How do I sell live birds for slaughter?

[collie1470]

Until you caponize the cockerels. A capon in store goes for like $8/pound.

I agree even if you find a processor and are willing to give your birds away, you're simply not going to find a market for dual purpose cockerels. Folks go on and on about "heritage breeds" and how much they want "sustainable food' until they're faced with the reality of a razor chested carcass.....then those Cornish cross start looking pretty good again! I mean, I eat mine out of necessity ( I just can't bring myself to cull young birds, and by the time they're old enough I could do the deed, I've got so much feed in them I might as well grow them out and eat them) but I'd prefer the plumper carcass and way better feed conversion any day.

 

[donrae]

Don't they still eat a crapton of feed? How much of that is going to be profit feeding the bird for 6+ months? I know about how much my grown roosters put away, and they're not cheap.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Don't they still eat a crapton of feed? How much of that is going to be profit feeding the bird for 6+ months? I know about how much my grown roosters put away, and they're not cheap.

Who feeds a meat bird for 6+ months???

 

[donrae]

Who feeds a meat bird for 6+ months???

Wouldn't you take a capon that long? Otherwise what would be the point of caponizing if you didn't let them get full growth? I honestly don't know, I've never dealt with capons. I was just responding to collie1470

 

[HeritageGoose13]

I don't know much about capons either, but I assume you raise them for the same amount of time you would any other meat bird.

 

[collie1470]

You can raise a capon longer, without the meat getting tough, but (depending on breed, of course) it's still ideal to slaughter earlier than that.

I believe 16-20 weeks is still the ideal, but they tend to get bigger than intact roos (as their energy no longer goes toward trying to mate and fight). And, if you decided not to slaughter at that time, for whatever reason, they'll be more tender as adults.

 

[collie1470]

After that 16-20 weeks, a heritage breed doesn't really grow enough to justify the amount of feed. Excepting the 20 or so pound Jersey Giant capon, of course..

 

[donrae]

I don't know much about capons either, but I assume you raise them for the same amount of time you would any other meat bird.

Then what would be the point of caponizing, if you butchered at 8 weeks? The little guys don't have hardly any hormones flowing yet, seems to me it would be a moot point.

If you caponized a dual purpose bird, it still wouldn't weigh anything at 8 weeks, I'm thinking. that's how this started, talking about raising dual purpose cockerels for sale as meat birds.

 

[collie1470]

But, when you consider that buying a 10 pound capon carcass costs about $80, that 4-6 months of feeding isn't so bad. A couple of birds would offset the price of feeding the whole group, assuming they don't get free ranged, which of course drops a feed bill a bit.

 

[collie1470]

Then what would be the point of caponizing, if you butchered at 8 weeks? The little guys don't have hardly any hormones flowing yet, seems to me it would be a moot point.

If you caponized a dual purpose bird, it still wouldn't weigh anything at 8 weeks, I'm thinking. that's how this started, talking about raising dual purpose cockerels for sale as meat birds.

you wouldn't caponize a bird that you'd be slaughtering at 8 weeks (like a cornish x)