sussex19]

Well I agree about the difference between broiler and what I call regular chickens (which are dual purpose chickens) my sussexs are still plenty tender enough for roasting at 5 or 6 months.
We do rest them in the fridge for a couple of days before freezing them.

 

[3KillerBs]

Cull layer cockerels have less fat than Cornish X broilers so the meat can be dry if not carefully cooked. I find them very tasty though.

 

[K0k0shka]

One big downside to broilers is that they are a lot less flavorful. Part of that is because so much of them is white meat (breast), and that by definition is less flavorful because it's so lean and dry. Part of it is because broilers are too heavy and disfigured by their breeding to be able to move like a real chicken does (even if they had the space), so they tend to sit around a lot, and muscle that's not used is less flavorful. And another part is the extremely young age at which they are butchered - it makes for tender meat, but it also makes for less flavorful meat, because it hasn't had the time to develop flavor yet. So you pretty much sacrifice flavor for tenderness. I personally prefer flavor, and dark meat, so I don't like broilers. But that's just personal preference.

Resting the meat seems to make more of a difference with older birds. I did an experiment a year or two ago, where I butchered cockerels of the same age and dual-purpose breed (4-5 months old or so), I rested one for a couple of days and didn't rest the other at all. Cooked them the same way. Found no difference at all.

 

[rod5591]

I have a flock and ended up with 2 roosters. One of the Rooster all of my hens love - mating is not an issue or anything else. The younger rooster tries to mate with the other hens and is unsuccessful. He attempts by grabbing on the the back of the head while then hens try to run away. Half of my hens now have bald spots behind there combs due to guy.
We have decided to go ahead and cull him in a couple of weeks time when he is a bit bigger.
We have pulled him for his safety and the hens safety and he is currently freaking in his separate pen.
Will he calm down or is this situation needs to be handled differently. Thanks!

I have 40 hens and 3 roosters, plus one cockerel. There is definitely rooms for more than one rooster in some larger flocks. They all keep watch for hawks.

 

[Mrs. K]

Personally - I would only plan to use the meat for casseroles and soup. I am not a fan of a cockerel. Yes they are tasty and quite a bit firmer, but it ain't KFC fried chicken.