Heritage Meat Birds Culling Age

[Reuven Beulah]

Is it safe to say for heritage dual purpose breeds, that when a cockerel starts to crow, he's ready for culling as a broiler?

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I would guess it depends on how old he is. I've heard of cockerels crowing from day one, and waiting until they were in their 20's weeks... So, as far as I know, its not so much about the crow as the age.

 

[Chaos18]

For heritage breed dual purpose birds I try to wait until right around 20 weeks of age to cull extra boys. They will have a little more meat on the bones yet still be young enough that you can cook them however you want.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is it safe to say for heritage dual purpose breeds, that when a cockerel starts to crow, he's ready for culling as a broiler?

No, that is not safe to say. Whether raised in a brooder or with a broody hen, some will start to crow at a very early age or they may wait for months. With some that's personality. In a flock situation a subordinate cockerel may refrain from crowing for a very long time.

It's also not safe to say you can cook a 20 week old cockerel any way you wish. Different cockerels grow and mature at greatly different rates, even with the same parents. With some, by 20 weeks their sexual organs are really well developed, lots of hormones have been released to affect the meat, and connective tissue can be really tough. Others that age are not nearly as well developed.

Cooking technique plays a part. There are different ways to fry or grill a chicken. Some techniques will work better than others for older chickens. For instance, if you simmer the meat first in water until it is pretty well cooked, then fry or grill it to finish it off the meat is much more tender. Frying in a deep layer of lard will give you more tender chicken than just barely using enough oil to keep it from burning much. Covering the frying pan when frying also helps keep moisture in.

Then there is our expectations. If you have grow up eating chicken from the supermarket or at restaurants, you are used to eating commercial chickens butchered around two months old at the latest. Our older chickens have developed more texture and flavor, not because we feed them differently but because they are older. That's especially true with cockerels that have started producing those hormones. Some of us prefer that texture and flavor but if you are not used to it you or a family member might not appreciate it.

You can butcher any chicken of any sex at any age and eat it but you may need some trial and error in finding a way to cook it that meets your requirements.

 

[Maeschak]

I used to cull my heritage cockerels at 20-24 weeks. I cooked the chickens in an enamel roasting pan w tight fitting lid. I liked the chickens but the meat is tough- tough as in steak knife and fork tough. The flavor was awesome but no one besides myself would eat the chicken as-is. I would then have to cut the meat into smaller chunks and use it like that. If I waited 20 weeks for a cockerel again I would pressure cook it or crock pot it.

Now, thanks to @Egghead_Jr , I'm culling at 14 weeks. even at 14 weeks the drumsticks were 'firm'. Personally, I love the firm texture but again, no one but myself really wants to eat the legs bc they don't like the firmness. Next year I will probably cull a few at 13 weeks to see the difference and also cull at 14 weeks but confine them to the coop for the final week. Hopefully that will soften the drumsticks. At 14 weeks though I could easily cook in the oven at 375-400 degrees on top of a broiler pan with just a bit of water underneath to catch the yummy juices. (Spatchcocked).

I have realized that I really enjoy the smaller birds- they are fairly quick to grow out, easy to butcher and gut, and just about 2.5Lb carcass (spatchcocked) The bone to meat ratio is pretty good.

I guess I do have one caveat, I'm not the best cook in the world so my experience is probably very different than everyone else's.

Good luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Maeschak, I butcher at the same age as you and use that covered pan baking method. I rinse the meat and do not dry it, coat it with herbs, then bake it in that tightly covered pan at 240 to 250 degrees for 3 to 4 hours. I don't add any more water, you will get a surprising amount of very nice broth. That meat has flavor because of the age but it is not tough at all.

That is not a typo, 240 to 250 degrees. None of that 350 or more.

 

[Maeschak]

Maeschak, I butcher at the same age as you and use that covered pan baking method. I rinse the meat and do not dry it, coat it with herbs, then bake it in that tightly covered pan at 240 to 250 degrees for 3 to 4 hours. I don't add any more water, you will get a surprising amount of very nice broth. That meat has flavor because of the age but it is not tough at all.

That is not a typo, 240 to 250 degrees. None of that 350 or more.

OH well maybe I was using the wrong temps for my older birds! I'll have to check my notes (yes, I experimented w cooking methods and temperatures and took notes...).

If I ever end up w that age cockerel again I'll give those temps a try. Until then I am just tickled at the results of the 14 week old cockerels so far. Just a great size and minimal fuss in raising them.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[Maeschak]

OH well maybe I was using the wrong temps for my older birds! I'll have to check my notes (yes, I experimented w cooking methods and temperatures and took notes...).

If I ever end up w that age cockerel again I'll give those temps a try. Until then I am just tickled at the results of the 14 week old cockerels so far. Just a great size and minimal fuss in raising them.

Thanks for the tips!

I just checked my notes- the lowest temp I cooked a 24 week old cockerel was 275 degrees... apparently not low enough in temperature! I'll def try 240-250 next time.

Thanks again-

 

[makmm]

This is a great read. Thank you! I have recently hatched 13 chicks and I think half of them or more are roosters.Well I guess we get to eat alot of chicken this winter!

 

[Fairview01]

Learn how to make capons out of them. They turn into a fat juicy great tasting chickens at just about any age. If they don't survive the process you get to eat your mistakes. It's a win win except for the chicken sometimes.